"I hope he didn't suffer too much" - Pogacar and UAE fear losing Adam Yates from Tour de France
CyclingWednesday, 22 July 2026 at 23:00
A frantic stage 17 of the Tour de France tested UAE Team Emirates - XRG like few days before it. Isaac Del Toro was caught behind an early split, Adam Yates struggled with illness and lost contact with the peloton, while Tadej Pogacar briefly found himself isolated. Despite the setbacks, the yellow jersey's lead remained intact as Jasper Philipsen sprinted to victory from a reduced group.
Pogacar explains UAE's difficult afternoon
Stage 17 was raced at an exceptionally high pace from the opening kilometres, with repeated attacks from sprinters, classics riders and general classification contenders before a large breakaway finally established itself.
For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the day quickly became complicated. Del Toro was caught behind an early split and needed a long chase to return to the peloton, while Adam Yates, who is suffering from gastroenteritis, eventually cracked and crossed the finish more than 26 minutes behind stage winner Jasper Philipsen with the support of teammate Tim Wellens.
The situation briefly left Pogacar without his usual support around him, but the Slovenian never appeared to be under real pressure. “I expected it to be difficult, with a big fight until after the climbs,” Pogacar said in a post-race interview. “The day was hard.”
Read also
He explained how the decisive move eventually formed after the peloton split on a descent. “I don't think anyone would really have attacked at that moment. The peloton split on the descent, then we reached the bottom and that's where the breakaway was able to form. That's normal.”
Pogacar also revealed that Yates had still been feeling the effects of illness despite appearing to improve before the start.
“Adam was sick yesterday morning and he suffered. This morning he looked much better and was eating well, but when you have a bad day like yesterday, you pay for it later. I hope he didn't suffer too much and that he'll be better tomorrow.”
Adam Yates managed to finish stage 17 despite being sick
Del Toro eager to keep fighting
After spending several kilometres chasing back following the early split, Del Toro managed to rejoin the peloton thanks in part to a temporary truce among the general classification contenders at the front.
The Mexican remains third overall, just 20 seconds ahead of Paul Seixas, and continues to wear the white jersey heading into the final four days of the Tour. “I'm doing well. I'm approaching this third week with a lot of enthusiasm after the time trial.”
Del Toro said he is enjoying every moment of his debut Tour despite the challenges. “I'm looking forward to getting to Paris and enjoying this final week. I'm just like I was during the first week: I'm enjoying myself and trying to give my best every day.”
Satisfied with his position after more than two demanding weeks of racing, the 22-year-old suggested he could still race aggressively in the mountains. “After yesterday and the first two weeks, I'm happy to be in this position.”
Asked whether he was ready to attack during the decisive stages ahead, Del Toro smiled confidently. “Ready to attack? Yes, why not?”
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- "Stage 16 (...) - DS Steven De Jongh (Lidl-Trek) fined 2,000CHF for breaching regulations or guidelines concerning vehicle movements during the race. (...)" "Stage 17 (...) - Team Visma | Lease a Bike DS Arthur van Dongen: Breach of regulations or guidelines concerning vehicle movements during the race and failure to comply with the instructions of commissaires. 100CHF fine, Yellow card, DS relegation (loss of positions in the convoy)." Lidl-Trek DS, 2000CHF fine, Visma DS 100CHF fine?Lobz7722-07-2026
- Pretty rich from Thomas also known as the crash test dummy in the peleton. Not very classy really . He should know better than most never throw stones in a glass house.paultryan200222-07-2026
- Or, perhaps, a stomach bug.RidesHills22-07-2026
- Proper breakaway specialists will say we haven't had real breakaway stages. Pedersen on stage 4, van der Poel on stage 9 and Philipsen on stage 17... not exactly the usual escapees. Even Schmid on stage 13 - he's a top tier rider and if you look at his successes elsewhere, it's far beyond what most breakaway riders can even imagine
Rafionain-Glas22-07-2026 - adding insult to injury, very classy. maybe work on your flat tire issue Geraint and then talk shit about other teams.whkman22-07-2026
- yates looked like he stopped microdosingwhkman22-07-2026
- As long as Remco is on the scene it's hard to imagine Pogi winning Olympic or WC TT. So maybe they'll still be a handful of road cycling milestones that even the GOAT can't achieve.mobk22-07-2026
- Maybe, if Ineos would invest in a few riders willing to ride as if they were in the last 3km sometimes… I think you have more important things to discuss than other teams’ misfortunes, missing the days of blogging already?Jumpyjohn22-07-2026
- Funny headline choice. I guess Isolated in a group of 36 leading sounds more dramatic than surrounded by his team in a trailing peloton. Yet for other GC contenders the big issue was that they missed getting into the lead group.Mistermaumau22-07-2026
- Afrikaans?Jumpyjohn22-07-2026
Loading
Write a comment