“We were told to ease off a little...” – Tim Wellens explains UAE’s puzzling Stage 9 pursuit at 2026 Tour de France
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates – XRG spent much of Stage 9 of the 2026 Tour de France driving a reduced peloton behind a powerful breakaway, despite the rolling finish in Ussel appearing poorly suited to Tadej Pogacar.
Tim Wellens has explained that UAE were instead trying to preserve a possible sprint for Isaac del Toro. Once other teams joined the chase, the yellow jersey’s team deliberately reduced its contribution.
“We wanted to keep it at one minute or a little more and see what happened,” Wellens explained after the stage to VTM Nieuws.
“At a certain point, we were told to ease off a little, and then other teams came through," he added. "I think we suffered less that way than we would have by setting the pace all day.”
Del Toro targeted after UAE miss breakaway
Stage 9 had been shortened from 185.5 to 155.5 kilometres after Correze was placed under a red heatwave alert. Temperatures around 37°C and approximately 2,800 metres of climbing still produced one of the hardest days of the opening week.
Repeated attacks followed the early intermediate sprint, eventually producing a 15-rider breakaway before Tom Pidcock bridged across alone. Further moves reduced the escape to eight, with Mathieu van der Poel, Pidcock, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Lennert Van Eetvelt among those who made the selection.
Wellens spent long spells setting the pace as the peloton was reduced to fewer than 40 riders. UAE repeatedly brought the gap back towards one minute, with Pogacar and Del Toro retaining considerably more support than several of their general classification rivals.
The team had initially considered placing Wellens and Brandon McNulty in the break. When neither made the decisive move, the plan shifted towards keeping Del Toro in contention.
“We were unsure before the start. Either Brandon [McNulty] and I would go in the breakaway, or we would sprint with Isaac,” Wellens said. “Once that break had gone, I said: ‘We’ll just ride at a steady tempo and perhaps we can still bring it back for Isaac.’”
Rival teams take over pursuit
UAE reduced the breakaway’s advantage to only 55 seconds at the top of the Cote de la Croix du Pey before easing its pursuit during the rolling final 50 kilometres.
INEOS then moved forward through Tobias Foss and Kevin Vauquelin. Filippo Ganna offered the team a possible route to victory, while Pidcock and Johannessen were threatening Egan Bernal’s position in the general classification.
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Lidl-Trek later committed fully to Mads Pedersen, dropping Quinn Simmons and Derek Gee-West back from the break to assist Carlos Verona in the chase. Their efforts cut the advantage towards 20 seconds, but only after Van der Poel had attacked on the Mont Bessou and forced the decisive four-rider selection.
Van der Poel beat Johannessen and Pidcock in the uphill sprint, while Del Toro crossed safely in the reduced peloton and retained third place overall.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Oy, don't insult girlsHills3312-11-2026
- lol yeah. this is a good onemij12-11-2026
- Mads is the best: I didn’t even know there were rules in cyclocross. I just thought it was a matter of: ‘Go, three, two, one, ride.’ It’s like a street fight, a kind of underground brawl. It’s the MMA of cycling he gives the best quotes.mij12-11-2026
- he's too young. he's 23, so not really a fair call yet.mij12-11-2026
- and don't forget Pidcock's departure. maybe he will never win a GT, but he knows how to light up a race.mij12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was going to say a 12 year obsessed Pogi fan girlie ! Like she's chasing a teen boy band! All glossy eyed about tadej!frieders312-11-2026
- That stint in the Pink was so good. If memory serves he struggled with the champagne cuz he'd never been on the podium before. I feel like it gave him some self-belief, and yeah - then the move to Visma to be one of their lieutenants has really brought him to the best version of himself.wrsty12-11-2026
- So, you never really compared Paul Seixas with his main rival Isaac Del Toro why jump to Pogačar? They've (Paul & Isaac) raced together here and there, and they've both shared in wins and losses, I think they should be compared to each other, even with Vingegaard and Remco first before even touching Pogačar. From your writing it's like he's better than Vingegaard, Remco and Del Toro already that his main target is now Pogačar 🤔Sadick11-11-2026
- gee i hope its a minor injury. a great rider and ambassador for the sport. get well soon Lucinda.
Davide11-11-2026 - some of lidl-treks retention and recruiting has been puzzling in the mens and womens teams.Davide11-11-2026
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