Tadej Pogacar arrives in Slovenia but won't ride the European Championships - UAE rider pictured without unique jersey for first time in two years
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar has landed in Slovenia ahead of the European Championships being raced in his home country. However, as he continues his rehabilitation from a broken collarbone and C7 vertebrae, he will not be on the start line on Sunday. The Tour de France winner is reportedly in his home country to visit friends and family.
Reports emerged earlier this week that the Slovenian was pushing his UAE Team Emirates- XRG team to allow him to represent Slovenia at the championships, which are held just a week after the World Championships - which the 28-year-old missed due to his injuries.
Losing his rainbow jersey to teammate Brandon McNulty, Pogacar had a week to ride as the European champion too after he took victory in the race in France last year. But as a new European champion is set to be crowned this weekend, fans will see Pogacar ride next season with just the regular UAE jersey and rainbow bands.
Pogacar's absence from the European Championships road race has now been confirmed as Slovenia announced their lineup for the upcoming races. He had been ruled out of competition but reportedly wanted to return for the European Championships at 'home'.
Tadej Pogacar
Pogacar's European Championships return ruled out
He is reported to have contacted the doctor that operated him in Barcelona, but that his push to return to competition was not something UAE Team Emirates - XRG wanted.
Still, there had been speculation. The European Championships organizers revealed a startlist with the defending champion's name on it - which is believed to have been outdated. The speculation would continue all the way up until the Slovenian team would be confirmed.
Primoz Roglic will lead the team in his absence, the line-up will also include Gal Glivar, Matevz Govekar, Luka Mezgec, Matej Mohoric, Jan Tratnik, Domen Novak and Jakob Omrzel. On the 7th of October, Roglic and Tratnik will also compete in the time trial event.
Pogacar to ride without unique jersey
In recent seasons, fans have grown accustomed to Pogacar's presence in races marked by his jersey. From wearing the leader's jersey or classifications jersey in stage races and Grand Tours, to his iconic rainbow jersey stint that has seen him wear it for two years.
Pogacar won the 2024 and 2025 World Championships, lighting up the classics with the iconic of the rainbow jersey before his dominance of races saw him throw on the leader's jersey for the majority of most he participated in.
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Pogacar will wear the standard UAE Team Emirates- XRG jersey, but with the rainbow bands on its sleeves marking his previous achievements. His next opportunity to gain a new jersey would be if he was to win the 2027 Slovenian national championships time trial or road race in June.
Fans can get a first look at Pogacar's new jersey on UAE Team Emirates - XRG's website, where his rider profile has been updated.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- I never watched cycling back when LA was riding, but from what I’ve heard LA was a nasty piece of work in the Peloton, so nothing would surprise me! 😆Lozza01-10-2026
- Wout had a great year, finally getting a cobble, plus green jersey and 2 stages at Vuelta and fantastic team work for Brennan, plus other nice wins, but all the Belgian press (and others) can see now is what happened at Worlds. Give the guy a break!Lozza01-10-2026
- But even then he carried on working after getting his breath back. Pidcock probably p’d off that it was del Toro who rode down his late attack with Ciccone.Lozza01-10-2026
- Del Toro did a LOT of work riding on the front pulling that group along, with Seixas sat on his wheel. By the time McNulty went he can’t have had much left.Lozza01-10-2026
- Big Pog fan but Mcnulty will not honour the jersey by carrying water bottles. For the older members 1990 Rudy Daelens won the jersey in Japan and never won anything and was a domestic for his team. Pidcock makes a good point about pro teams and working for team mates instead of country.Pidcock knows what he talking about multi world champion and classics winner.paultryan200201-10-2026
- So Pidcock has to wait another year to try to become the 1st Englishman to win Elite World Road Race since Tommy Simpson in 1965 !!!!!!!!!
Senna196001-10-2026 - Angry Pidcock and Matthews claim del Toro helped UAE teammate McNulty claim gold bla bla bla bla bla bla bla ... etc. etc. etc. etc.... The Rainbow Jersey will stay close to Pogi... he won't wear it but McNulty will, but still close. Next year it will be on Pogi's back again. UAE are the "sole owners" of the Rainbow Jersey. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans01-10-2026
- Shocking really. That any team, never mind an American one, would have that degree of selflessness in their squad. Both Matteo or Quinn would have been equally deserving as champions. And maybe the original plan was teeing it up for them.MavicMoto01-10-2026
- Perhaps Piddy knew Onley didn’t have it but outside of messages getting passed along from the sides of the road, I’m not sure how he would know that without radios. And yes…Quinn finished 4th but (maybe I’m wrong here) before Sunday how many would have thought that he would be head and shoulders above Onley on what was widely considered a climbers course, with riders like VdP (let alone Simmons) only considered to have an outside chance? So my point is that yes, context was considered. Both BMc and Piddy were more-or-less playing the same cards. BMc played it to perfection and won. Piddy came up short. But somehow, according to Piddy, that’s on del Toro for not contributing to the chase at the end…a chase that Piddy might not have been involved with had he played his cards differently, saved his matches and bridged later. I think that is the greater context rather than complaining that del Toro (who was working all day) quit working once his trade teammate went up the road, which should be expected in that scenario.classicsrock01-10-2026
- Perhaps IDT did help, but what I saw was a group of riders that waited 60 seconds before responding to McNulty's acceleration. A whole minute! Really? I said to myself WTF are they thinking? Did physical exhaustion impair their judgement, or was it just chess games? No one wanted to burn their last match? To blame IDT for their lack of response is farcical. If Pidcock and Mathews only took 30 seconds to respond or responded immediately I think McNulty would have been caught.Botch25001-10-2026
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