“Pogi earns his millions, while I earn my own ‘peanuts’” - Urska Zigart calls out sexist Instagram abuse as injury rules cycling super-couple out of World Championships
CyclingTuesday, 15 September 2026 at 18:15
Urska Zigart has hit back at an Instagram follower who questioned why she continues to race professionally while partner Tadej Pogacar earns millions, responding with a pointed message about the treatment of women in high-profile relationships.
The exchange came beneath an Instagram post from Zigart's AG Insurance - Soudal Team confirming that the Slovenian had fractured her jaw for the second time this season and is likely to miss the remainder of 2026.
One follower wrote: “Pogi earns millions, fair play to you for being willing to race for peanuts and injuries. Take care of your health, dear Urska.”
Zigart responded directly. “Exactly. Pogi earns his millions, while I earn my own ‘peanuts’,” she wrote. “But if couples like us split up, then we women are always ‘evil bitches who only want money and did nothing to earn it’. So... you look after yourself and your wife, and I’ll look after myself. Have a nice Sunday.”
Zigart will miss the 2026 World Championships in Montreal through injury
Zigart's career continues to stand on its own
Zigart has spent several years competing at the highest level of the women's peloton and has increasingly developed into a genuine stage-race leader since joining AG Insurance-Soudal.
Her 2026 season has included sixth overall at La Vuelta Femenina and eighth at the Giro d'Italia Women, building on a 2025 campaign in which she finished second at the Tour de Romandie Feminin, fifth at the Tour de Suisse and ninth at the Giro.
The Slovenian has previously spoken openly about the difficulty of establishing her own identity within cycling alongside the sport's biggest male star. Reflecting earlier this year on the beginning of her time with the GreenEdge organisation, Zigart said: “When I came to GreenEdge, nobody knew who I was. Except that I was Tadej Pogacar's girlfriend.”
Her move to the AG Insurance - Soudal Team gave her more opportunities to pursue results for herself. The Belgian team described Zigart as a “rough diamond”, while her performances increasingly justified leadership roles in major stage races.
She entered the 2026 Vuelta as one of the team's options for the general classification and ultimately delivered the best Grand Tour result of her career with sixth overall. Another top-10 followed at the Giro. Those results had put Zigart among Slovenia's leading hopes for the World Championships in Montreal before another crash intervened.
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Injury leaves both Zigart and Pogacar out of Worlds
Zigart crashed on stage three of the Faun Tour Femmes, suffering another fracture to the jaw she had already broken at the Tour de Suisse in June. She had returned to competition after the first injury and was third overall at the Faun Tour Femmes when she crashed again.
AG Insurance-Soudal subsequently indicated that her season is likely to be over. Zigart had already been selected to represent Slovenia in the women's road race at the World Championships in Montreal.
Pogacar will also be absent from Canada after his own season was ended by injuries sustained during La Vuelta a Espana. The reigning world champion suffered a complex fractured collarbone and a stable C7 cervical fracture in his Vuelta crash, with UAE Team Emirates - XRG later confirming that he would not race again in 2026.
Slovenia will therefore head to Montreal without both members of cycling's highest-profile couple, with Zigart's latest injury ending a season in which she had produced her two best Grand Tour GC results to date.
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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- all the top riders will take his place, gall is a Podium contender. Ayuso has talent. back to back GTs are torture unless named Pogi/Jonas and he is getting sick. Need different team where he is valuedabstractengineer15-09-2026
- Thanks for your reply. But your view of all these things is just so different from mine that maybe we should just agree to disagree!Hills3315-09-2026
- MrMM, you aren't necessarily wrong about any of your comments, flying too close to the sun, some recklessness, mixing it up with the sprinters, and so on. But, those characteristics are exactly what make watching him interesting to many people. Even when he's dominating, he's often pushing himself (and the situation) to a place that is a little past comfortable. That he gets away with it so often is amazing, that he got unlucky in this situation is unfortunate.RidesHills15-09-2026
- Who or what is Mou? I don't visit this site but I get the impression he's somewhat infamous here.megasmacky15-09-2026
- But they didn't and Mas was clearly the second best in the Vuelta. We have to live in the here and now, the reality of the race. Second best between guys who are less than 1% apart in ability always comes down to form. And in the Tour, this year Jonas was the second best rider in that race, to deny this is to deny reality.awp15-09-2026
- What a weird thing to say. Second best considering only one person who didn’t finish but not anyone else who didn’t. Had Paul, Jonas, Florian, Juan, Isaac and whoever else done stage 1 and no more, would you rewrite that?Mistermaumau15-09-2026
- yes, was thinking the same - this headline tells me he is already trying to usurp all controlmij15-09-2026
- Wout& Remco both in shape without earpieces? Am curious to see who will work for who from what point on. Unlike some have said, there were huge problems between the two in past national team competitions. Let’s hope that’s all behind them as they say it is and doesn’t reappear during the race if it unfolds with an unexpected scenario.Mistermaumau15-09-2026
- The difference is that Pellizzari, Piganzoli and Tiberi won't give del Toro any gifts
Rafionain-Glas15-09-2026 - I think you could have found a better adjective than spiteful. If you remember, it is I here who over the years warned someone was flying too close to the sun, going to run out of luck (he should have realised he was having) at some point, etc. I would (and) have said the same thing to my kids when they were overconfident in situations or their abilities, it has nothing to do with my personal feelings towards a person, especially here where it is not intended for him but more his followers who took on that same confidence thinking nothing could ever happen and there was no need to consider that. How many times has he now in retrospect said, I should have listened/paid more attention? Like I’ve said, if they were unique occasions with some big goal on the line or an irretrievable gap to avoid, it would be understandable and nobody would blame his unnecessary risk taking but many times it has nothing to do with that. Remember the Giro when after a few stages he thought he had to start mixing it with the sprinters at the finish line?Mistermaumau15-09-2026
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