"I might also do the World Championship time trial this year" - Is Tadej Pogacar targeting Rainbow Jersey double in Rwanda?
Cycling
After a record breaking and all-conquering 2024, there's not much missing from the palmares of Tadej Pogacar. In 2025 though, the Slovenian is keen to tick off a few of those notable wins he's yet to claim, such as Milano-Sanremo, the Vuelta a Espana and even the World Championship time trial?
In Zurich last year of course, Pogacar stormed to an incredible Rainbow Jersey win in the men's elite road race, launching his race-winning attack from 100km out. With the course in Rwanda this year set to be one of the most challenging in recent memory, could the Slovenian now be eyeing up a double World Championship success in 2025? “The course there is even tougher than it was in Zurich. You need a good pair of climbing legs again. And there are tough weather conditions. It will be hot and humid. The altitude will also play a role," he previews in conversation with WielerFlits.
As such, whilst he's likely to start as overwhelming favourite for the road race, Pogacar is also teasing the possibility of testing himself against the clock in Africa. "You really have to be physically fit and maybe even go there early. I might also do the World Championship time trial this year," he assesses. "Of course, the Tour is always the biggest challenge, but my biggest wish is to extend my world title. Winning the rainbow jersey once is incredible. Now that I can wear it, I feel really proud of it. It's really great. I don't want to let go of that.”
As mentioned, despite being reigning Giro d'Italia and Tour de France champion, Pogacar also has firm goals in the Spring Classics. “Simple: because I like them! I like the way of racing, the racing style and I like the Belgian fans. They create a cycling atmosphere as it should be in their classics. That is why I am really looking forward to it," he says warmly. "And yes, Gent Wevelgem is a bit of a strange race for me. I see it as a challenge, we will see how it goes. It might go horribly wrong, but I am looking forward to that too. I think that trying new races makes me more complete as a rider. In general, it is good for my feeling on the bike.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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