"I think the time is right to go back" - Tadej Pogacar lines up Grand Tour treble history as Vuelta a Espana participation officially confirmed
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar knew the time was right to make his Vuelta a Espana return in 2026. With a start on his doorstep in Monaco and a reasonably fresh finish to the Tour de France, the stars aligned for the world champion to return to the Spanish Grand Tour.
UAE Team Emirates - XRG confirmed their crown jewel's return to the race on Monday morning, ending weeks of speculation as the organisers, Pogacar himself and even the Prince of Monaco speculated that he would be at the August 22nd start.
And he will be hot favourite to take his first-ever La Vuelta crown, with his only other attempt being in 2019. Just less than a year before he'd announce himself as cycling's record-breaking superstar in wait, pogacar took three stage wins and a third place as he marked himself as a future contender.
Five Tour de France titles and one Giro crown later, the Vuelta is all that remains in terms of Grand Tours for Pogacar to conquer. 58,000 meters of climbing, seven summit finishes and two time trials stand in his way of joining an elite club of winners of all three Grand Tours.
Time is right for Vuelta return
“I’m excited to say I’m going back to La Vuelta," Pogacar said in a team announcement.
"It was my first ever Grand Tour back in 2019 and an amazing experience. Spain is a country I love to visit and race in and I think the time is right to go back."
Pogacar has good memories in the Iberian Peninsula and indicated that he can combine the race with other end-of-season goals. One of the major factors around the speculation of La Vuelta surrounded the World Championships.
Tadej Pogacar at the 2026 Tour de France
Pogacar wants to finish year off with Vuelta and World Championships
With La Vuelta finishing on September 13th and the World Championships beginning on September 27th, a short window of two weeks beckons for him to re-focus on winning a third rainbow jersey in a row.
“The motivation is high to finish off the year in a good way and the Vuelta will be a big target. The team is strong and we hope to do good things.”
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Pogacar's history-chasing support include João Almeida, Jay Vine, Pavel Sivakov, Pablo Torres, Kevin Vermaerke, Domen Novak and Ivo Oliveira.
Almeida will be Pogacar's right hand man in the high mountains, and although missing out on full leadership as initially planned had the Slovenian stayed at home, the Portugeuse rider can still be expected to be amongst the general classification fight.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- That's an excellent point. It's interesting that Vader came to that realization only after he learned that his contract wasn't going to be renewed.
santiagobenites14-11-2026 - Indeed! A reluctant gift maybe. Even more reluctant gift from Roglic! Tho I can’t see that Rog would have beaten Ving anyway.Lozza14-11-2026
- That really nasty crash in 2022 Liege must have played a big part - broken ribs, pneumothorax. You only have to look at his points tallies pre and post.Lozza14-11-2026
- Yeah, good luck getting tv and race organisers like ASO etc to part with their cash!Lozza14-11-2026
- 36 and Ineos have bought a rider on the downward slope. Bring back Dave and Rob who could manage the team. How are Ineos going to win a grand tour with people past their sell by date.paultryan200214-11-2026
- Mmmm would he be making these comments when he was on the richest team when riding. I think not i suspect. If we want money put into the sport we need sponsors who are prepared to put the money in. No disrespect but his team are 2nd or 3rd div in football terms with riders over the hill or 2nd string riders. If i was a sponsor i would be looking at what publicity am i getting back and Tudor really are just making up the numbers really.paultryan200214-11-2026
- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
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