INTERVIEW | "I think it was quite unfair" - Rui Oliveira on Tour of Slovenia's controversial relegation; being Pogacar's domestique

Rui Oliveira begins his 2026 season still without a pro win to his name. The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider, after six full years with the team, crossed the line at the Tour of Slovenia and raised his arms for the first time since turning pro in 2019, but was unjustly relegated in his opinion. In Benidorm, he has discussed this, his 2026 calendar in which he will team up with Tadej Pogacar, and more.

Short and to the point, the 29-year old tells CyclingUpToDate and TopCycling where he will race in the spring of 2026: "Yes, they already gave me the schedule. I'm going to do Mallorca, just for the last day (Trofeo Palma, ed.). Then I'm going to Figueira [Champions Classic] and [Volta ao] Algarve. In Algarve I already have a chance [for myself]. And then it's the classics, Opening Weekend (Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, ed.). Then I'm going to race Nokere [Koerse] and [GP de] Denain in which I also want to perform well. And then I'm going to the most important, Gent [Wevelgem], [Tour of] Flanders and [Paris] Roubaix". 

A busy spring, built around the one-day races. It does not come as a surprise, taking into consideration Oliveira is a strong rouleur, an experienced domestique capable of positioning his leaders even in the most tense situations; but also carries a strong sprinting power which can allow him to aim for strong results in bunch finishes.

Amongst these races are both Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, which is a meaningful achievement in a team that is packed with strong riders, capable of leading rival teams if they were not at UAE. In 2024 he became an Olympic Champion on the track, and in 2025 he continued to improve and show a great level. So the team opts to have him take on the season with a similar plan. This includes no Grand Tours, and a lot of partnering with Juan Sebastián Molano, the team's only main sprinter.

"Yes, we're going to keep the plan. The Grand Tours have had many climbs and there are few opportunities for sprints. Maybe you lose three months of preparation between training camps, races and rest, to have maybe six opportunities," he argues.

"As we are not many sprinters, it's just Molano and I have to be with him, we choose to try again to do more races, at a lower level, but to try to win. Both me and him, when I have opportunities. So, we're going to stick to this plan". Recently on social media, a clip circulated of the two sprinting side-by-side. But Oliveira doesn't believe his pure sprint is necessarily stronger.

"Pure sprints, I don't think so. And that's not my goal either. I want to be able to do a little bit of everything. But yes, this year already for many months that I'm betting on this part of the sprint. In this season, although we haven't achieved many victories, I felt much better in my role as a leadout, much more confident and I know that I'm one of the best at doing that.

"This year I chose to gain a little more weight. I've been working for a few months, even since the end of the season, in muscle mass. I've gained some weight, I've gained more strength and I've already noticed some results, even at the beginning of the pre-season. So, I'm confident".

Oliveira's season of course was marked by the events of the Tour of Slovenia, where on stage 2 he was part of the winning breakaway, and sprinted to victory. However, he did not get to keep it, as he was later relegated after a protest from Fabio Christen. This would've been his first pro win, something he continues to look for to this day. The decision to relegate Oliveira was also highly contested on social media at the time.

"I think they wanted to, perhaps, favour the smaller team (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, ed.) and, perhaps, looking at the victories we already had... They didn't think about the athlete, but they thought about the team that was already winning a lot and, perhaps, they saw an opportunity there," is how the 29-year old sees it.

"Fabio [Christen] protested and, perhaps so as not to harm the smaller teams, they harmed the bigger teams. But in my case I'm in the bigger team but I haven't had a victory yet, so I think it was a little ungrateful and I think it was a little unfair, because I think I didn't do anything that..."

"I think, no, I'm sure I didn't do anything that harmed his sprint. When I'm going to pass him I do a slight deviation, but that's not enough and he will also know that it's not enough, because I was already passing him, that was a slight descent... So, there was never going to be a way for him to pass me on that sprint again, because I was already in advantage, with more speed".

But the jury made up its mind, and the rider did not get to keep what would be a very meaningful triumph.

"So, I think it was a matter of... I think he didn't think about it, perhaps he was upset because he knew he was going to lose and he saw that slight deviation and raised his hand. So, I think it was quite unfair. But we have to move on".

Only a few days later though, he would get to see his brother Ivo win the final stage in Slovenia. Ivo took a major leap in performance this year, winning four races inlcuding the Portuguese national championships. "Yes, he had already spent a few years, a lot of years, in the World Tour, already from the beginning, with some falls and perhaps he could never show that value that he really has."

"And I think that this year, which was 2025, he unlocked it and, finally - also with the team giving him more opportunities - looking for those opportunities, really showed who he is, that he's here to win races and not just work. And, of course, there is a lot more motivation for me to raise my level and if there is an obstacle, I tackle it. I think it's good for both of us".

And the two remain with UAE, although they enter contract year now. "Yes, every year that has passed, I have felt more and more at home, more and more calm. I feel I can make a career here. Obviously, it depends on many factors, but every year that goes by, I feel better and better, stronger and stronger. I have felt an evolution. So, I feel pretty calm here. It will depend on a lot of things, but I hope to continue improving". 

As Ivo, he goes into 2026 with high ambitions: "Yes, it is still one of the goals, to be national champion, but yes, of course I would agree with that (Oliveira means he would take it, if it was an hypothetical scenario for 2026, ed.). I don't know if I agree with just a victory, I have the ambition to do more, and I think I am quite motivated. I think next year will be the year that I will give my all".

However, crashes have hampered his 2025, and he is hoping that the same doesn't happen once again next year: "I think I improved a bit in everything, today I had a bit of bad luck, with a rib that I fractured in a stupid crash at Tirreno [Adriatico], that made me unable to be available for the classics, I was preparing for that for a month. In the meantime I managed to recover well, and I won that stage in Slovenia, that was then removed"

"But yes, I also had a fall in Hungary, which limited me a bit, so I had some moments when I was getting better, and something happened to me. In this case I had these two falls, also in China (at the Tour of Guangxi, ed.), I was quite motivated to finish the season, I was in my best shape, I was quite motivated to do sprints against big riders there, and then I had these falls that left marks".

With a demanding schedule, and surrounded by a team that is setting records left and right, led by Tadej Pogacar, there is certainly pressure to perform, but this also brings out the best of many riders. His improvement his notable.

"But everything happened normally, I think I improved a lot in everything, in my way of racing, in my physique, I think I'm improving more and more, so it's with this thought that I'm going to the next stage, to try to win, and I know that eventually I will".

CyclingUpToDate can now confirm that all of UAE's Portuguese block lives in Andorra, but Oliveira shares his training between the European micro-state and his roads back home. We've asked him what his favourite training grounds in Portugal are.

"When I'm in Portugal, I like to train in my area, because it's the area I know, maybe now there's a little more traffic, but in the area. Not in Porto, but in the area of the Douro [river], a lot in riverside, that's where I like to train," he answers. "Serra da Freita, also Arouca are my places of choice".

Lastly, he shares that he also hasn't done an altitude camp back home since leaving for UAE, but did do so back in his under-23 days. "Yes, I don't know if you can consider the altitude camo, it was in Serra da Estrela at about 1500 meters of altitude. When we were there, it was around 2018, the last year in Portugal, there aren't many more places to do, it's there or it's not, but it was the last time".