{"id":225851,"date":"2025-10-26T04:22:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T04:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/225851\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T04:22:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T04:22:12","slug":"urska-zigart-on-a-breakthrough-2025-season-stepping-out-of-tadej-pogacars-shadow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/225851\/","title":{"rendered":"Urska Zigart on a breakthrough 2025 season stepping out of Tadej Pogacar\u2019s shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nFinding her rhythm and rediscovering joy<\/p>\n

Zigart\u2019s campaign didn\u2019t start smoothly. Illness in the spring delayed her momentum, but once she returned to racing in May she found, as she puts it, \u201cthe right wave\u201d \u2014 and kept riding it all the way to season\u2019s end. From June onwards, she collected 13 top-ten finishes and, more importantly, rediscovered the pleasure of racing. \u201cI started to really enjoy it again,\u201d she said. \u201cThat counts more than anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her second place overall at the Tour de Romandie Feminin, where she wore the leader\u2019s jersey and only lost the title by seven seconds to home favourite Elise Chabbey, marked the biggest result of her career to date. The way she controlled the race \u2014 calm, precise, and composed \u2014 revealed a new level of maturity in both confidence and execution.<\/p>\n

\"Urska<\/p>\n

Zigart in action in Kigali<\/p>\n

A new environment, a new belief<\/p>\n

Zigart\u2019s move from Liv AlUla Jayco to AG Insurance – Soudal has proven pivotal. After years of being regarded as a talented but inconsistent climber, she now enjoys the full trust of her management and teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you just need a change,\u201d she explained. \u201cAfter a while with the same team you can get stuck in a loop about who you are and what you can do. Here, I found a new approach to both my weaknesses and strengths. Thanks to the trust and encouragement of everyone in the team, I\u2019ve been able to take a real step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

That belief has translated into results \u2014 and into a clear identity. Zigart no longer defines herself as an opportunist for breakaways but as a rider capable of building and defending GC ambitions across a week. \u201cStage races suit me best,\u201d she added. \u201cOne of my strengths is recovering well from day to day.\u201d<\/p>\n

National pride and a growing Slovenian wave<\/p>\n

Away from her trade team, Zigart admits she was disappointed to miss out on selection for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but remains deeply proud of representing Slovenia whenever possible. She also believes her nation\u2019s recent success \u2014 from Pogacar to Primoz Roglic and Matej Mohoric \u2014 has inspired a new generation of cyclists, even if the gender gap persists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are definitely more women riding now,\u201d she said, \u201cbut there\u2019s still a big difference between the boys who dream of becoming cyclists and the girls who see it as something they want to do professionally. There are some young talents emerging, though, and I can\u2019t wait to see them grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"pogacar<\/p>\n

Zigart and Pogacar are one of cycling’s power couples<\/p>\n

Balancing two elite careers<\/p>\n

Zigart and Pogacar\u2019s shared profession inevitably invites curiosity. She insists it\u2019s more help than hindrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has its pros and cons, but it works for us,\u201d she reflected. \u201cWe both understand what the other is going through \u2014 in the good moments and in the hard ones. The toughest times are when we\u2019re racing on opposite sides of the world, but when we\u2019re home together, we can do everything side by side.\u201d<\/p>\n

With confidence, consistency and composure all finally aligned, Zigart approaches 2026 with momentum. \u201cWomen\u2019s cycling keeps taking big steps forward every year,\u201d she said. \u201cI just want to keep pace with that and keep improving. I\u2019ve had a taste of what\u2019s possible \u2014 now I want more.\u201d<\/p>\n

For once, the spotlight isn\u2019t borrowed from anyone else. Urska Zigart has stepped into her own.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Finding her rhythm and rediscovering joy Zigart\u2019s campaign didn\u2019t start smoothly. Illness in the spring delayed her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-225851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}