“The media noise is very hard on the team” - UAE DS on the struggles of handling three leaders and claims of an internal dispute

Cycling
Friday, 07 August 2026 at 14:30
Paula Blasi 2
The tension shadowing Paula Blasi during this Tour de France Femmes remains one of the focal points within UAE Team L'IMAD. The young Spanish rider, one of the team’s revelations, has had to carry extra pressure in a squad with two clearly defined leaders: Dominika Wlodarczyk and Elisa Longo Borghini.

Two clear leaders from the start 

At the start of stage six, sports director Cherie Pridham spoke to Eurosport and stressed that, despite the noise around Blasi and the differing interpretations of her role, the team’s objectives have not changed since the Tour began.
“We have always been clear about our leaders from the start, Dominika and Elisa. That has never been different,” Pridham explained, while also acknowledging that there is still an opening for Blasi in the race. “Of course, we can see an opportunity for Paula,” she added.
Her comments follow Blasi’s own admission that, at times, it is difficult to get the more experienced riders to work for her precisely because of her youth. A situation which, according to the Spaniard, can create frustration when she believes she has a chance to fight for a major result.
Elisa Longo Borghini is currently fourth at the Tour de France Femmes
Elisa Longo Borghini is currently fourth at the Tour de France Femmes 

The UAE Team director defends harmony on the women’s team bus

Pridham, however, offered a different take and sought to defuse any sense of internal conflict. The British director highlighted the riders’ unity and insisted the atmosphere on the bus is good, despite the demands of a race like the Tour.
“The girls are united and share the team’s objective,” she said. For Pridham, having three riders in the top ten of the standings proves the strategy is working and that everyone is keeping their chances alive.
The director also addressed the impact of the media spotlight on Blasi. “She is taking everything into her own hands, all the noise with the media, and all of that is very hard for all of us, for the whole team,” she acknowledged. That exposure, Pridham added, has forced the team to manage an unusual situation during an already extremely demanding race.
Far from seeing that pressure as a sign of fracture, Pridham believes it is part of what it means to compete at the Tour de France. “They deal with the media in a very different way and that is something else we have had to manage. But this is the Tour de France, so we expect it,” she noted.
With three riders in the top 10, UAE Team L'IMAD enters the second half of the race with its goals intact. Wlodarczyk and Longo Borghini remain the key references, but Blasi still has the door open to seize any opportunity. Today's stage into Mont Ventoux should further solidify the overall classification.
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