OFFICIAL | Tadej Pogacar makes season debut at Strade Bianche; Isaac del Toro, Jan Christen and Florian Vermeersch back him up
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates - XRG is heading to Strade Bianche a man down, as Tim Wellens has suffered a collarbone fracture; however you could hardly imagine a stronger lineup for the sterrato-focused one-day race. Tadej Pogacar is at the start line as the defending champion, and is joined by the growing Isaac del Toro in the lineup.
The Emirati team is going to be the absolute favourite to take the win in Siena this Saturday, with Pogacar being the two-time defending champion. The Slovenian is aiming for his fourth win in the Italian race, and this Thursday is also going to have his own name officially attached to the Colle Pinzuto sterrato sector, as he has won the event three times.
This will be Pogacar's first race of the season; but as has happened before, that by no means he will lack the form or race rhythm to fight for the win. He is the absolute favourite, with the likes of Tom Pidcock and Paul Seixas being the only riders expected to be in contention with the Slovenian.
"Strade is a race where I have unforgettable memories. My record there is pretty good and I hope that I will be in a good position again come Saturday. We expect there to be some strong rivals, the startlist is always at a high level for these big races and it should make things exciting for the fans".
“It is my first race of the season, and I hope to have a good start. I’ve been cheering on from the couch until now, so I’m excited to get stuck in myself again and finally race. The team has been on a good wave at the moment with many wins already and we hope to continue that over the next few races.”
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UAE Team Emirates - XRG for Strade Bianche 2026
Pogacar is joined by Isaac del Toro in the roads of Tuscany, the rider who blew up the Giro d'Italia last year on the 'mini Strade Bianche' stage. Without Pogacar, a strong victory contender on his own. In the specific circumstances, likely a luxury domestique, in a year where the two will team up at the Tour de France.
However Del Toro can perfectly fight for a place on the final podium, as UAE will, despite missing Tim Wellens who was third last year, be at the start with the strongest collective.
Florian Vermeersch is just off a podium at Omloop het Nieuwsblad where he launched the winning attack together with Mathieu van der Poel; whilst Jan Christen also showed tremendous form at the Ardèche classics.
Felix Grosschartner, Kevin Vermaerke and Domen Novak complete the lineup and will be tasked with working earlier in the day and delivering the teams' top riders in front towards the Monte Sante Marie sector, where the race has historically been blown to bits.
| Riders |
| Tadej Pogacar |
| Isaac del Toro |
| Jan Christen |
| Felix Grossschartner |
| Domen Novak |
| Florian Vermeersch |
| Kevin Vermaerke |
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.
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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)...
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- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
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We’re ready to take on the white roads of Tuscany 🇮🇹 World Champion @TamauPogi makes his 2026 season debut at @StradeBianche, leading a strong UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad into Siena as he looks to defend his title. Meet our squad: 🇸🇮 @TamauPogi 🇲🇽 @ISAACDELTOROx1 🇨🇭 Jan
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