OFFICIAL: Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic team up to defend World Championship title in Rwanda
Cycling
In 2024 Tadej Pogacar won the men's road race World Championships for the first time in Zurich. The Slovenian national team has been confirmed for the upcoming Worlds in Rwanda and the reigning champion is going to be racing once more, as the man to beat in the hilly course.
The Rwanda World Championships have been swarmed in controversy since the start of the year, with an armed conflict raising safety issues at first - which also affected the Tour du Rwanda - and with many national teams reducing significantly the amount of riders and staff they will be taking to the events. This is because of the high cost of travel to the East African nation, the toughness of the courses which don't allow for many riders to have a shot at top results in the events, the high altitude and the vaccine requirements to make the trip. Hence, we're likely to have the most depleted field in years on several events, but Tadej Pogacar will be present as the headliner in the closing event that's set to take place on the 28th of September.
Pogacar will be racing on the 21st where he has been confirmed to be the only member of the Slovenian team to ride the very difficult 40-kilometer time-trial, where he should be Remco Evenepoel's main and only rival for the gold medal. And a week later the two will be the main favourites for the rainbow jersey that will be worn throughout the upcoming year.
On the 28th Pogacar will be leading the Slovenian national team and will be backed by none other than Primoz Roglic, who in regular conditions is himself also a great contender for the medals. Gal Glivar, Matej Mohoric, Luka Mezgec, Domen Novak, Jaka Primozic and Matic Zumer conclude the nine-man lineup which does not feature Jan Tratnik who was crucial to last year's victory.
Read also
Slovenia for World Championships men's road race
Gal Glivar
Matevz Govekar
Luka Mezgec
Matej Mohoric
Domen Novak
Tadej Pogacar
Jaka Primozic
Primoz Roglic
Matic Zumer
Matevz Govekar
Luka Mezgec
Matej Mohoric
Domen Novak
Tadej Pogacar
Jaka Primozic
Primoz Roglic
Matic Zumer
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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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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