Marc Soler on Pogacar's Tour de France pursuit: "If Tadej wins his fifth, it will make it easier to compare him to other great cyclists"
Cycling
Marc Soler has ridden every single Tour de France since 2018, and every season since joining UAE Team Emirates - XRG in 2022, he's been part of the Tour de France lineup supporting Tadej Pogacar. In 2026 he will do it again, and he has begun his season close to home in Spain eyeing the Grand Tours later on in the year.
“Winter has gone well. We have a good feeling, although the first races of the year are always difficult,” Soler shared in words to AS. The 32-year old has raced the Classics Camp de Morvedre and the Gran Prémio Castellón, where António Morgado was racing as team leader. Soler often has a free role, and will soon be racing the Mallorca classics and then the Volta a Comuntiat Valenciana most likely with the same freedom.
The winner of last year's stage to La Farrapona at the Vuelta a España will be taking on a calendar that mostly consists of racing in Spain, a suiting schedule for the rider who has had most of his career's biggest achievements in the country. Amongst these are four Vuelta victories in four different years, combined throughout his Movistar and UAE years.
Whilst his calendar had already been revealed, also including the Tour de Suisse alongside Tadej Pogacar, he has reaffirmed what his main goals this season will be. “A very similar calendar to last year, with the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country, and the Tour de France and Vuelta a España as my main objectives.”
Marc Soler racing at the 2025 Vuelta a España. @Sirotti
Pursuit for a fifth Tour de France win
In July he will race his ninth Tour de France, alongside Tadej Pogacar, Isaac del Toro, Tim Wellens, Adam Yates, Brandon McNulty; and two more riders who are strongly expected to be Pavel Sivakov and Nils Politt. Soler is a rider who has throughout his career stood out due to his aggressive racing style and ability to thrive in long solo attacks, but at the Tour, his role is clear.
He will be a domestique in UAE's attempt to make history with Tadej Pogacar, as he is close to matching the current record held by riders such as Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil. “If Tadej wins his fifth, it will make it easier to compare him to other great cyclists," Soler argues.
Asked at the GP Castellón about the team's ambitions throughout the year, Soler made no business of overcomplicating it: “Reaching 100 victories isn't something we're thinking about". He himself contributed with three in 2025, as he also won a stage and the overall classification at the Vuelta Asturias, but there is no personal pressure on him to reach more in 2026.
However as of the 26th of January, the team has already net three wins, all through Jay Vine's achievements in Australia. "It's true that we've started well since the Tour Down Under with Vine, although Narváez's injury was a real shame. We hope he recovers soon because he's important for us".
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.
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