"He has unfinished business with the Vuelta" - Slovenian cycling chiefs concede Tadej Pogacar could miss historic home Giro

Slovenia has secured its first entirely home-based stage of the Giro d'Italia for 2027, but the country's biggest cycling star may not be on the start line. Tadej Pogacar's unfinished business at the Vuelta a Espana could take priority over the chance to race a Grand Tour on home roads, according to senior figures within the Slovenian Cycling Federation.

The 110th Giro begins in Trieste on 8 May, with the opening stage crossing into Slovenia before the following day's 166-kilometre journey from Ljubljana to Koper. It will be the first stage in the race's history to take place entirely on Slovenian soil, following previous visits that have attracted enormous crowds of home supporters.

Slovenian Cycling Federation president Andraz Vehovar, who attended the route presentation in Rome, discussed the possibility of Pogacar participating during an appearance on RTV Slovenia's Tour 202 podcast. "That's something we'd all love to see, but I think Tadej's decision will ultimately prevail," he said. "He has unfinished business with the Vuelta."

Pogacar appeared on course to complete his collection of Grand Tour victories at the 2026 Vuelta, having won the opening time trial and established a commanding lead before crashing out on Stage 8 while wearing the red jersey.

The accident left him with a fractured collarbone, a cervical vertebra fracture and concussion, bringing his season to a premature end. With five Tour de France victories and the 2024 Giro already on his palmares, the Spanish Grand Tour remains the only one he has yet to win.

Federation vice-president Rok Lozej, who has played a leading role in securing the Giro's visits to Slovenia, expects Pogacar to return to Spain in 2027.

"I think he'll go and tick the Vuelta off his list. He doesn't like leaving things unfinished, and it also fits better into the calendar, especially because next year's World Championships take place before the Vuelta," Lozej explained. "I think he'll stick to what he's set out to do. Of course, there's always the possibility of circumstances beyond his control, just as they kept him away from the World and European Championships this year."

Pogacar has already identified the Tour de France, World Championships and Vuelta among his principal objectives for 2027. The World Championships in Haute-Savoie are scheduled from 24 August to 5 September, overlapping the opening weekend of the Vuelta and leaving another complication to be resolved when his programme is finalised.

Vehovar even entertained the possibility of Pogacar eventually winning all three Grand Tours in the same season. "Given everything this young man is capable of, perhaps he'll become the first rider in history to win all three Grand Tours in a single year," he suggested.

Pogacar completed the Giro-Tour double in 2024, becoming the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win both races in the same season. A Giro-Tour-Vuelta treble, however, has never been achieved.

The Slovenian Cycling Federation had originally explored the possibility of hosting the race for three days, with a cross-border opening shared between Slovenia and Italy.

"There was already a possibility this year that we could have all three stages in Slovenia next year. We were planning what we called the Giro Senza Confini, the Giro Without Borders, in which the race would spend three days riding almost continuously through both countries," Vehovar revealed. "In the end, we couldn't reach an agreement because everything happened too quickly."

The confirmed route still marks a first for Slovenia, which previously welcomed the Giro in 2021 and 2025. The latter visit, featuring a finish in Nova Gorica, attracted what Lozej described as the largest roadside crowds of that year's race.

"From experience, I have to say that it is no coincidence that we are given stages at the weekend," he said. "We have to remember that the stage finishing in Nova Gorica in 2025 had the highest number of roadside spectators of any stage of that Giro. Brda in 2021 was also phenomenal."

The opening weekend of the 2027 edition will give Slovenian supporters two consecutive opportunities to welcome the Giro, including an entire stage between Ljubljana and Koper. Pogacar's participation remains undecided, nearly three years after he last appeared in the race and dominated the 2024 edition with six stage victories and an overall winning margin of almost ten minutes.