In the absence of Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro and João Almeida, Adam Yates will lead UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the Giro d’Italia, with a mix of other experienced and talented other riders chasing stage victories.
Pogačar and del Toro will lead UAE at the Tour de France, while Almeida is out of action due to a lingering virus that disrupted his spring.
33-year-old Yates made his Giro debut back in 2017 and has seven top-ten Grand Tour finishes on his palmares, and UAE will be hoping he can give the team at least another podium finish after Pogačar’s victory in 2024, Almeida’s third-place finish in 2023 and Isaac del Toro’s runner-up spot last year.
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Yates will have the support of Australia’s Jay Vine, Igor Arrieta, Mikkel Bjerg, Jhonatan Narváez, Marc Soler and talented Grand Tour debutants Jan Christen and António Morgado.
Yates has won stages at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España in recent seasons with UAE, with only a stage win in Italy missing from his palmares.
“Not having João Almeida will change our strategy slightly, but we still have big ambitions and still want to go for results. Personally, I feel like the shape is good and if things go our way we can have a good crack at the GC and animate the race,” Yates said when UAE confirmed their final line-up.
“I’m pretty happy with how my preparation for the Giro has gone. The win in O Gran Camiño was a good tester and I’ve had a solid block with the team in Sierra Nevada, so I think as a group we’re ready.”
Jay Vine is the Australian national time trial champion, and will target the time trial stage on the Tuscan coast and test his Grand Tour form after his disrupted spring following his kangaroo crash at the Tour Down Under. Vine won three stages at the 2025…
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