"He said on the bus the other day, he doesn't know any different" - Yates points out Tadej Pogacar comments about Tour de France
CyclingFriday, 10 July 2026 at 09:54
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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- They might have talked about it and laughed over dinner, but Remco I think doesn't forget slights so easily. He is pissed that he didn't get full leadership. People complain about Remco but I like his character. He is is fun to watch and listen to. While Pog is off doing his thing it makes for a great distraction. One thing is sure that from position one down, the rest of the tour is going to be interesting.Cyclingsbestfan10-07-2026
- Why are we surprised, this was inevitable!slappers6610-07-2026
- he said 'I don’t currently see Jonas Vingegaard as being much better than Florian Lipowitz or Paul Seixas.' --> he did not mention remco in this comparison ... quite telling i would say ...Ketterechts10-07-2026
- Grabbing the Popcorn! The Remco show is gonna Start!Alexcavalera10-07-2026
- Pog looked exhausted at the finish too, though of course happy., and he admitted to Del Toro that he had been on his limit at one point. It's like people are watching different races sometimes, but I guess that's the human experience.Hills3310-07-2026
- Massive respect for Jonas yesterday he dug in and limited losses which could have been even more. I feared for him on the descent of the Tourmalet, for the first couple of kms he did not look in control.slappers6610-07-2026
- LOL! What about now after stage six?MajorPayne10-07-2026
- Remco still doesn't understand team tactics. Lipo was more than 20 seconds ahead at the top. He needs to sit back behind the Lidl riders and the others and save his energy. If the other riders close the gap, he needs to put evertyhing in one lethal attack and time trial home alone. If the others don't catch up, Lipo, his teammate, gains on all but Seixas and del Toro. He can sit in the third group for most of the final ascent with an excuse and then attack them with a few kilometres to go and gain time on everyone but Lipo, del Toro and Seixas. A double win for Red Bull. Instead, he makes sure all of them arrive at the same time. What a selfish idiot. Lipo has beaten him every time over the past year when they met. What an arrogant idiot. Sorry to describe this so lengthily - this is not for the fans (they all get this). This is for Remco, the only one that doesn't get it.MaMu10-07-2026
- yeah what is he upset about? he finished in front of Sepp.mij10-07-2026
- yeah really great point. Lipo crested the summit well ahead of Remcomij10-07-2026
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