BARCELONA: Slovenian cycling great Tadej Pogacar will bid to win the one Grand Tour missing from his achievements the Vuelta a Espana when he rides in this year’s race for the first time since 2019, his team announced on Monday.
“It’s true — he’s coming back,” wrote the five-time Tour de France winner’s UAE Team Emirates on social media platform X to announce his participation in the race which starts on Aug 22.
The 27-year-old Slovenian will be favourite to triumph in the gruelling 21-stage race which begins in his home city of Monaco.
Pogacar came third in the 2019 Vuelta and won three stages to announce himself to the cycling world.
“I’m excited to say I’m going back to La Vuelta. It was my first ever Grand Tour back in 2019 and an amazing experience,” Pogacar told the UAE Team Emirates website.
“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.”
Pogacar, who won the Tour de France in style in July, could become only the fourth rider to win both that and La Vuelta in the same year, and only the ninth to win all three Grand Tours in their career. He won the Giro in 2024.
Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2026
