“He achieved every single goal except Milano–Sanremo” – Tadej Pogacar’s 2025 near-perfect season says Joxean Matxin

Tadej Pogacar’s 2025 campaign was “spectacular” in the eyes of Joxean Matxin, with the UAE Team Emirates – XRG team manager hailing the Slovenian’s ability to deliver on every objective bar one: Milano–Sanremo.

Pogacar sealed his season in emphatic fashion at Il Lombardia last weekend, claiming a record-breaking fifth straight victory in Como and taking his tally of Monument wins into double figures at just 27 years old.

“He achieved every single goal except Milano–Sanremo, which is a very complicated race,” Matxin told AS after the Il Lombardia. “Everything else, yes. That’s why I’d also pick this year as his best. It’s incredibly hard to achieve something like this and, while we must remain humble, it’s spectacular.”

Pogacar raced just 50 days in 2025 compared to 58 in 2024, but the results were carefully targeted and brutally effective. He began his year by winning Strade Bianche and dominated the spring with Tour of Flanders and Liège–Bastogne–Liège victories, before completing a comprehensive 4th Tour de France win in the summer, and then going on to claim both World and European road race titles.

He ended his campaign with 20 victories — fewer than the 25 of the previous year, but of a higher calibre. Among them was his tenth Monument, cementing his place as one of the most prolific riders of his generation.

“This year was magnificent because, even though he raced less, he targeted better races with clearer objectives,” Matxin added. “I agree with Tadej — this was the best year of his career.”

Pogacar’s ambitions remain far from sated. After adding Flanders and Liège to his palmarès, he has made clear that Milano–Sanremo and Paris–Roubaix are the next two Monuments he is targeting — the final pieces missing from a potential clean sweep.

“He’s got Lombardia, he’s got Liège, he’s got Flanders,” Matxin said. “A rider like Tadej wants to win the biggest races, and those two Monuments are what’s missing — so it’s only natural.”

After rewriting history with Pogacar’s dominance in 2025, the team are already setting the stage for a 2026 season that could bring even more.