"It really sucks to lose Brandon" - Tadej Pogacar loses another teammate and sees UAE collective fall due to illness
CyclingThursday, 23 July 2026 at 19:34
Stage 18 of the Tour de France saw the riders go back into the Alps, with a stage that didn't see differences created in the fight for the yellow jersey however. Tadej Pogacar enjoyed a calmer day, but the true worries come due to health. Today, Pogacar lost Brandon McNulty; whilst two other teammates are struggling.
A calmer day for Pogacar
"I expected something like this. Now we know that the breakaway will go all out from the start every day, and the riders in the top 10 of the general classification are worried about their positions, so that means we're more or less going all out throughout the race," Pogacar said in a post-race interview.
As is usual, the maillot jaune stayed watchful towards the head of the peloton during the breakaway formation phase of the race. He was quick to shut down a few moves, maintaining a high pace on the 11-kilometer ascent early on in the day.
As soon as the peloton began seeing groups go up the road with large gaps, Pogacar held himself back, and UAE saved up their bullets. The team didn't do much work to control the stage; with the peloton having Tudor, Pinarello and TotalEnergies to shut down the large gap that Richard Carapaz was gaining on his GC rivals.
Pogacar wasn't tested on the final climb, but he and Isaac del Toro looked healthy, not losing time to their rivals. On the other hand, several of their domestiques had a difficult day.
"It was a fairly calm day for me, but unfortunately, we lost Brandon [McNulty]. He was ill, and we wish him a speedy recovery," Pogacar lamented. "I hope he'll be fit enough to celebrate in Paris."
Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates - XRG at the 2026 Tour de France
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Tadej Pogacar loses key teammate in Brandon McNulty
McNulty was one of Pogacar's main support men for the mountain and hilly stages at the Tour; whilst Adam Yates and Tim Wellens also looked fragile. "It really sucks to lose Brandon because he's been such an important rider so far".
"I think Adam [Yates] is feeling better. He didn't need to do much on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, he really suffered a lot on the bike, but he was already feeling better. Tomorrow is a relatively good stage for Adam to survive and not expend too much energy, and I hope he'll be fit for Saturday because it will be important to have a strong team," the Slovenian continued.
On his side, if he escapes the gastrointestinal issues that are following the team, the overall victory is not far from assured. However with the developing situation at the UAE camp, no risks can be taken ahead of Saturday's queen stage.
"If the situation is like this, if the guys don't recover from their illness, then yes, I'll ride defensively. You never know what can happen, if you have to ride on instinct. But I'm hopeful that the team will be in good shape and that we'll survive these last few days of racing," he 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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- Well done Carapaz, always enjoy his attitude to racing in the mountainshammerheadhelmet23-07-2026
- first yates, now mcnulty and wellens; uae team not doing so well after the middle of the night drug tests but yeah, tell me about the virus going around.whkman23-07-2026
- Please quote the Pogačar haters. Thank you.RidesHills23-07-2026
- I really like Carapaz and it is superb that he has this win.RidesHills23-07-2026
- Stage win in Paris on Stage 21? That's more prestigious than the green jersey in my opinion. i'd rather see MvdP fight Pogi on the last stage like Wout did last yearmobk23-07-2026
- Didn't this site predict Carapaz for the win? So not too bad on the predictions. This seems like a stage that Kuss could have won, so not super farfetched. less sure about Simmonsmobk23-07-2026
- Cycling is a free spectator sport, where you can literally touch participants, how is that like any of the others? It’s good some are against those trying to kidnap it for their agendas.Mistermaumau23-07-2026
- Uncanny, what’s 20+25? So many similarities.Mistermaumau23-07-2026
- Goran Ivanišević was my favorite tennis player back in the day. Nothing like watching Goran bomb aces in Wimbledon. Was so happy when he won it in 2001.
PogiFan2Day23-07-2026 - I'm Croation, just like my parents and grandparents. Yes, I was born in Cleveland and lived there for 20 years, but now I've been living in Croatia, my home country, for 25 years. Liar Andrew is just like the French Pogi haters... he boo's and spits on his rivals. And yes, the american orange orangutan president is a "goat" literally... he belongs in the mountains, far away from civilization.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales23-07-2026
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