"How different my relationship with cycling was..." - Tadej Pogacar returns to the climb where he almost took his first ever Tour de France win
Cycling
Stage 18 of the Tour de France initiates the final block of mountain stages at this year's Tour de France. UAE Team Emirates - XRG enter it looking to manage the illness that has impacted Adam Yates; whilst Tadej Pogacar reminisced on the climb to Orcières-Merlette where he almost won for the first time at the Tour back in 2020.
"Today I want to enjoy the day and spend it worry-free with the team. We'll try to do things as best we can to be healthy tomorrow and the day after, which are more important days," Pogacar said at the start of stage 18.
The bad day of Adam Yates this Wednesday worried the yellow jersey, who risked losing a key domestique, but also having illness spread throughout the team. There was a sense of relief this morning. "I saw him feeling a little better, but when you're sick, it's always difficult to recover immediately. However, I think he can hold on."
The riders will make the way into the Alpine climbs once again, although it can be termed an appetizer ahead of the 'Alpe d'Huez weekend'. The final climb will be 7 kilometers long at just under 7% average gradient.
It was here that in 2020, in his debut at the Grand Boucle, Tadej Pogacar finished second behind Primoz Roglic, outsprinted at the line - at this point in time, he hadn't won yet at the Tour, whilst he starts today's stage with 25 stage wins.
"I rewatched the finale of that stage just yesterday and realized how different my relationship with cycling was," he recalled.
Can it be avenged, the same way the Le Lioran finale was? "Winning today? Well, it was a very different situation; it was the fourth stage and it was a kind of sprint among the general classification riders. I remember being very happy with that second place."
Tadej Pogacar at the 2026 Tour de France
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Adam Yates' health improving once again
“Fortunately, Adam feels better today, his stomach problems have almost disappeared," team DS Mauro Gianetti said in words to Sporza this Thursday morning; reassuring the team's plans should go ahead despite the recent obstacles.
The team wasn't oblivious to the risks, and Adam Yates has spent the day largely isolated from his teammates so as to reduce the risks of a potential infection for a rider such as Pogacar or even Isaac del Toro.
“The healthy riders and the sick riders sit separately in the bus. The riders who are ill also eat in their rooms so they do not infect anyone else," the Belgian rider explained.
“He feels a little empty because he did not eat yesterday," Gianetti added on the Briton. "He knows that he will suffer today, but by Friday and Saturday he should be close to 90 per cent of his normal capacity.”
“It was good that we stayed with him yesterday. There are mountain stages on Friday and Saturday, and his role will be very important.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
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- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
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