Tadej Pogacar resists the urge to attack on stage 6 of the 2025 UAE Tour: "To be honest, I got bored"
CyclingSaturday, 22 February 2025 at 15:30
Tadej Pogacar made headlines all around the world Friday as he spent the majority of stage 5 of the 2025 UAE Tour on the attack and in the breakaway, despite holding the overall race lead. On stage 6 this Saturday, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader was much quieter.
In the end, Tim Merlier sprinted to his second stage win in as many days ahead of Jasper Philipsen and Jonathan Milan. Whilst Pogacar spent the day safely in the bunch this time though, the Slovenian wasn't exactly happy to be riding so quietly. “Today I kept calm and didn’t try to break away. To be honest, I got bored, like probably most of the group today at some point," reflected Pogacar in his post-stage interview afterwards.
"That’s also part of cycling. I tried to look around and admire the city, but you always have to stay focused to avoid a crash," continues the world champion, who is now just one day away from starting his 2025 with a GC win in the UAE. "The UAE Tour is the home race for the team, so it’s an honor for me to ride here and fight for the win tomorrow in Jebel Hafeet. I like this red jersey!”
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Stage 6 - 2025 UAE Tour
| 1 | Merlier Tim | Soudal Quick-Step | 03:44:14 |
| 2 | Philipsen Jasper | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 3 | Milan Jonathan | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 4 | Walscheid Max | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 5 | Jakobsen Fabio | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 6 | Rajovic Dusan | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 7 | Skerl Daniel | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 8 | Zanoncello Enrico | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 9 | Welsford Sam | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 10 | De Schuyteneer Steffen | Lotto | + 00 |
| 11 | Bauhaus Phil | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 12 | Thijssen Gerben | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 13 | Pedersen Rasmus Søjberg | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 14 | Cimolai Davide | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 15 | Kogut Oded | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 16 | de Kleijn Arvid | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 17 | McLay Daniel | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 18 | Lund Andresen Tobias | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 19 | Consonni Simone | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 20 | Zijlaard Maikel | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 21 | Pasqualon Andrea | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 22 | Pollefliet Gianluca | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 23 | Fortin Filippo | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 24 | Rickaert Jonas | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 25 | van Poppel Danny | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 26 | Van Hoecke Gijs | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 27 | Kajamini Florian | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 28 | Raisberg Nadav | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 29 | Swift Ben | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 30 | Tarling Joshua | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 31 | Gonzalez Roberto | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 32 | Conforti Lorenzo | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 33 | van der Meulen Max | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 34 | Côté Pier-André | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 35 | Fiorelli Filippo | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 36 | Lecerf Junior | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 37 | Quartucci Lorenzo | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 38 | Goossens Kobe | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 39 | Van Lerberghe Bert | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 40 | Theuns Edward | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 41 | Ciccone Giulio | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 42 | Reinders Elmar | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 43 | Pogacar Tadej | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 00 |
| 44 | Steinhauser Georg | EF Education-EasyPost | + 00 |
| 45 | Romeo Iván | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 46 | Petilli Simone | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 47 | Colleoni Kevin | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 48 | Lemmen Bart | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 49 | Thompson Reuben | Lotto | + 00 |
| 50 | Fisher-Black Finn | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 51 | Castrillo Pablo | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 52 | Rubio Einer | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 53 | Riccitello Matthew | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 54 | Lutsenko Alexey | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 55 | Currie Logan | Lotto | + 00 |
| 56 | Kepplinger Rainer | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 57 | Pinarello Alessandro | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 58 | Vermeersch Florian | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 00 |
| 59 | Armirail Bruno | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 60 | Vine Jay | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 00 |
| 61 | Onley Oscar | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 62 | Van der Sande Tosh | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 63 | Palzer Anton | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 64 | Tejada Harold | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 65 | Zwiehoff Ben | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 66 | Barta William | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 67 | Su Haoyu | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 68 | Bilbao Pello | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 69 | Træen Torstein | Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 70 | Ghys Robbe | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 71 | Dillier Silvan | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 72 | Wilksch Hannes | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 73 | Konrad Patrick | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 74 | Mackellar Alastair | EF Education-EasyPost | + 00 |
| 75 | Storer Michael | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 76 | Van Eetvelt Lennert | Lotto | + 00 |
| 77 | Chaves Esteban | EF Education-EasyPost | + 00 |
| 78 | Gregaard Jonas | Lotto | + 00 |
| 79 | Bouchard Geoffrey | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 80 | Moro Manlio | Movistar Team | + 00 |
| 81 | Froome Chris | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 82 | Bissegger Stefan | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 83 | Mullen Ryan | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 00 |
| 84 | Gall Felix | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | + 00 |
| 85 | Eenkhoorn Pascal | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 86 | Rootkin-Gray Jack | EF Education-EasyPost | + 00 |
| 87 | Pinazzi Mattia | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 88 | Hirt Jan | Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 89 | Taminiaux Lionel | Lotto | + 00 |
| 90 | Mezgec Luka | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 91 | Pedersen Casper | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 92 | Sbaragli Kristian | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 93 | Krieger Alexander | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 94 | Hoole Daan | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 95 | Märkl Niklas | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 96 | Edmondson Alex | Team Picnic PostNL | + 00 |
| 97 | Kolze Changizi Sebastian | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 00 |
| 98 | Djuric Djordje | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 99 | Samudio Carlos | Solution Tech-Vini Fantini | + 00 |
| 100 | Kuypers Gerben | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 101 | Carthy Hugh | EF Education-EasyPost | + 54 |
| 102 | Tarozzi Manuele | VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè | + 00 |
| 103 | Ghebreigzabhier Amanuel | Lidl-Trek | + 00 |
| 104 | Donaldson Robert | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 105 | Durbridge Luke | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 00 |
| 106 | Bastiaens Ayco | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 107 | Cerný Josef | Soudal Quick-Step | + 00 |
| 108 | Petit Adrien | Intermarché-Wanty | + 00 |
| 109 | Van Der Lee Jardi | EF Education-EasyPost | + 54 |
| 110 | Kielich Timo | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 01:12 |
| 111 | Maciejuk Filip | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 01:25 |
| 112 | Herregodts Rune | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 01:39 |
| 113 | Bjerg Mikkel | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 01:39 |
| 114 | Debruyne Ramses | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 01:39 |
| 115 | Heiduk Kim | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 116 | Rodriguez Carlos | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 117 | Leonard Michael | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 118 | Castroviejo Jonathan | INEOS Grenadiers | + 00 |
| 119 | Kluckers Arthur | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 01:56 |
| 120 | Behrens Niklas | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 01:56 |
| 121 | Gate Aaron | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 122 | Novak Domen | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 02:01 |
| 123 | Leijnse Enzo | Team Picnic PostNL | + 02:07 |
| 124 | van den Berg Julius | Team Picnic PostNL | + 02:07 |
| 125 | Schelling Ide | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
| 126 | Price-Pejtersen Johan | Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 02:28 |
| 127 | Malucelli Matteo | XDS Astana Team | + 00 |
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- ugh. slice and dice this any way you like. if you’re one of the belgians TRYING to believe wout is going to be in the fight at de ronde and roubaix, this is an ice cold dose of reality. my opinion is that nobody — ESPECIALLY his own team — should have been fanning any expectations of wout at this point after what he’s endured.OCexile02-04-2025
- I guess when you’re high, you don’t (need to) focus on anything ;-)Mistermaumau02-04-2025
- True but things also change, Primoz will get older, Remco crashes, MJ isn’t peaking yet and people can improve their weaknesses faster than others improve their strengths, cf MVDP climbing, JV TTing.Mistermaumau02-04-2025
- Sorry, yeah doesn’t look great but it seems all the recent context gets completely ignored in order to make a big story out of this. Honestly, did anyone at this point really expect Wout to suddenly have recovered all his missing form? Respect to Powless but he’s no nobody, his 2022-2023 presaged something like this. Yes they messed up but it also nearly worked, impossible to know how good your opponent is going to be in such a situation unkess it’s an in form Pog or MVDP. I’d not see this as a disaster but a really bad call, there are positives, they distanced a very strong 2nd group (Mads might be saving himself though) and Wout was very close to a place he’s not heen in a long time. I’d call that progress. Only a few meters would have led to completely different headlines. Why make everything so boack and white? Wout obviously understands and it is in part everyone putting all that pressure on him that led to him making a bad call. That said, had he let his mates go for the win (no guarantee either) héd have received different criticism.Mistermaumau02-04-2025
- Pogi is just had 9 days of racing.
James2631802-04-2025 - I’d advise doing brain scans during max efforts, you never know, he may be having micro blackouts without realising it at the time and with a crash you tend not to remember it after either. Like when you nod off a split second while driving, or realise you can’t remember any details from the last few km.Mistermaumau02-04-2025
- I can't believe what I just saw. Reminds me of Ian Stannard beating 3 Quickstep riders in Omloop. Not sure what's going on with Wout. Maybe just needs more time, but he has not looked great since that Vuelta crash.Pedalmasher02-04-2025
- They wanted Wout to win so they chose a losing tacticsvappaxbipmv02-04-2025
- Well that sure didn't look good for Visma. After all that. Wow.RidesHills02-04-2025
- I disagree. Jorgensen has a worst TT than Remco or Roglic, on any terrain, and is worse in the mountainsvappaxbipmv02-04-2025