UAE Emirates unveils strong Strade roster around Tadej Pogacar, including another potential winner

Tadej Pogacar knows his teammates for the upcoming Saturday, as the Strade Bianche is back on the calendar. The Slovenian defending champion cannot count on Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez – who are currently sidelined – but the UAE Emirates XRG lineup still looks very strong.

Although he hasn’t raced a single meter in 2026 yet, that doesn’t have to be a problem for Tadej Pogačar. The same was true in 2023 and 2024, when he delivered solo efforts of 36 kilometers (Clásica Jaén 2023) and 82 kilometers (Strade Bianche 2024) respectively in his season debuts. Moreover, he has won three of the last four editions of this classic over the sterrati.

His biggest ‘rival’ on paper might even come from his own team. With Isaac Del Toro, UAE Emirates XRG has another potential winner in its ranks. The 22-year-old Mexican sensation has yet to place higher than 33rd in this classic but possesses the qualities to shine on the unpaved gravel roads, as he showed last year in the Strade stage of the Giro d’Italia.

The question is only how the roles within UAE Emirates XRG will be divided, and whether Del Toro will get the freedom to do his own thing. Within the UAE Emirates team, watch out also for Florian Vermeersch (third in the recent Omloop Het Nieuwsblad) and Jan Christen (already winner of the AlUla Tour this year).

The squad is completed by Pogacar’s right-hand man Domen Novak, the experienced Austrian climber Felix Großschartner, and American Kevin Vermaerke.