“It's a slightly different atmosphere” - UAE camp forced to adapt after disastrous start to 2026 Giro d’Italia, admits Mikkel Bjerg
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates - XRG are no longer trying to execute the Giro d’Italia plan they brought to Bulgaria. After the Stage 2 crash removed Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler from the race, the team’s surviving riders have been forced into a rapid reset as the Giro reaches Italy.
For Mikkel Bjerg, that means looking at the route in a different way. Instead of riding purely in service of a general classification leader, the Dane now sees opportunities to chase stages himself, admitting that the mood inside the UAE camp has inevitably changed after a brutal opening weekend.
“It’s a slightly different atmosphere than it usually is on the first rest day,” Bjerg told TV 2 Sport, reflecting on the impact of a crash that has transformed UAE’s Giro almost before the race has properly reached Italian roads.
“I think we have tried to look ahead and look at the opportunities that will hopefully come in the coming weeks,” the Dane added with optimism.
UAE forced into Giro reset after losing Yates, Vine and Soler
The scale of UAE’s setback is difficult to overstate. Yates had started the race as one of the team’s main general classification cards, while Vine and Soler both offered climbing depth, tactical flexibility and stage-winning potential across the three weeks.
All three were removed from the race after the mass crash on Stage 2, leaving UAE with a drastically reduced squad and a very different set of priorities. The team still has quality in the race, but its approach has had to change almost overnight.
Bjerg made that clear when asked how UAE now move forward. “We have to go out and hunt stages,” he said. “I had already looked through the whole route book, but being allowed to look through it again with new eyes... yes, it is a bit different from what I have done in recent years.”
That final point is important. Bjerg has so often been used as one of UAE’s strongest engines, a rider tasked with controlling races, protecting leaders and positioning others before the decisive moments. In this Giro, circumstance may force him into a more open role.
Just five riders remain for UAE at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
“I have found some places where I can try to make a difference myself”
The loss of Yates, Vine and Soler does not mean UAE will disappear from the race. If anything, the remaining riders may now be given more freedom than originally planned, particularly on the rolling and transition stages where breakaways could play a major role.
Bjerg suggested he has already started identifying those windows. “Because of a support role, it is a bit different from what I have done in recent years,” he explained. “But I think I have found some places where I can try to make a difference myself.”
That is likely to become the new UAE theme in this Giro. The team no longer has the same general classification weight, but it still has riders capable of shaping stages, disrupting race patterns and turning a damaged campaign into something more productive.
For Bjerg, the challenge now is not only physical but tactical. UAE’s Giro has changed, and the riders left in the race have to change with it. The route book has not altered, but the way they read it now certainly has.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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