“The only question mark could have been the heat” - UAE DS answers lingering Tadej Pogacar doubt ahead of 2026 Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar’s Tour de Suisse dominance did not only confirm his form before the 2026 Tour de France. For UAE Team Emirates - XRG, it also answered one of the few questions still hanging over their leader before what could become an unusually punishing July.

Pogacar won three stages and the overall title in Switzerland, returning from altitude with the same authority he has shown across much of the season. With extreme heat already emerging as a major concern before the Tour, UAE sports director Marco Marcato believes the Slovenian’s performance in Swiss conditions offered more than another show of strength. “The only question mark could have been adaptation to the heat,” Marcato told Bici.Pro. “But we saw that he did not suffer from that aspect either.”

Heat has often been treated as one of the few possible variables around Pogacar in Grand Tours. The Slovenian has built one of the most complete racing profiles in the peloton, but the Tour can still punish even the strongest riders when long climbs, exposed roads and repeated days of high temperatures combine.

That concern has sharpened ahead of the 2026 edition. Recent heatwaves in France have pushed rider safety back into focus, while the riders’ union has called for earlier starts during periods of extreme heat. UAE’s own reading is more performance-specific: Pogacar has now shown he can come down from altitude, race immediately, and handle the heat at the same time.

“Exactly, but he has matured a lot from that point of view as well,” Marcato said when it was put to him that Pogacar had not historically been known as a rider who particularly enjoyed extreme heat. “In the early years he suffered from it more, while today we as a team have also improved in managing all aspects linked to hydration and cooling the body.”

“In my opinion, that is the most encouraging sign,” Marcato continued. “Despite the heat and despite coming from altitude, Pogacar was immediately competitive.”

Marcato also dismissed any suggestion that Pogacar may have reached top condition too early. After the spring classics, Pogacar stopped racing, returned to altitude and came back exactly where UAE expected him to be.

“In the end, we already knew everything about Tadej,” said Marcato. “After the Classics he stopped, worked at altitude and returned to racing as we had planned. He is used to this kind of approach: even if he goes without racing for a period, when he comes back he is immediately ready.”

Physically, Marcato said Pogacar has moved from his Classics build towards his Grand Tour version, leaning out after altitude work focused on longer climbs and endurance. The remaining margin, he suggested, is tiny. “Maybe he is still missing something, but we are really talking about two or three hundred grams, perhaps half a kilo,” he said. “He will lose that naturally in this final altitude phase.”

UAE also came away encouraged by Pogacar’s time trial work. He beat Mathieu van der Poel by only a narrow margin in Switzerland, but Marcato argued the course did not particularly suit Pogacar, especially with its descending and technical finale. “No, that time trial gives us confidence,” he said. “It shows that the work done against the clock has been excellent.”

Pogacar’s individual condition is only part of the picture. UAE have also tested their wider Tour group across the Tour de Suisse and the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, with Marcato satisfied by what he saw from both selections.

“The Tour de Suisse and the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes were two important tests to understand where we were after the altitude camps,” he said. “From that point of view too, I feel I can say we are ready.”

The only small area Marcato identified for improvement was tactical management when strong breakaways form. He referenced the stage won by Romain Gregoire in Switzerland, when a large, high-quality move went clear and UAE were left with a difficult chase as the team everyone expected to control the race. “There was also one stage where we were without race radio for around fifteen minutes,” Marcato added. “If you do not have information, it is impossible to give precise instructions to the riders.”

Even there, the mood inside UAE appears calm rather than concerned. Marcato pointed to Jhonatan Narvaez’s stage victory as an example of the team using options beyond simply controlling everything for Pogacar, and said the Slovenian took real pleasure in seeing a teammate win.

“I can tell you that on that day, Tadej was almost happier with his victory than he would have been with one of his own,” said Marcato. “He is a guy who is very attentive to these aspects, and that helps make his teammates like him.”

Marcato described the build-up as one of the best he can remember, with no setbacks, a confident leader and a strong team around him. For a Tour already surrounded by extreme-heat warnings, UAE’s message is a pointed one: the condition that might have exposed a weakness has instead strengthened their belief that Pogacar is exactly where he needs to be.