![\"Tadej](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2285185591-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPoga\u010dar prices himself out of the criterium circuit with huge participation fee as he rides emotional rollercoaster after record-equaling fifth Tour win.<\/p>\n
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(Photo: Loic VENANCE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
Updated August 2, 2026 07:13AM<\/p>\n
Believe it or not, even Tour de France<\/a> dominator Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> gets tired sometimes.<\/p>\n Speaking to Sportal<\/a> this weekend, cycling\u2019s KOM-crushing<\/a>, history-bothering superstar revealed the devastating decompression he experiences in the aftermath of a three-week race.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I\u2019d lock myself in a room and not want to see anyone, and other times I really enjoy socializing,\u201d Poga\u010dar told the Slovenian outlet. \u201cThese fluctuations are especially common in the first week, but then things slowly pick up again.<\/p>\n \u201cOther cyclists who return from the Tour say the same thing,\u201d Poga\u010dar said Saturday.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar spoke to Sportal on the eve of the \u201cPogi Challenge\u201d cycling festival he hosts in his home town, Komenda.<\/p>\n It was just days after the 27-year-old put an exclamation point on his record-equaling fifth Tour de France title with a thriller 2-up attack through Paris with Mathieu van der Poel.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first few days after a Tour go by very quickly, especially if you have the Pogi Challenge waiting for you at the end of the first week,\u201d Poga\u010dar said.<\/p>\n \u201cUr\u0161ka [\u017digart, partner] went to the Women\u2019s Tour, and the obligatory dinner in Paris dragged on, also,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe first few days you\u2019re quite tired, your energy fluctuates.\u201d<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar wants six figures to show up Poga\u010dar celebrated his fifth Tour win<\/a> late Sunday night with a luxury Parisian dinner, accompanied by his UAE Emirates-XRG teammates and members of the Emirati royal family.<\/p>\n But when the obligations were done, so was Pogi.<\/p>\n He has said after the Tour de France he was desperate to unplug.<\/p>\n Obliterating the fastest Tour de France on record<\/a> and spending 17 days bogged down in the media obligations that come with the maillot jaune come at a cost.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get home,\u201d he said from Paris after stage 21 of the Tour.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m flying back home tomorrow, then I have some house work to do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s just as well for the state of Chez Pogi that Poga\u010dar \u2013 maybe intentionally \u2013 priced himself out of the post-Tour de France criterium circuit.<\/p>\n He reportedly demanded a \u20ac100k appearance fee<\/a> for the lucrative exhibition races that sweep through Belgium and France in the wake of the Tour.<\/p>\n That\u2019s thought to be twice what Remco Evenepoel charges.<\/p>\n Evenepoel earned two juicy pay packets and two \u201cwins\u201d last week at the VIP races in Aalst and Roeselare. The Belgian star backed those up with a \u201creal\u201d victory Saturday at the Clasica San Sebasti\u00e1n.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a decision on Monday? Contrastingly, Poga\u010dar, a rider who\u2019s known not to chase the spotlight<\/a> unless necessary, just wanted to head home.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t resurface from his post-Tour hibernation until he rolled up to the Pogi Challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think too much about training or nutrition,\u201d Poga\u010dar told Sportal of the post-grand tour comedown. \u201cAfter the Tour, you have to disconnect and reset. You need at least a week to get back to real life.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re in France for a month, you\u2019re going full speed every day, and before that you\u2019ve been preparing for a month or more,\u201d he said. \u201cSo when you get home, it\u2019s a bit of a shock.\u201d<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar was the exemplary host of his Pogi Challenge this weekend. \u00a0He \u201cwon\u201d the marquee race of the event and pulled unicycle stunts<\/a> in front of thousands of his adoring fans.<\/p>\n So does that mean Poga\u010dar isn\u2019t too tired to race the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a later this month?<\/p>\n
\n![\"Poga\u010dar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287785608.jpg\"\/)
Tadej Poga\u010dar skipped the criterium circuit but had the energy to put on a show at the \u2018Pogi challenge.\u2019 (Photo: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Tour](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Z8C_6413-2-1200x755.jpg\"\/)
Everybody wants to know if Tadej Poga\u010dar will race the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a after his record-equalling fifth Tour de France title. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/p>\n