Tadej Pogačar's team reveal plan for final week of Tour de France – and it's different to what's come before
Visma-Lease a Bike are expected to strike in the final three days, but UAE Team Emirates have their strategy set


Until now, whenever there's been mountains or rolling terrain in the Tour de France, UAE Team Emirates have gone on the offensive, eager to give Tadej Pogačar the biggest possible lead in the yellow jersey.
And it's worked: at the race's second rest day, the Slovenian has an advantage of 3:09 to the defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, having already won three stages, the same number of stages that have been won by the breakaway.
But things are set to change in the final six days, with UAE Team Emirates prepared to let more breakaways go the distance, dampening some expectations that Pogačar might emulate his tally of six stage wins at May's Giro d'Italia.
As well as Pogačar sitting at the top of the pile, UAE have two other riders in the top-10 of the general classification: João Almeida in fourth, and Adam Yates, third last year, in seventh.
Asked by CW if the team would ride more conservatively in the third and final week, Almeida said: "Definitely. We have a really good gap, we don’t have to attack anymore, and we can just follow the wheel.
"Maybe some breakaways can go so other teams can also have a chance. Of course, if there is a good stage for us and Tadej wants to win, then of course we can go for it, but I think we can be a bit more chill now."
That shouldn't be construed as Pogačar's team taking their foot off the gas, though. "Of course we have to always keep the focus, like we have always been doing," added Almeida, riding his first Tour. "Six stages to go and it only ends in Nice, and anything can happen until there. The Tour is not won at all, we need to be focused."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Matxin Fernández, UAE's sports manager, said that "I am convinced" that Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike team would attempt something audacious to try and steal the yellow jersey off Pogačar.
"We expect attacks, we expect movements, but we have confidence in Tadej and the team," the Spaniard said. "Three minutes is a perfect situation, but in one day a lot can change.
"Right now, I think the advantage we have is comfortable. Visma would have to move like they did today [on stage 15], and we'll try to defend ourselves and see if we can finish with the character we've shown so far."
Friday's stage 19 crosses up and over the Cime de la Bonette, the highest road in the Alps at 2,802m, before a tough summit finish at Isola 2000. That looks set to be the biggest challenge facing Pogačar as he seeks to win the Tour for a third time in five years.
"The last three stages are very difficult," Matxin noted. "We have been in Isola for the [June] training camp, especially to see the last two road stages and the time trial.
"We know them, we climbed up to Bonette at 2,800m, and Friday and Saturday are very difficult. The Sunday time trial [in Nice] is also very complicated. We are going to have to be careful and trust in our cyclists and our plan."
But UAE have complete faith in their star rider as he seeks to become the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro and Tour in the same year. "It’s not that Tadej is getting better, but that he has a great recovery," Matxin said.
"Maybe he rode the Giro d’Italia without exerting himself and being in the red... [and] he has a fantastic daily recovery."
Almeida added that Visma "probably lost a bit of morale" following Pogačar's win on Plateau de Beille on stage 15 "because they saw that Tadej was stronger.
"If I was them and had nothing to lose, for sure I would try. They have a strong team, but Tadej is stronger.
"Anything can happen, for sure they will try something eventually, but we're going to be prepared."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.
Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.
-
“I feel proud racing guys I used to watch on TV” says French teenage sensation Paul Seixas after climbing to 6th in Critérium du Dauphiné GC
As Romain Bardet prepares to bow out, 18-year-old Paul Seixas looks well prepared to take up his stage racing baton
-
Tadej Pogačar: I didn’t like Visma’s dangerous tactics on the Croix de Fer descent but that’s modern cycling
Pogačar unhappy with rival team's approach during Critérium du Dauphiné's queen stage, as Jonas Vingegaard says “I hope that this race can help me get better"
-
Michael Matthews puts career on pause after signs of a pulmonary embolism
Australian will miss Tour de France with all physical activity stopped until further notice
-
'Getting to Paris is like that moment you're told you're in remission' - Geoff Thomas to attempt Tour de France route for seventh time with Tour21
Former professional footballer Thomas getting set to tackle the 3,000 plus kilometre route to raise money for Cure Leukaemia
-
Mathieu van der Poel fractures wrist in MTB crash, puts summer of racing in doubt
Van der Poel diagnosed with minor avulsion fracture of the scaphoid bone after two crashes at MTB World Series event in Nové Město
-
'I feel pain in my sprinter's heart': Marcel Kittel reacts to Tour de France final stage shake-up in Paris
Retired German sprinting great says inclusion of cobbled climb to Montmartre before Champs-Élysées finish will be 'very stressful' and would leave him 'disappointed as a rider'
-
Will the sprinters make it to the Champs-Élysées? Tour de France 2025 final stage places Montmartre climb 6km from the finish
ASO confirms punchy race finale with three ascents of the Butte Montmartre
-
'They never once checked me for concussion' - Jonas Vingegaard calls out head injury protocol after Paris-Nice crash
Two-time Tour de France winner says he was 'completely dizzy and nauseous' in days after crash
-
'When everyone starts to panic, you just need to breathe deeply': Fearless approach key to success on Giro d’Italia gravel stage
Pello Bilbao expects Strade Bianche-style stage on Sunday to be both a physical and mental challenge
-
Tour de France Champs-Élysées stage to include cobbled climb in Montmartre, copying Paris Olympic road race
Route change confirmed to mark 50th anniversary of first ever finish on the Champs-Élysées