"I hope to keep this yellow until Paris" - Pogacar on dealing with heat, yellow ambitions and Covid-19
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar escaped the stressful opening week of the Tour de France relatively unscathed. Although he took two small crashes, they proved to have no consequences and UAE Team Emirates are in a familiar position with their Slovenian super-talent at the head of the race.
This Sunday en route to Châtel UAE paced hard, however Pogacar explained that it was with the goal of controlling the race, and not attack it. "...In the last 250 meters only Jonas Vingegaard could follow and we took a few seconds on the rest. And that's always good," he told Het Nieuwsblad on the rest day.
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With the first true mountain challenges coming this week for the Slovenian, he denies being in a dominant position: "I don't know. We'll see in the next days. We already had some climbs but they weren't crazy hard. Tuesday is more like a warm-up. The Col du Granon and Alpe d'Huez are two really big alpine rides. I have a good eye on my fitness. I hope for good legs this week too.”
He will have to contend with harsh heat, which is said to be perhaps one of his few weaknesses. He shrugs off such claims: "It's the same for everyone. You just have to try to keep your body as fresh as possible. I don't think anyone likes to race when it's forty degrees hot... I also had some really hot days on altitude training. It was also 37 degrees the two times I rode up to the Tour de Alpe d'Huez. I know very well what is coming my way. I'm not afraid," he explained.
He is starting the tenth stage with a 39-second gap over Jonas Vingegaard and over a minute against the rest of the competition. In the first few days UAE didn't manage to provide the support that other teams did, but it came to no consequence for the defending champion. Down to seven riders due to Vegard Stake Laengen's abandon with Covid-19, Pogacar is aware that "it doesn't matter whether you wear yellow or not" and does fear a possible outbreak.
He is clear on his goals though, making it obvious that he wants to keep yellow not only on these first days he wore it, but all the way into Paris. "...No, I'd rather keep that shirt. It's so special. It is better to be one step ahead than one step behind. We are now in pole position. We can check the thing. It's a little easier for me under the circumstances. It's nice to be a leader already. I hope to keep this yellow until Paris," the race leader concluded.
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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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
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Today it’s a rest day at #TDF2022, but it's not all ‘rest’ for our boys😉. 🎥 To Paris with Love - Episode 6: youtu.be/4_ARsrS2wzA #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
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