‘I still need some time to analyse what I really want’ – Tadej Pogačar to return to the UAE Tour, but 2027 race calendar still undecided with Tour de France the main target

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Tadej Pogačar has already confirmed his main ambitions for the 2027 race season; a sixth Tour de France title, a fourth world title and a shot at redemption at the Vuelta a España. In the coming weeks, alongside the management team at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, his race calendar leading up to those objectives will be finalised.

According to the Slovenian, on the cards is a return to the UAE Tour, a race he won in 2021, 2024 and 2025. He skipped the race of his team’s homeland in 2026 and began his season at Strade Bianche.

His comments will come as a blow to the organisers of the Tour Down Under, who have said that they are “doing everything we can” to bring Pogačar to Adelaide in January. This option appeared more likely due to Pogačar’s early season ending after his crash at the Vuelta a España. It is also one of just a handful of WorldTour stage races that Pogačar is yet to win.

The 28-year-old raced five one-day races and the Tours de Romandie and Suisse ahead of claiming his record-equalling fifth Tour de France title in 2026. Pogačar then competed in the Vuelta a España for the second time in his career, crashing out on stage 8 while in the leader’s jersey and concluding his season.

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A final judgement on Pogačar’s race schedule will be made during a team training camp in December.

“There’s like three options that I can do. The team gave me three options of my calendar, but it’s a big decision,” he said during the community ride.

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“I think I still need some time to really analyse what I really want for next year. And I think the final decision will be done in December, where we have another training camp.

“There’s a big chance I come back to Classics for sure, and also UAE Tour, and obviously Tour de France. There’s no hiding in this, I think, so we will see.”

Speaking to RTV SLO at a charity golf event two weeks ago, Pogačar stated his central ambitions for the season. “The goal for next year would obviously be the World Championships, combined with the Tour and the Vuelta. Even though I’d rather ride the Giro, I’ll have to tick off the Vuelta at some point too. I think that will be the goal for next year,” he said.

While his season will once again orbit around success at the Tour de France, Pogačar admitted that he had not yet looked at the route for the 2027 race, which was presented on the 22nd of October.

“I didn’t check a lot the route yet of the Tour. I was not there for the announcement,” he said. “Obviously the Tour is always three weeks long, and there’s always big mountains, flat stages, tricky stages, some crosswinds, time-trials. So you always have everything.”

“No matter which cities host the start or finish, it’s always more or less the same and the toughest race in the world. You need to be ready for everything.”