With 23 days to go until the start of the Vuelta a España in Monaco, it’s still unknown whether Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) will be present, but the rumours are continuing to swirl that he will make his return to the Spanish Grand Tour.
Pogačar made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta seven years ago, finishing third overall and winning three stages as he burst fully onto the scene. He has gone on to win five Tour de France titles, a Giro d’Italia, and almost every other big race on the calendar in the time since.
Winning the Vuelta would complete the set of titles for the Slovenian, with his long-term rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) managing the same feat by winning the Giro in May this season, and according to Race Director Javier Guillén, who is confident “this is the best year” for Pogačar to do it.
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“Hopefully,” Guillén told Spanish newspaper AS when asked directly whether he’d be starting. “The latest information we have comes from Prince Albert. The rider would like to come. Once the Tour is over, he’ll assess whether he feels strong, motivated, and in good condition… Because if Tadej Pogačar comes to the Vuelta, it’s certainly to win it; he won’t come any other way.
“I, as the Vuelta director, am very optimistic that he can come. All the best circumstances are in place for him to come. It’s a Tour that has gone well for him, in terms of fatigue. I think the Vuelta is very well positioned at this time, given its distance from the Tour.
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“The stages are very suitable for him to put on the show he’s known for. And besides, coming to the Vuelta to win it is also a great springboard for him to repeat his victory as world champion in Canada. Therefore, this is the best year for Tadej to come.”
Twelve months ago, UAE ruled out Pogačar taking on the 2025 Vuelta as was originally planned, agreeing that the best plan was for him to rest and prepare for the World Championships in Rwanda, where he claimed a second road race rainbow jersey in a row.
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It became a bigger rumour during this year’s Tour, when Prince Albert of Monaco said, “Tadej Pogačar said he would be at the start, so we’ll see,” as reported by L’Equipe.
Asked about it at the end of the Tour, Pogačar wasn’t willing to confirm or deny whether he’d be racing in Spain, saying, “Right now, if the Vuelta starts tomorrow I say no, but in two weeks I can still decide.”
The door was never closed, though, nor was it shut by UAE’s Sports Manager Joxean Fernández Matxin when he spoke to Marca on Thursday.
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“Now is the time to enjoy what we’ve achieved after three weeks of hard work,” said Matxin, with Pogačar’s agent Alex Carera telling Sky Italia earlier this week tha,t “the UAE management and coach Javier Sola have planned a meeting for Tuesday with Tadej to decide”.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the decision has already been made that he will race at the Monaco start of the Vuelta, with only official communication from the team missing.
“We’ll think it over and give an answer in due course, but there’s no clear date to finalize it right now,” added Matxin.
Any UAE announcement is likely to be kept under wraps until after Pogačar attends his important Pogi Challenge charity event this weekend, and next week’s Tour de France Femmes, where he will likely be present to support partner Urška Žigart.
‘We need Tadej Pogačar, but we also need his rivals to make things difficult for him’
Pogačar last raced the Vuelta in 2019, finishing third overall and winning three stages on Grand Tour debut (Image credit: Getty Images)
Pogačar would be the massive favourite to win the red jersey against the likes of compatriot Primož Roglič and Giro runner-up Felix Gall in Spain, and victory would make him the ninth rider in history to win all thee Grand Tours.
Race Director Guillén isn’t concerned about any potential complete dominance from the Slovenian, though, simply wanting the best rider in the world and perhaps of all time to be back at his race for the first time since 2019.
“In every race, and the Vuelta first and foremost, we want the best riders. And when you have the best, you run the risk that the best rider will put on the kind of displays he’s capable of,” said Guillén.
“We want to see those displays at the Vuelta. From there, I always say the same thing: we need Tadej Pogačar, yes, but we also need the rest of Tadej’s rivals to be of a high enough caliber to make things difficult for him. I think we’ll have them. Furthermore, coming after the Tour de France adds to the fatigue that also needs to be managed. And from there, let the road give each rider what they deserve or what they’re capable of achieving.
“For me, the excitement is that he comes and, from there, does what he knows how to do, which is win, that the others make it difficult for him, and if not, we’ll all try to find challenges for Pogačar so he can enjoy the Vuelta.”
Guillén wants the sport’s main star to be present at the final podium in Granada, after which he’ll have exactly two weeks to get prepared for the World Championships road race in Montreal, where he’ll eye a third rainbow jersey in a row, matching what only Peter Sagan has before in the men’s elite road race.
“If he wins it, he’ll complete what he already is: a legend of the sport. He’ll have all three Grand Tours; there’ll be very little left for him to win, but certainly, joining that club is something I think his record demands,” said the Vuelta director.
“The fans also ask it of Pogačar, and it would undoubtedly be the culmination of a record that will become unattainable for any other cyclist in history.”
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