UAE Team Emirates-XRG confirmed on Monday that Tadej Pogačar will return to La Vuelta a España seven years after his Grand Tour debut, in which he won three stages and finished on the final podium.
“The time is right to go back,” Pogačar said in his team’s announcement. Victory would complete his Grand Tour set, placing him alongside the eight previous winners of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta: Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome and Jonas Vingegaard.
Pogačar is the overwhelming favourite in almost every race he enters, with Paris-Roubaix the rare event in which he appears beatable. At La Vuelta, it seems no one will be capable of stopping him from wearing red in Granada at the end of the race. A crash, illness or dramatic loss of form could still intervene, as it can in any three-week race, but none of those possibilities amounts to a credible pre-race rival.
Roglič's record bid now looks remote
Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) is pursuing a fifth Vuelta title after victories in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024. Another would move him beyond Roberto Heras, whose four wins came between 2000 and 2005, and make Roglič the outright record-holder.
Pogačar’s entry makes a fifth title far less likely. Roglič’s experience remains valuable, but UAE will arrive with João Almeida as another general-classification option, plus Jay Vine and Pavel Sivakov as climbing support. Pablo Torres, Kevin Vermaerke, Domen Novak and Ivo Oliveira complete a squad built to control varied terrain.
The provisional startlist contains plenty of accomplished riders. Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), Carlos Rodríguez (Netcompany-INEOS) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) can shape the podium contest. Movistar's line-up includes Cian Uijtdebroeks and Iván Romeo. None enters with a convincing case for matching Pogačar across seven summit finishes and two individual time trials.
Vingegaard and the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe duo of Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz are not on the list, with the World Championships and European Championships among their late-season priorities. Oscar Onley (Netcompany-INEOS) may attend, but even at his best, a podium would appear to be his realistic ceiling. The Tour of Britain also finishes near his hometown of Kelso this year, potentially presenting him with a choice between the two races.
The route leaves plenty to contest. The few sprint opportunities will be fiercely contested, while the mountain-heavy course should produce breakaway battles and shifting rivalries for the podium and top 10. Roglič’s record chase also remains worth following for as long as the road permits it.
Those contests will unfold around the main question of the race. When it begins with an individual time trial in Monaco on August 22, Pogačar will be the clear favourite for the red jersey. Winning the only Grand Tour missing from his palmarès would be historically significant, even if the result is predictable.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWPix.com
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