Pogacar and Yates head to Sestriere to prepare for Tour de France

Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar and Criterium du Dauphiné runner-up Adam Yates will join the UAE Team Emirates to recon of the key stages of the Tour de France stages and for a brief training camp in Sestrière.

Pogačar is on the road to recovery from a wrist fracture sustained at Liège-Bastogne-Liège back in April. Back training on the road since late May, he attended a team training camp at altitude in Sierra Nevada with his teammates.

Pogačar remained at the camp while his key Tour de France lieutenants Yates and Rafał Majka headed off to pre-Tour warm-up races, the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse, respectively.

This week, the Slovenian received an all clear that he can train to prepare for the Tour de France which starts on July 1st.

“The results of the CT scan are positive. The bones are healing well. He can now fully train on the road and will stop training on the rollers. Tadej will continue to use a hand brace as a precaution,” UAE Team Emirates told WielerFlits.

Following his 2019 plan, Pogačar will return to Sestrière in Italy for a brief training camp and then race on home roads at the Slovenian National Championships before heading to Bilbao. 

Yates finished in second place, 2:23 down from overall winner Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) at the Criterium du Dauphiné on Sunday. The Australian put in multiple attacks on the climbs during the eight days of racing to try and take the leader’s jersey but to no avail.  

“We rode a really nice race. Mickel won the [stage 4] TT, I was second on GC, we tried our best. It wasn’t the top step but I think we can take a lot of confidence from this week,” Yates told Pro Cycling Net.

Yates was ninth in the 2022 Tour despite being battered by illness but his best result on the books remains fourth overall in the 2016 race.  There is still a lot of stress going into the Tour as a key domestique.

“There’s still pressure, there’s still stress. You have to arrive in top shape. Yeah, I don’t have to risk my life as much but still, I have to be in the right position at the right time and do the work when I need to, so I may still stress a little bit it will be good, a good experience.”

Yates remains ready to assist his leader and his team, where he is needed. “We rode well as a team all week and step by step we’re getting better. A little bit of rest now and hopefully take it one step higher.”

Yates will join Pogačar at the Tour training camp, rest and get ready for la Grande Boucle.