UAE's Rui Oliveira on the work Tadej Pogacar does for his teammates: "I am left speechless, because he is not expected to do that, and he does it anyway"
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates have the pleasure of having Tadej Pogacar lining up at the Giro d'Italia; leading the race, winning stages and even leading out his teammate Juan Sebastián Molano in the finale of stage 9. Rui Oliveira, who is supporting the Slovenian at the Giro, never ceases to be amazed at the race leader.
"Even though we have the best rider in the world, things are not that easy. Behind these 2 minutes and 40 seconds of advantage, we have been through a lot in 9 days," Oliveira said in an interview with Portugal Cycling Magazine. "You need to be very lucky, but obviously we also seek that luck, we seek to stay out of danger, and I think that, as a team, we have done an extraordinary job."
Thus far in 9 days of racing, Pogacar has not crashed (except for a minor tumble due to a puncture at the base of Oropa on stage 2), has not lost unnecessary time and always looked alive to the occasion. Without a doubt, the man to beat, but the Portuguese rider knows that nothing can be taken for granted: "I think these 2 minutes and 40 seconds are a good advantage, but they don’t mean anything. All it takes is one bad day, one crash, one puncture at a bad time, anything can happen."
"2, 3, 4, 5 minutes, we need to pay attention every day. That’s why we’re going with our feet on the ground and taking it easy, because there are still two weeks to go." Oliveira came to the Giro with the role of main leadout main for Juan Sebastián Molano, but it was Pogacar himself who served this purpose in Napoli.
As Oliveira struggled and was dropped in the finale, Pogacar put in a strong stint in the front of the peloton ahead of the finale which allowed the sprinters to battle for the triumph. "He is a champion, in every way! He has no obligation to do anything in the end, he just has to follow the main group, not waste time and save energy, but he is truly a champion... I am left speechless, because he is not expected to do that, and he does it anyway," Oliveira says of his teammate.
This is another factor that leads to confidence and commitment within the team to give everything they've got to equally help Pogacar conquer the pink jersey. "The only thing we can do for him is, in the other stages, give 200% for him, because honestly he deserves everything."
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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.
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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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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - 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
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