"I think UAE will want revenge; they won't have been laughing about yesterday" - GC rider predicts Pogacar resurgance after Vingegaard took yellow
CyclingSunday, 05 July 2026 at 13:43
The Tour de France general classification contenders are expecting UAE Team Emirates - XRG revenge on Sunday's stage 2. After Jonas Vingegaard denied Tadej Pogacar going into the yellow jersey right from the off in Barcelona.
The Dane and Visma | Lease a Bike played their team time trial to perfection to take the stage win and yellow jersey in a double blow to UAE and Pogacar. The Slovenian will wear the polka dot jersey on stage 2.
And on the morning of Sunday's stage, GC contender Cian Uijtdebroeks fears that UAE will control a hilly and punch Monjuic circuit to Pogacar a chance to take some time back on Vingegaard. Looking ahead to the stage for himself, the Belgian knows UAE will take Visma's yellow win seriously.
"The key is to stay as close as possible to the top players and hopefully make up some time," he told VTM NIEUWS.
He added: "I think UAE will want revenge; they won't have been laughing about yesterday."
Uijtdebroeks endures difficult opening stage
Uijtdebroeks was one of the big GC losers on stage 1 as he suffered in the hill zone to the finish line. He was dropped by his Movistar teammates and finished 1:53 behind Vingegaard in a disappointing performance.
After the stage, Uijtdebroeks confirmed after the stage that stage to Sporza just went wrong, pointing to the heat as the reason behind his difficult afternoon.
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“I already had cramps before I started the first climb,” he said. “The plan was for me to sprint to the finish, but of course that is difficult with cramps.”
The setback comes after a more encouraging build-up, including a solid showing at the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. However, on Saturday the demands were different: a fast team effort through the city, followed by a steep final section where any weakness became immediately visible. “If I lose a minute later, it will still be okay,” Uijtdebroeks added. “But the Tour is still long.”
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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- That's what a good leader do, give back to your mate. Congrats, Tadej and Isaac.
KerisVroom05-07-2026 - Vingegaard is wearing a medical mask against the virus, but the only virus he needs to worry about today is Pogačaritis, and even firefighting equipment won't help him, let alone a regular medical mask. Bring it on... GOOOOO POGIIIIIIIIII !!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
- My prediction: UAE will control tomorrow's stage then 2 days of rest... then they will control Tourmalet stage then 4 days of rest... then Lioran stage then 3 days of rest... then stage 14... but on stage 15 Visma will realize that they have already lost the Tour. OMG, it's so easy to be UAE's Directeur Sportif.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
- Yes, Tadej Pogacar was the fastest of the whole field through the final section of the course. As for Visma, yesterday they showed that they are the Team Sky of the modern era and Jonas is an even better version of Froome. They are by far the most professional team in the pro peloton and they deserved to win the TTT, but unfortunately for them, "Froome No.2" is racing against an alien.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
- Visma showed yesterday that they are the Team Sky of the modern era and even have a better version of Froome. They are by far the most professional team in the pro peloton and they deserved to win the TTT, but unfortunately for them, Froome No.2 is racing against an alien.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales05-07-2026
- Evenepoel is apparently still with Soudal-Quick Step according to this article.Ride197405-07-2026
- Perfect time for the UCI to ban ice-socks. Absolutely morally bankrupt organisation.antipodeanpedalfan05-07-2026
- Correct First major test will be the Pyrenees, not because the route here is scaring, on the contrary it is relative mild. However the pivotal denominator could be the excessive heat, on Tuesday the temperature on much of the route is forecasted to be around 40-44 degrees C. The TDF riders react very different to heat. Despite specific heat training and numerous cooling devices it is still the genes that eventually determines the individual physiological threshold for heat. From previously we already have data that signifies to what extend individual riders performance are related to excessive heat, including heat for several days in a row. Getting rid of body heat relies on your body surface area to mass ratio (BSA/mass). A higher ratio means more skin area per pound of body weight, making it easier to lose heat. Conversely, heavier individuals generate more metabolic heat but have less skin area to shed it, putting them at a biophysical disadvantage. Very exciting days ahead - watch the weather forecast.Jakob05-07-2026
- Given that he's not even riding for GC this Tour, I'd say he's not "overrated" - he's probably going to be used as a luxury domestique/road captain if he changes teams. I don't get the feeling that the cycling media has ever hyped him as being anything more than he is: a solid diesel climber/stage-getter who tend to get underrated by other teams until he nicks off in a breakaway and lands himself in the top 5 or higher. The fact that those doco series' followed him and made him look he was some sort of tantrum diva isn't really his fault. The guy is incredibly hard on himself, and his dry sense of humour/self-depreciating personality type doesn't seem to translate well - Jonas has the same problems with some of his statements - so I guess people can think what they want, but seems to me that there's a lot of severely over-hyped/delusional riders out there and he's not on that list.antipodeanpedalfan05-07-2026
- Visma has poked the bear.Cooldude05-07-2026
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