UAE Team Emirates - XRG is finally seeing daylight after a start to the season hampered by crashes. In that context, Tadej Pogacar regains a key piece for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix: the return to racing of Mikkel Bjerg.
The Dane reappeared on Friday after a long spell away from competition, just in time to begin sharpening his form for the immediate target: the Tour of Flanders.
Bjerg had been sidelined for nearly two months after his crash at the Tour Down Under, where he suffered fractures in his hand and acromioclavicular joint. Although he was back on the bike relatively quickly, he missed the start of the European campaign.
He returned at the E3 Saxo Classic, where he began to regain race rhythm after weeks focused on rehab and training.
A team under pressure
UAE has had to navigate an especially complicated start to the year. Bjerg’s absence was compounded by the crashes of Jay Vine and Jhonatan Narváez in Australia, as well as Tim Wellens’s heavy fall at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
This series of setbacks forced the team to adjust its planning, including race cancellations and the promotion of a rider from its development structure. A situation that, according to Bjerg himself, has created a certain sense of urgency within the group.
The Dane summed it up clearly before his return: when absences pile up, any delay in recovery becomes a bigger problem for those still racing.
Pogacar holds the line
Despite this backdrop, the team has maintained an extremely high competitive level, largely thanks to Pogacar’s form. The Slovenian has delivered heavyweight wins at Strade Bianche and Milano–Sanremo, propping up the squad in a delicate spell.
Even so, the return of riders like Bjerg was eagerly awaited within the setup, both for sporting balance and workload distribution.
With the Monuments underway, his comeback is a key reinforcement for a UAE side that needs to recover personnel to sustain its spring dominance.
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Carlos Silva is a writer for CyclingUpToDate.com, where he contributes race reports, interviews, analysis pieces, and live coverage of the international cycling calendar. Holding a degree in Sports from the Jean Piaget Institute, he combines academic knowledge of performance, training, and competition with hands-on journalism experience in professional cycling.
Throughout his career, Carlos has conducted interviews with leading figures in the sport, including Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodríguez, Óscar Pereiro, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro, Derek Gee, John Degenkolb and Geraint Thomas. These conversations reflect direct engagement with Grand Tour winners, Classics specialists, and emerging talents.
He has provided on-site coverage at major events ranging from the Vuelta a España to the Tour de France, alongside stage races such as Vuelta a Andalucía, Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Portugal and O Gran Camiño. Covering the mythical climbs of the Giro d'Italia remains one of his professional ambitions.
Carlos is responsible for liveblog coverage of all major WorldTour races and beyond, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. His reporting integrates verified data from ProCyclingStats to ensure statistical accuracy, contextual depth, and analytical precision.
A lifelong cycling enthusiast, he approaches storytelling across written, photographic, and video formats with a focus on credibility, tactical insight, and informed race interpretation.
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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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