{"id":916097,"date":"2026-10-04T18:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T18:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916097\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T18:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T18:26:10","slug":"what-pogacar-and-van-der-poel-did-on-day-of-european-champs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/916097\/","title":{"rendered":"What Poga\u00e7ar and Van der Poel did on day of European Champs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tadej Poga\u00e7ar<\/a> and Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> were absent from the 2026 European Cycling Championships<\/a> in Slovenia today. Poga\u00e7ar, much to his own disappointment, still out with an injury,<\/a> while Van der Poel decided on his own after the World Championships that his season was over. So what were they up to on Sunday? Instagram provided the answer.Van der Poel enjoyed his down time in last months before becoming a father\u00a0<\/p>\n

Van der Poel was spotted on the golf course, where we\u2019ve seen him so often in recent years. Under a clear blue sky, the Dutchman was enjoying his offseason, which began after the World Championships.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be a busy winter for Van der Poel, who is expecting a baby<\/a> with his wife Roxanne in late January. It seems with this trip he is making the most of the last few months before father duties are added to his responsibilities.The question remains whether Van der Poel will get back on his cyclocross bike this winter,<\/a> now that he\u2019s about to become a father. He already added a record-breaking eighth world cyclocross title to his list of achievements last winter.<\/p>\n

Van der Poel also has no official plans to appear on the gravel scene in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Read more below the photo<\/p>\n

\"mathieu-van-der-poel\"\/<\/p>\n

Van der Poel finished third at the 2026 World Championships<\/p>\n

After winning the rainbow jersey, Poga\u00e7ar also bids farewell to “the stars”<\/p>\n

Poga\u00e7ar would have loved to race these past few weeks, but his season has been over since late August following a crash in the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n

He had already missed out on the World Championships in Montreal, marking the end of his two-season run in the rainbow jersey. Hopes were still pinned on a miraculous recovery so that he could compete a week later at the European Championships in his native Slovenia.<\/p>\n

Although there were many rumours circulating, the Slovenian national team coach said on Sunday that Poga\u00e7ar ultimately decided on his own not to participate in the European Championships.<\/p>\n

Poga\u00e7ar unable to defend European title; says he is not in good form\u00a0He did attend the event, however, and played a major role in designing the course. He has been seen going for a ride on the Slovenian roads <\/a>with his fianc\u00e9e, Ur\u0161ka \u017digart, who is also injured after suffering a broken jaw.”One last spin in the stars” Poga\u00e7ar wrote in a reel<\/a> in which he proudly shows off the European champion’s jersey to the world one last time.<\/p>\n

He earned that title a year ago in France, but in 2027, Pogacar will start the season without a national or international champion’s jersey.<\/p>\n

He set the record straight,<\/a> saying that despite wishing he could race, he was not in the shape to be able to.<\/p>\n