![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/tadejpogacar-jonasvingegaard-2-6954fa650e0e7.jpg@webp.webp\")
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With a contract until 2030 however, the Slovenian still has several years to keep fighting for the races he doesn’t yet have in his palmar\u00e8s. This year, he will make his debut at the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse, where he should be the undisputed favourite for both.<\/p>\n
Preparation and training in Gran Canaria<\/p>\n
In November, the World Champion took part in a Gran Fondo in the Canary islands, as did several other pro riders. Asked by the Spanish news outlet, he was content to share his thoughts on his time spent in Gran Canaria.<\/p>\n
I wanted to explore the island and get back to stacking hard training hours. The goal was to rebuild my base and discover new roads. It was a very positive experience, with good training groups. It\u2019s a true paradise for season prep and I think I\u2019ll be back.You could easily design three or four very good stages in Gran Canaria. There\u2019s toughness and the conditions to see great racing.Rest and holidays<\/p>\n
Afterwards, besides the social events that he had to attend, the Slovenian looked quite happy at the team’s training camp over in Spain, often sharing posts on social media with long training riders with the team often shown. But outside the bike, during the winter, he was also able to mentally recover from a busy 2025.<\/p>\n
Holidays are when I don\u2019t think about the bike. I had some downtime, fun activities, and I\u2019ve recharged the batteries.I like enjoying a good dinner, meeting friends and being at the beach. Normal plans that help me switch off.<\/p>\n
Tadej Pogacar blew Jonas Vingegaard away at the 2025 Tour de France.<\/p>\n
Tour de France and season objectives<\/p>\n
The Tour de France is, for 2026, naturally one of his biggest goals, and he faces the possibility of matching the current record of five wins. Doing so would put him in an unique position to beat another record, a very meaningful one.<\/p>\n
The goal is to return to the Tour, try to win again and fight the best riders in the world. It will be one of my main targets.The route is very interesting and very hard. Starting in Barcelona will be great, and the rest is similar to other editions, with demanding stages and interesting challenges. I\u2019m really looking forward to it.Injury and Tour 2025<\/p>\n
At the Tour de France this year however, a small knock on the handlebars during the finale of the Mont Ventoux stage saw him suffer a minor knee injury which caused concern for the team. He admits it was his most difficult moment of the year.<\/p>\n
It was the toughest moment of the year. The injury was small, more annoying and worrying than painful. Luckily I managed it and raced the way I wanted. I would\u2019ve loved to win another stage in the Alps, but it wasn\u2019t possible. Even so, I\u2019m happy with how everything went.The season was very close to a 10.Classics and unfinished business in Grand Tours<\/p>\n
Of the races missing in his palmar\u00e8s, there are three that stand out. And he certainly does not want to end his career without conquering them, in order to complete two more sets of key achievements:<\/p>\n
Winning Sanremo, Roubaix and delivering my best at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a is a big challenge in my career. We\u2019ll see what the future has in store for me.It\u2019s always hard to combine La Vuelta with the rest of the calendar, but I\u2019ll return one day and I\u2019ll be very motivated when that time comes.WorldsThe Worlds is a very special race. I\u2019ve been lucky to win it twice, and in 2026, in Montreal, it will be a major target to try to claim the title again.Motivation and competitive pressure<\/p>\n
For a rider who’s been at the very top for several years, and with the same rivals, it could be easy to see how it could stagnate his development. However he does not see it that way, and every year he’s been able to improve his performance thus far.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not harder to get motivated, it\u2019s different. There\u2019s more pressure and expectation. I try to maintain the level and show I can do it again.The rivals and teams are very strong. Everyone tries to improve each year, and you always have to fight to grow a bit more.Rivals and the current landscapeEvenepoel has the qualities to perform very well at Sanremo or Roubaix. He would be an extra opponent and hard to beat if he\u2019s there.Sport is very important in Slovenia. There aren\u2019t many of us in the WorldTour, but those who are there are really good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With a contract until 2030 however, the Slovenian still has several years to keep fighting for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,167052,165754,85,6494,19805,39562],"class_list":{"0":"post-384089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-milano-sanremo","12":"tag-paris-roubaix","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tadej-pogacar","15":"tag-uae-team-emirates-xrg","16":"tag-vuelta-a-espana"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}