UAE Team Emirates justifies its dominance: "Winning stages helps you win the Tour de France."

Tadej Pogačar 's victory on stage 3 of the 2026 Tour de France and his capture of the yellow jersey have sparked debate over the dominance of UAE Team Emirates-XRG. But team manager Mauro Gianetti isn't listening to talk of excesses: for him, this tactical aggression is simply part of a precise and ambitious plan: to lead Pogačar to a fifth triumph on the Champs-Élysées.

It all started on stage 2, when Pogačar ceded victory to teammate Isaac del Toro , finishing second. This team effort was reciprocated the following day, in the Pyrenees towards Les Angles: del Toro led the Slovenian captain in a sprint, before Pogačar relentlessly attacked, leaving rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) behind and donning the yellow jersey thanks to his better placings in the previous stages. This was Pogačar's 22nd stage win at the Tour , which moves him into fifth place in the all-time standings, tied with legendary sprinter André Darrigade. He still needs 13 victories to equal Mark Cavendish's record.

The reaction from the cycling world was mixed. French television commentators would have preferred to see Frenchman Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) stay in the breakaway and perhaps wear the yellow jersey. Former professional Thomas Voeckler , who followed the stage on his motorbike, was critical: "They have every right to want to win and the means to do so, but beyond that I really don't see what the point is." Laurent Jalabert , however, was more understanding: "I think he dreams of winning races at night, and when he wakes up he says: 'Today I will win.' But the day something goes wrong, he can't expect help from anyone."

Pogačar himself responded with his trademark simplicity, speaking on the French television program Vélo Club : "You have to enjoy the moment. We're here to win, and I think anyone would do the same. The road to Paris is still long, and you never know what can happen: you have to race in the present."

Gianetti, however, offered a lucid tactical explanation. The breakaway took a very long time to break away, wearing down everyone—in the breakaway and in the peloton—and in the end, it was Visma-Lease a Bike itself that helped control the leaders. "They gave us an assist, as they say in football," the manager said. When the breakaway failed to break away, the UAE staff and riders decided to seize the opportunity. The yellow jersey came as a natural consequence, with Vingegaard losing two seconds in the final sprint.
The strategic perspective is crystal clear in Gianetti's words: "The goal is to win the Tour, and we have a strategy to do it. Winning stages can help you win the Tour de France. After the team time trial, we were eight seconds behind Vingegaard, now we're tied. We're satisfied."