After another season of relentless success, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships and three Monuments, Tadej Pogačar has headed off on holiday – but not without first warning his rivals that if 2025 was already a marked step up from 2024, then in 2026 he’s keen to raise the bar again.
Talking to Marca at the Andorra Cycling Masters event last weekend, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader did not reveal his global race program for next season.
However, what was most important was that far from resting on his laurels or cutting back on his major goals, Pogačar made it clear he will continue hunting for all-around success.
It goes without saying that while the Tour de France 2026 route is due to be unveiled in Paris on Thursday, October 23, regardless of the exact challenges that emerge, for Pogačar not to be on the Barcelona start line next July when a fifth, record-equalling triumph is on the cards would be virtually out of the question.
Beyond that, while his team management has recently played down the chances of participation, he did not rule out a 2026 return to the Vuelta a España, the only Grand Tour he has not yet won, saying “there’s always a chance.”
“It’s been a positive season, last year [2024] there were more triumphs, but in this one we’ve had more Classics,” Pogačar, who raced eight fewer days in 2025 than in 2024 – when he won both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France – pointed out.
As for 2026, the 27-year-old was categorical about his global aim of improving on 2025. Assuming he manages to do that and maintains his current advantage on his rivals – neither of which can be taken for granted, although there is a considerable precedent for expecting it – that could only mean even more remarkable breakaway and with even fewer opportunities for his rivals to defeat him.
Pogačar was not overly forthcoming about the specifics when asked about riding Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo, and the Vuelta in 2026 – the three biggest races he has yet to win, although he has podium positions in all three.
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