"He said on the bus the other day, he doesn't know any different" - Yates points out Tadej Pogacar comments about Tour de France
Cycling
Adam Yates has become accustomed to witnessing Tadej Pogacar achieving stunning results with UAE Team Emirates - XRG. Once again supporting the Slovenian in the Tour de France, the British rider saw a familiar sight on Thursday - Pogacar attacking up the road and riding into the yellow jersey.
Pogacar now holds a massive lead over the rest of the general classification field as Jonas Vingegaard was the only one of the favourites coming remotely close to his level in the high mountains - coming within six seconds of catching Pogacar before the elastic snapped in the final kilometers of the Col du Tourmalet.
A 23rd Tour de France stage, as well as another day in the yellow jersey, Pogacar is well on his way to a fifth Tour de France triumph. For Yates, he mentioned an anecdote from the UAE team bus that stayed with him - Pogacar doesn't know any different.
"For him, I think he said on the bus the other day, he doesn't know any different – he's always in white or yellow or polka-dot or something," Yates told reporters after the stage.
"So he doesn't know the other side of the Tour de France, where you get to go in the bus and have a shower and all this, so I think it also shows his mental resilience."
'Pretty normal' Pogacar attack blows away GC
A 'pretty normal' Pogacar attack was enough to put 2:38 into Vingegaard and over three minutes into the rest of the field - including Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel. Sobering for some, but Yates sees the inevitability given the descent and shallow climb to the finish.
"When he does stuff like this… I mean, it's pretty normal for him. The climb here today, the last climb after the Tourmalet is more like a valley climb," Yates continued.
"It's not like a real climb so, you know, Tadej when he's on these kinds of rolling roads, he's one of the best in the world. It was always the plan to for him to launch on Tourmalet, and to try and have a gap… seems like it paid off."
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With many believing the yellow jersey fight could be done after six stages, Yates is understandably cautious, and won't dismiss the challenge of holding onto yellow.
He added: "You can have bad days… I think we just need to try not to make any mistakes and be calm. Hopefully we can recover the next two days and then we'll see."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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