POGACAR TO RIDE VUELTA A ESPANA FOR GRAND TOUR TREBLE

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Newly crowned five-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar will race in this month's Vuelta a Espana in an attempt to win all three of cycling's Grand Tours.

The Slovenian UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider will be the runaway favourite to win the three-week Grand Tour after becoming the joint most successful Tour de France champion of all time last month, alongside fellow greats Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.

Pogacar won the 2024 Giro d'Italia by nearly 10 minutes, and would become only the ninth rider to win all three Grand Tours in history should he triumph in Spain.

The 27-year-old finished third at the Tour of Spain as a youngster in 2019.

"I'm excited to say I'm going back to La Vuelta," said Pogacar. "It was my first ever Grand Tour back in 2019 and an amazing experience.

"Spain is a country I love to visit and race in, and I think the time is right to go back.

"The motivation is high to finish off the year in a good way and the Vuelta will be a big target. The team is strong and we hope to do good things."

This year's race begins in Monaco on 22 August and finishes in Granada on 13 September, with 21 stages across three weeks including time trials, sprints, rolling hills and high mountains.

Pogacar has won almost all of the sport's biggest races. In addition to his five Tour titles he has won the Tour of Flanders (three times), Milan-San Remo (once), the Road World Championships (twice), Il Lombardia (five times), Liege-Bastogne-Liege (four times) and the Giro.

He is also expected to try to defend his Road World Championships rainbow jersey in Montreal, Canada, just a week after La Vuelta finishes.

While La Vuelta is considered a main event on cycling's World Tour, the sport's top talents in the modern era will often prioritise the Tour de France at the expense of the Vuelta and the Giro.

Merckx, Anquetil and Hinault (twice) all won La Vuelta during their careers.

Following victory at this year's Tour,

Pogacar beat Belgium's Remco Evenepoel by more than six minutes at this year's Tour de France, and he is expected to win the Vuelta by an even bigger margin.

Famed for his explosive launch and metronomic high pace on stages, he is not showing any signs of fatigue or weakness.

Pogacar has won six of the seven World Tour races he has competed in this year, finishing second at Paris-Roubaix in April in a dramatic dash to the line with Belgium's Wout van Aert.

- Matt Warwick

POGACAR HONOURED WITH SPECIAL KIT AND BIKE FOR RECORD EQUALLING FIFTH TOUR WIN

Tadej Pogacar fifth Tour de France triumph is celebrated with more than another yellow jersey in Paris. UAE Team Emirates-XRG marked the historic victory with a special team look and a collection of custom Colnago bikes designed exclusively for the riders who helped deliver the win.

Colnago

Kit supplier Pissei has designed a one off jersey for the Tour’s final stage in Paris. The hand drawn design centres on the number five, topped with a gold crown to symbolise Pogačar’s five overall victories.

The years of each Tour triumph, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026, are incorporated into the design.

Pissei first revealed the kit on social media ahead of the final stage, describing the occasion as the team’s “last dance in Paris”. 

The brand presented the design with the words: “Cinq. In yellow. Crowned in gold.”

A special edition Colnago for Pogacar and teammates

Bike supplier Colnago marked Tadej Pogačar’s fifth Tour de France victory with a specially designed Y1Rs for the final stage into Paris.

The Italian manufacturer produced eight custom bikes for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, one for each rider selected for the Tour, including Brandon McNulty, who was forced to abandon the race due to illness. Seven were painted yellow, while one received a white finish in reference to Isaac del Toro’s victory in the youth classification.

Several details on the bike refer directly to the team’s three weeks in France. The profile of the full Tour route is included on the rear stays, tracing the race from Barcelona to Paris. The names of all eight riders appear on the top tube, while each frame also carries the national flag of its rider.

Pogačar’s bike features a number of additional details. Rainbow accents refer to his world champion’s jersey, while five small references on the frame mark his Tour victories in 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

The bike continues a tradition for Colnago, which has previously created special designs to mark major victories. This edition, however, places the full story of Pogačar’s fifth Tour win directly onto the frame.

- MICHIEL VAN LOOIJENGOED

VISMA | LEASE A BIKE HITS BACK AT POGACAR: ‘IT’S NICE THAT HE DOESN’T GET IT’

Cor Vos

The Dutch team lift the temperatures in the war of words, fighting back after Tadej Pogačar criticised their stage 6 tactics.

The Tour de France is hotting up in every way. Not only are the riders set to endure 30º temperatures for today’s race to Mûr de Bretagne, with red hot racing almost guaranteed, but the war of words is becoming too hot to handle as well.

This morning Visma | Lease a Bike’s head of sport Grischa Niermann responded to Tadej Pogačar’s criticism of their tactics, telling the gathered press, “It’s a good thing he doesn’t get it. We followed our own strategy and did exactly what we set out to do. Period.”

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) had been well up the road in a breakaway during Thursday’s stage, and it was expected the Dutchman would reclaim the race leader’s yellow jersey. However, that was threatened when Visma | Lease a Bike upped the pace in the closing kilometres. In the end Van der Poel took yellow by a single second, relegating Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to second place, albeit probably temporarily.

Afterwards Pogačar questioned the Dutch team’s tactics, saying they were rubbish and suggesting they wanted to keep him yellow. 

This morning Niermann fought back.

“Did we want him in yellow? Absolutely not. I think UAE rode until six kilometres from the finial and they set the lead, so they also decided to keep Pogačar in yellow. What doo I think of the criticism? I think it’s a compliment that he’s interfering with us. We look at ourselves, determine out own tactics and we don’t interfere,” the German concluded.

Visma’s leader, Jonas Vingegaard is seen as the only real challenger to Pogačar’s crown but the Dane lost time on Wednesday’s time trial, losing well over a minute to the Slovenian, and he now sits fifth overall, 1.13 behind his rival.

Friday’s stage to 197km Mûr de Bretagne takes in two ascents of the fabled climb and is likely to see more aggressive, entertaining racing. And maybe some interesting tactics.

- Owen Rogers

TOUR DE FRANCE: DOES PRIMOZ ROGLIC STILL HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

Cor Vos

Not only did he lose time on the opening stage, but Primož Roglič has been surprisingly downbeat about his chances of Tour de France success. Is he just realistic or is he about to call time on a glittering career?

One of this year’s second tier of favourites, Primož Roglič has given a series of downbeat interviews suggesting a lack of conviction in his chances at this year’s Tour de France.

The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe star ranks alongside the likes of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-step) in a second tier of riders likely to fight for the podium, with nailed on favourites, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) sharing the top steps. Both himself and Evenepoel lost time on stage one, but the Roglič’s attitude has been considerably less bullish than his Belgian counterpart.

Before the Tour, his team was upbeat about the Slovenian’s chances; “When Primož Roglič lines up for a Grand Tour, the podium is always the goal,” said the German squad’s head of sport, Rolf Aldag.

But the rider has seemed surprisingly downbeat. “If I’m honest, I don’t care, you know really,” he told ITV Cycling. “Having 10 Tour de Frances or one or no, with my phase of career you know it will not change it. I won some races, I mean I’m f**king proud, so I try to enjoy it.”

That response drew somewhat of a backlash on Sunday’s TNT Sport coverage and elsewhere, even if he’d said much the same in the pre-race press gatherings before the Grand Depart, telling French sports paper, L’Equipe; “If I win the Tour de France, I won’t have this life anymore. Do I want to change my life? No.

“We all know which races I have won and which races I haven’t won. With the Tour de France, I have a bit of unfinished business but on the other hand winning it or not winning it… I’m 36 years old, so winning it won’t change my life.”

One of the best stage racers of his generation, Roglič could be among those described as the best never to have won the Tour. It’s not for lack of trying though. He can closest in 2020, capitulating on the penultimate stage mountain time trial to La Planche des Belles Filles, losing 1.56 to Pogačar, dropping from the race lead to finish second overall. 

With four GC wins at the Vuelta, one at the Giro and a host of victories at top quality races, his palmarès is the envy of the vast majority of professionals, but the Tour has been somewhat of a nemesis, having failed to finish the last three editions he started.

After the stage one time loss the team seemed relatively unconcerned. “The stage didn’t go perfectly, but Primoz still finished alongside several other GC contenders. We consciously chose not to take risks,” Aldag said. 

Stage two was an improvement, on the feisty, technical finish of stage two in Boulogne he finished safely in the leading group, even if he was close to the back. However, his post race comments were curious, telling the Slovenian media; “I didn’t have the desire to go any faster.”

Roglič is a champion, of that there is no argument. He’s lost time in grand tours before and ground his way back to victory, just look at last year’s Vuelta. But Vignegaard and Pogačar are highly unlikely to allow that at this year’s Tour, and overall victory seems far away.

Maybe Roglič is just being realistic in his dealings with the press, he’s known for that. Perhaps he’s trying to divert attention from himself. His words may also be those of someone who knows time’s up, his contract is up at the end of the year, and perhaps he knows it's his last.

- Owen Rogers

BRUISED AND BLOODIIED POGACBAR WINS STRADE BIANCHE

Tadej Pogacar, of Slovenia, celebrates winning 19th edition of the Strade Bianche (White Roads), a 213 km (132-mile) one-day race route through Tuscany in Siena, Italy, on Saturday. AP

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar won the Strade Bianche on Saturday for the third time in his career, after recovering from a fall 50km from the finish.

Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG topped the podium by 1min 24sec ahead of Briton Tom Pidcock, with Belgium’s Tim Wellens a further 48sec adrift.

After victory in the Tuscan one-day race in 2022 and 2024, 26-year-old Pogacar now equals Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara’s record of three victories in the Strade Bianche.

“Pretty good race today. The race was super fast. It was a really strong breakaway and our guys did super amazing work in the front,” said Pogacar who completed the 213km race in 5hr 13mins and 58secs.

“We just went fast and it was a really hard race.”

After falling off his bike at a corner on a descent, Pogacar displayed several cuts to his body with blood notably visible on his left shoulder.

“I enjoyed it until I crossed the finish line. Now I’m in adrenaline wear-off and I start to feel a lot of pain,” said the reigning world champion and Tour de France winner.

“Not the best way to win a race, but a win is a win. Let’s hope it’s nothing worse than it looks and all should be fine.

“I went too fast I guess. I know this road very well. I rode it already 20 times in my life,” added Pogacar, who had been leading at the time of his fall.

“For a moment I didn’t know if I was OK. The bike was not working so I had to change the bike.

“I was a bit worried because when you crash the body takes a lot from you. But still I had enough to finish it off.”

Pogacar saw his rear wheel give way and ended up in a ditch after a spectacular spin. But the three-time Tour de France champion quickly got up and resumed the race, with his jersey and shorts ripped.

He then found himself 32 seconds behind Team Q36.5’s Pidcock, but after a change of bike, he finally caught up with the 2023 winner 45km from the finish in Siena, after Pidcock had sportingly stopped to wait for him.

“When he crashed, of course, I carried on. I didn’t know what was happening, but then he was back on his bike, he was coming back, so of course I waited,” said Paris 2024 Olympic mountain bike gold medallist Pidcock.

“He’s a competitor, he’s a world champion, you respect that, you wait, regardless of whether he’s a world champion or not.

“You know, he made a mistake. This is not how you take advantage in a race.”

Pogacar dropped Pidcock at 18.8km thanks to a lightning-fast acceleration on one of the last difficulties, the Colle Pinzuto.

“Of course I wanted to try and win. I think I did a good performance, let’s be honest. I came pretty close,” said Pidcock.

“But he (Pogacar) was still too strong in this last attack of his. I’m happy, but at the same time, of course, disappointed.”

Pogacar will have to put any lingering pain from the fall swiftly behind him as his schedule starts to heat up, with Milan-San Remo two weeks away on March 22.

Alongside Paris-Roubaix, it is one of the two Monuments that the Slovenian has yet to win and is his main objective at the start of this 2025 season.

- Agence France-Presse