Segregated UAE team heads into the Tour de France finale with sickness worries: 'We’re mostly healthy'

On Wednesday, during the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France, we saw Adam Yates struggling badly. It turned out he was sick. At UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the team of yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar, there are major concerns heading into the final stretch of the Tour de France. Team manager Mauri Gianetti and key domestique Tim Wellens commented on the situation.

A sad and lonely sight, as Adam Yates dropped back and trailed far behind on Stage 17. UAE let Tim Wellens drop back, allowing the Brit to simply make it to the finish. “Fortunately, Adam is feeling better today,” Gianetti told Sporza on Thursday morning.

"His stomach problems are practically behind him. He does feel a bit weak, though, because he didn't eat yesterday, of course. He knows it's going to be tough, but on Friday and Saturday he should still be able to perform at about 90 percent of his capacity. It’s good that we stayed with him yesterday, because mountain stages await on Friday and Saturday, and his role will be very important then,” said the team manager.

Was Yates alone in his room last night? “We’ve isolated him, but not the rest of the team. And Tadej and our team spirit are doing well. Just listen to the atmosphere on our bus,” Gianetti said, referring to the music coming from the bus. So it seems like nothing more than a few minor concerns.

Wellens agreed to some extent. “We’re mostly healthy.” But he also added: “Adam isn’t doing so well, and I’m not feeling too great myself either. I have a sore throat, I’m congested, and I’m not feeling my best. But more than half of our team is still in top form,” he said, sounding somewhat uncertain.

What exactly is the situation like at the hotel? “Everyone has their own room anyway, and on the bus, the healthy and sick riders are separated. We also eat in our rooms so as not to infect the other riders. Only the sick riders have eaten separately,” explained the Belgian rider.

And what about the team leader himself, actually? “Tadej still looks really good,” Wellens assured us. Pogačar also had a laugh about it in the mixed zone before the start of Stage 18: “There’s a better chance I’ll get sick from talking to you guys than from riding uphill among all the fans. But I’m not worried in my team bubble, no.”