Joxean Matxin weighs in on Pogacar's possible La Vuelta return after route reveal: "Those ten summit finishes, five or six really mountainous stages, two time trials…"

This Thursday was marked by the revelation of the 2025 Vuelta a España route. One that goes through four countries, features little time-trialing kilometers and tons of summit finishes... I can't truly be said to suit anyone in particular. Joxean Matxín was present and was naturally asked about Tadej Pogacar's possible return. This is what he had to say.

"It's a race route with a genuine Vuelta feel. Those ten summit finishes, five or six really mountainous stages, two time trials…. What does surprise me is that right after a transfer the race will have a time trial," Matxín shared with AS. Unlike the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, a few stages were still relatively unknown for riders and teams alike before yesterday.

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It's a route with a short team time-trial and short individual time-trial on weeks one and three, but one that features as usual many mountainous and hilly stages. 10 summit finishes and a few more very complicated days. However most mountain stages are 'unipuerto' (mostly flat but with a summit finish) and it should all be about climbing legs to win this race, as there are almost no stages where GC raids can take place.

"I will talk with Tadej from my hotel and we'll decide. What we know for certain already is that any race he takes part in is guaranteed to be spectacular, and inside the team, we've more or less got a good idea [of what he will race]," Matxín continued.

It's known that the Vuelta is a goal for the Slovenian who can complete the Grand Tour treble, however it will likely not be until the summer that the team will make a decision on his presence. Or maybe only after the Tour and in the event of nothing out of the ordinary taking place. "The Vuelta is a race in which he will participate, sooner or later, because we want to try to be sure that he has the Vuelta in his palmares," Matxín concluded.

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