UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Adam Yates is suffering from a stomach illness at the 2026 Tour de France and his participation in the race’s final few stages is not guaranteed.
The Briton dropped out the back of the peloton with 66km remaining on stage 17, and finished the day’s racing more than 26 minutes behind winner Jasper Philipsen.
His shorts were stained with salt marks as he rode back to his team’s bus, which he boarded as soon as he dismounted his bike.
Yates is one of the key mountain domestiques for race leader Tadej Pogačar, and ordinarily would be providing crucial support on stage 19 and 20 which head into the high mountains and finish atop Alpe d’Huez.
But the 33-year-old’s condition will have to improve significantly if he is to be of assistance to Pogačar.
“Yesterday he was really bad – if it was a normal stage he wouldn’t have finished,” Pogačar said after stage 17. “Luckily it was just a time trial and he managed it. He looked terrible.”
UAE’s general manager Mauro Gianetti revealed that Yates’s sickness began after Monday’s rest day.
“Yesterday he was not feeling well and after the time trial he was really bad, vomiting, [and with a] stomach problem,” Gianetti said.
“We said, ‘OK, let’s see what happens tomorrow morning’, and he was feeling OK [this morning], not so bad like yesterday. He said, ‘OK, I’ll start’. He was in the group and then one moment he spoke with Nils [Politt] and said, ‘I will take the train [gruppetto] behind us to try to save some energy.
“This morning he was better but he was empty. With the full [gas] start, he suffered because he was empty from yesterday and only ate a bit this morning. He was really struggling. We knew it would be a hard day for him.”
Gianetti said that Yates has been isolated from the group, but expressed confidence that it’s nothing more than an “episode”. Neither was he concerned that the infection could be contagious to other members of the team.
“It’s just him vomiting himself – it’s just him,” Gianetti said. “Let’s see if he can recover a little bit, [and] have some good food.”
Asked if Yates will start stage 18, Gianetti responded: “I don’t know. The doctors will decide.”
Pogačar seemed more confident than Gianetti that Yates would remain in the race. “Today in the morning he looked a lot better, [he was] in a good mood and eating well. This was a good sign, but today was a hard stage even for me, and I think he paid a bit [the price] after yesterday’s bad day.
“I think he will recover. Maybe not for tomorrow, but for Alpe d’Huez. At least for the queen stage [on Saturday] he will be good.”
