Not Sivakov or Soler - UAE have chosen on their final Tour de France climber to support Tadej Pogacar
Cycling
On Monday most of the teams that have not yet announced their lineups for the upcoming Tour de France will do so, and amongst the team to beat there will be a change. Felix Grosschartner is set to take the final spot in the team, ahead of other names that have proven themselves as great domestiques for Tadej Pogacar.
A question left unresolved
This decision has been up in the air all year long, and mostly due to one big reason: The Giro d'Italia crash. Adam Yates fell and suffered a concussion; but above all Marc Soler - both lined up for the Tour - suffered a femur fracture which would not allow him to recover on time for the Tour.
Pavel Sivakov, part of the lineup in previous years and a valuable domestique for the World Champion, was not given the position - which could potentially be related to his reported departure towards Decathlon CMA CGM Team next year.
This made the decision process an interesting topic, that did not have a clear answer. The likes of Mikkel Bjerg and Jhonatan Narváez rode the Giro but would fit in well in the block, but at the same time so did Felix Grossschartner.
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According to Gazzetta dello Sport's Ciro Scognamiglio, the decision was made to call up the Austrian for the Tour. At the end of the day, a logic decision taking into consideration the results he has achieved before.
He was only part of Pogacar's Tour crew on one occasion, back in 2023. But the 32 year old's level continues to grow by the year and he has served in domestique roles for other team leaders at UAE since. Despite being a supporter all year round, he has achieved some meaningful results of his own.
He was Top10 at the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana and the Figueira Champions Classic early in the year; he was third on the opening time trial of Itzulia Basque Country behind only Paul Seixas and Kévin Vauquelin; and at the recent Tour de Suisse he finished 16th on GC despite being the man that guided Pogacar through the queen stage. This past week he won the Austrian time trial national championship and finished second in the road race.
With 11 Grand Tours under his belt - and racing one every year without exception since 2017 - he is the rider who will complete the team, which is to be announced soon.
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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.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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