“A living legend of cycling”: Matxin reveals Tadej Pogacar’s 2026 target as UAE Team Emirates set sights on fifth Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates are already looking ahead to 2026 — and the mission is clear. After a historic 2025 season in which the Slovenian superstar claimed his fourth Tour de France title, three Monuments and a second consecutive world title, team boss Joxean Fernandez ‘Matxin’ says all focus now turns to making history once again.

Speaking to Eurosport España, Matxin outlined Pogacar’s next big goal, the challenges that remain, and the races that continue to drive the four-time Tour champion’s motivation.

Few riders in cycling history have reached the heights Pogacar now occupies — but 2026 could be the year he joins the most exclusive club of all. Matxin confirmed that winning a fifth Tour de France is the team’s clear priority:

“Next year, he has the chance to enter the history books among the five-time Tour de France winners, and that’s the direction we’re heading in. We’re still analysing the rest of the calendar, but it’s obvious that the Tour is the most important race in the world, and I won’t shy away from saying so.”

If successful, Pogacar would move alongside Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain — the only men ever to win cycling’s greatest race five times.

As speculation continues over his future race programme, Matxin also hinted that Pogacar is unlikely to ride the 2026 Vuelta a España. With next year’s World Championships course expected to suit him perfectly, combining both with the Tour is not part of the plan.

“It’s definitely an objective we’d like to target at some point — absolutely, one hundred per cent,” Matxin said. “But with the current calendar, if you want to do the Tour, Vuelta and Worlds, that means being away from home for four months and staying at peak form the entire time. Right now, that’s not the most feasible approach from a physiological standpoint.”

Despite a glittering palmarès that includes the Tour, Giro, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Il Lombardia and the World Championships, Pogacar still has a few monuments left unconquered. According to Matxin, Milano–Sanremo will once again open his spring campaign — a race that remains a key ambition.

“He still doesn’t have a Vuelta a España, a Milano–Sanremo, a Paris–Roubaix, Itzulia, Romandie, or Suisse on his list,” he explained.

At just 27, Pogacar’s career statistics already belong to cycling legend. For Matxin, the UAE leader has long since transcended the boundaries of ordinary success.

With his sights set on joining the five-time Tour de France winners’ club, 2026 could be another defining chapter in the Pogacar era — one that cements his place among the greatest riders the sport has ever seen.