Adam Yates leads UAE's Giro d'Italia team as youth and experience combine in Italy

No Tadej Pogačar. No Isaac Del Toro. And now no João Almeida. UAE Team Emirates-XRG had pinned their hopes on the Portuguese climber to challenge Jonas Vingegaard at the Giro d'Italia, but illness has ruled Almeida out. The team must adapt. With a blend of experience and raw young talent, they call on Adam Yates make their mark in Italy.

Almeida was due to be Vingegaard's main challenger. A stubborn virus, however, refused to let go, and the decision was eventually made to pull him from the race. Leadership now falls primarily on the shoulders of Adam Yates, who lines up for his third Giro d'Italia.

He was there in 2017, finishing ninth. And in 2025, riding in service of race runner-up Isaac Del Toro and finishing twelfth overall — a day that ended with his brother Simon lifting the trophy.

Now it is Adam's turn to lead the charge. "I'm pretty happy with how my preparation for the Giro has gone," he said on the team's website. "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."

Yates is not the outright favourite for the overall. He knows it. "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," said the 33-year-old Brit.

Yates will not be the only rider with significant Giro experience in the squad. Marc Soler is also on the start list, a rider who has now completed 16 Grand Tours, although this will only be his second Giro. Mikkel Bjerg and Jhonatan Narváez also bring considerable Grand Tour know-how. Jay Vine rides his third Giro, and alongside Yates could form a dangerous partnership in the high mountains.

Beyond the experienced heads, UAE are fielding a distinctly youthful squad. Igor Arrieta returns to the Giro after an impressive debut last year. Jan Christen and António Morgado, meanwhile, will each be riding their first Grand Tour. The Swiss rider showed his class earlier this year — winning the AlUla Tour and finishing sixth at Strade Bianche — before Milan-San Remo brought his spring to a close. Morgado has had a strong spring of his own, and now steps into the unknown of three weeks of racing for the first time.