"He's coming back for the Tour" - José de Cauwer believes Tadej Pogacar will not race Giro d'Italia until he takes another Tour de France win
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is now almost certain not to win this year's Tour de France unless something unusual happens with Jonas Vingegaard. The big goal of his season, not taking the title at the Tour may see him postpone other goals as he seeks his third Grand Boucle title.
"People talk about Paris and he refers to crashes and building in safety, but if he talked about how Tadej Pogacar would try something else... No, the Tour is in," José de Cauwer said in a post-race show for Sporza. "It will not come from the Pogacar we saw today. He said at the foot of the Col de la Loze that it was over and out. There was no excuse from the wrist or any other story. So I see miracles like that not happen again."
The implosion suffered at the Col de la Loze, as well as the brutal domination of Vingegaard the day before in the race's time-trial saw what was an incredibly tight 15-day battle suddenly swell into over 7 minutes. A though race and specific set of circumstances saw the Slovenian not having the legs when it perhaps mattered the most, and the time lost was too much to still realistically hope to overturn the situation.
Asked by co-host Renaat Schotte, de Cauwer argued he's not likely heading to the Giro d'Italia after this defeat. "No. He's coming back for the Tour. He's not going to run. He will want to win it, but first he will come back well. And then Remco Evenepoel will also be there normally. The Tour is not over yet, but we are already looking at next year."
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
Loading
🚀A well-deserved sprint for the fast riders who gave their all in the Alps. But watch out for a potential breakaway! 🚀Un sprint bien mérité pour les coureurs rapides qui auront tout donné dans les Alpes. Attention tout de même à une potentielle échappée ! 💛#TDF2023
Write a comment