2026 Tour de France overall leader Tadej Pogacar said he will rely on instinct in the final two stages in the Alps after his team lost Brandon McNulty, who withdrew due to illness on the 18th stage.
Despite retaining the yellow jersey after finishing among the title contenders in Orcières-Merlette, Pogacar admitted his team's condition has changed ahead of the two decisive stages that will determine this year's Tour de France title.
"When conditions are like this and our teammates haven't recovered from their illnesses, you never know what to do. We have to ride based on instinct. But I'm confident everything will be fine and we can get through the next two days," Pogacar was quoted as saying by the Tour de France on Friday.
Pogacar said he had expected the 18th stage, to be aggressive as riders chasing the stage win continued to form breakaways from the start of the race, while the top 10 in the overall standings tried to defend their respective positions.
