Tadej Pogačar is aiming for his fifth overall victory in the Tour de France this coming summer. After the seven wins of Lance Armstrong were stripped, the Slovenian world champion can equal the record holders Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, and Eddy Merckx. The UAE Emirates team leader already knows who he can count on in France.
WielerFlits pieced together the puzzle at the team presentation and uncovered the complete Tour squad around the defending champion. Although the official message was still TBC (to be confirmed), it quickly became clear which riders are provisionally selected for the Tour. Of course, that depends on form at the time and any (unexpected) injuries near the end of June, but normally the team already has the eight-man roster ready for La Grande Boucle.
UAE Emirates XRG has very few surprises in store. At the team presentation, it became clear that João Almeida will go as the leader to the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and therefore will not be supporting at the Tour de France, as he did the past two seasons. He is replaced by top talent Isaac Del Toro, who has been rewarded by team management for a strong 2025. He will also join the Tour as a 'protégé' of master Pogačar to learn the ropes.
Almeida out, Del Toro in. That is the only change the team management is making. The other six riders alongside Pogačar are the same athletes who helped him secure the yellow jersey in Paris last season: Jhonatan Narváez, Nils Politt, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Tim Wellens, and Adam Yates. Those last five were also part of the 2024 squad. For seven of the eight riders, the Tour is their first grand tour of the year. Yates will still ride the Giro d'Italia beforehand, while Marc Soler will compete later in the Vuelta a España.
