“It won’t happen” - UAE boss shuts down Tadej Pogacar’s astonishing Euros comeback push despite Slovenian determined to race
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar’s push to defend his European title on home roads this weekend looks to have finally hit a dead end, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG team principal Mauro Gianetti insisting the Slovenian will not race despite his desire to return.
Pogacar has made remarkable progress since the Vuelta a Espana crash that was expected to end his 2026 season, progressing from indoor training to riding outside again in the space of only a few weeks. With the European Championships taking place in Slovenia and Pogacar still keen to compete, talk of an unexpected comeback has continued to gather momentum.
Gianetti, though, is refusing to take the risk. “His will to be there is easy to understand, but it’s too early, health is priority so it won’t happen,” the UAE boss told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Sunday’s elite men’s road race comes just 36 days after Pogacar crashed out of the Vuelta while wearing the red jersey, suffering fractures to his left collarbone and C7 cervical vertebra.
Info @Gazzetta_it - Already this morning on our paper edition team principal @TeamEmiratesUAE Mauro Gianetti has spoken openly about Tadej Pogacar and european champ: "His will to be there it's easy to understand, but it's too early, health is priority so it won't happen"
— Ciro Scognamiglio (@cirogazzetta) September 29, 2026
From indoor training to pushing for the Euros
When UAE initially called time on Pogacar’s season at the beginning of September, a return before 2027 seemed little more than fantasy.
Within weeks, however, the picture had already begun to look less absolute. Pogacar first returned to light indoor training before getting back on the road over the weekend, posting footage from an outdoor ride on Saturday, his final day as reigning world champion. That came only 28 days after his Vuelta ending crash.
His name had meanwhile remained on Slovenia’s wider entry list for the European Championships, something UAE initially dismissed as probably being the result of an outdated list.
Back in Slovenia, however, organisers were far less willing to completely abandon the possibility of seeing their biggest star race. “We all want him. This championship was also organised with Tadej Pogacar in mind,” European Championships general secretary Tomaž Poljanec said last week.
Poljanec would not predict that Pogacar would make the final Slovenian selection, instead pointing towards the medical advice still to come. “Of course we would all like Tadej, but I think the right thing is to listen first to the experts and the doctors, so I would rather not speculate.”
The latest reporting has pushed the story further again. Pogacar has reportedly made clear that he wants to race on Sunday, while the surgeon who operated on him is said to have given a favourable opinion over a possible return. For UAE management though, it seems like that has still not been enough to change the original plan.
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UAE draw the line five days out
There is plenty pulling Pogacar towards one last race on home roads. He is the defending European champion, having won the title in 2025, while this year’s race takes place in Slovenia and passes only a short distance from Komenda, where he grew up.
The championships had formed part of an ambitious final block of his season alongside the World Championships in Montreal and Il Lombardia before his Vuelta crash changed everything.
Pogacar missed Montreal, where UAE teammate Brandon McNulty surprisingly claimed the rainbow jersey on Sunday. By then, however, Pogacar was already back riding outdoors and thoughts had turned towards whether there might still be enough time for one final comeback.
UAE had previously been described by respected cycling journalist Daniel Friebe as “absolutely adamant” that the season was over, with both the team and Pogacar’s manager holding the same position. Gianetti has now addressed Pogacar’s own desire to race and made clear that the progress in his recovery has not changed that decision.
For a rider who has spent much of his career making the seemingly impossible look routine, the temptation to test the limits one more time is hardly surprising. This time, with the European Championships only five days away, UAE are determined that the decision will be taken out of his hands.
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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