Ahead of Tadej Pogačar's highly-anticipated 2026 season debut, UAE Team Emirates-XRG have confirmed his supporting cast for Strade Bianche, with one key domestique missing due to injury and Isaac del Toro as luxury support.
Tim Wellens, third place last year at the one-day Italian Classic, famed for its stunning scenery over Tuscany's white gravel roads, is the missing cog in UAE's machine for Saturday, having broken his collarbone in a nasty crash at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne during Opening Weekend.
Pogačar won't fret, though, having completely dominated the last three editions of Strade Bianche in which he has competed, winning with extravagant solo moves and bouncing back from a high-speed crash to beat Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5) last season. He's raring to hit the ground running once again.
"Strade is a race where I have unforgettable memories. My record there is pretty good and I hope that I will be in a good position again come Saturday," said Pogačar on the team's website.
"We expect there to be some strong rivals, the start list is always at a high level for these big races and it should make things exciting for the fans.
"It is my first race of the season, and I hope to have a good start. I’ve been cheering on from the couch until now, so I’m excited to get stuck in myself again and finally race. The team has been on a good wave at the moment with many wins already and we hope to continue that over the next few races."
Pogačar will be the heavy favourite to win, but he and Del Toro will face stiff competition from the likes of former winner Pidcock, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).
The course has been made slightly easier, with two fewer gravel sectors and 14km taken off last year's race distance. And Pogačar will also have the pleasure of racing through the Colle Pinzuto sterrato sector, which will now bear the name of the three-time winner.
UAE have maintained their top spot as the best team in cycling so far in 2026, even without their big star racing, with Del Toro delivering them the UAE Tour, Jay Vine winning the Tour Down Under and the team netting 13 victories as a collective already.
Alongside the World Champion and star Mexican, who finished second on the gravel stage into Siena at last year's Giro d'Italia, UAE will have Jan Christen, Felix Großschartner, Domen Novak, Florian Vermeersch and Kevin Vermaerke at the start on Saturday.
It marks the beginning of Pogačar's selective calendar in 2026, with only racing the first four Monuments planned for him after Strade: Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. After completing his Classics campaign, the Slovenian's focus will turn to chasing a record-equalling fifth Tour de France yellow jersey.
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