Tadej Pogacar beaten by amateur cyclist - How Tour de France champion failed to win his own 'Pogi Challenge' for second year in a row
Cycling
For the second year in a row, Tadej Pogacar has failed to get the win in the showpiece of his own event: The Pogi Challenge. The special challenge pits amateurs against the Tour de France champion on his favourite climb in Slovenia.
As part of his post-Tour celebrations, the Slovenian returned to his hometown of Komeda and rode the main attraction on the third day of his Pogi Challenge event on Sunday.
The world champion took on 1,189 cycling enthusiasts on the Krvavec climb, which includes 12 kilometers at an average of 8.1%. Of course, if the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider started alongside the participants, it would leave them with little to no chance of keeping pace - that's where it gets interesting.
Participants are given a head-start, before Pogacar is released upon its slopes a few minutes later. The hunt then begins as he hunts down every participant. However, he didn't have it all his own way - managing to finish in eighth place as German amateur Frederik Niessen reached the top first.
German amateur cyclist and six others beat Pogacar
It's not the first time Pogacar failed in his quest to go from last to first. In 2025, British amateur and climbing specialist Andrew Feather managed to keep Pogacar at bay and crest the climb first.
"At the foot it was a bit of chaos, with even a crash, but after that I kept riding well and suffered," Pogacar told the local media after the challenge.
The climb is Pogacar's favourite for a reason. He took his first-ever cycling victory on its slopes in 2009 many years before he would take the cycling world by storm and become a record-equalling Tour de France winner.
Before the race, Pogacar was in great spirits as he enjoyed his pot-Tour homecoming, joking that he hoped to conquer the climb as quickly as possible.
Pogacar in great spirits ahead of Vuelta decision
"Thanks for coming. Finally, we can race together," he addressed fans and participants beforehand. He added: "And yes, I hope that climb is over quickly."
Meanwhile, UAE and Pogacar are expected to confirm his plans for the final part of the season in the coming days. With extensive speculation linking him to a participation at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana, he finds himself with a decision to make.
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Due to the race ending in close proximity to the Montreal World Championships, a major goal for him in his bid to secure a third World Championships in a row, he and his team will evaluate if a participation in the Grand Tour is feasible.
Pogacar rode his first Grand Tour in 2019 at the Vuelta, but has not returned since. After securing a Giro d'Italia in 2024, a win in Spain would make him a treble Grand Tour winner.
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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- ❤️Lozza15-11-2026
- The greatest ever is a crazy claim. But in discussions about sport in our local media, among people with no particular interest in cycling, he has been the first person they've thought of when giving examples of exceptional athletes.Hills3315-11-2026
- Urska may be less keen on a cafe if keeping it afloat will fall to her, so maybe just a nice dream!Hills3315-11-2026
- Raise thine hand if the money you have made for retirement slips away on poor investments.Most of us will outlive our financial comforts because we don't have the financial acumen to ensure a comfortable lifelong retirement and that is a statistical fact not my opinion.Many millionaires have pissed their money away or had it taken away by so called conniving "financial advisors".The world of wealth is a dangerous place that most of us will never experience nor appreciate.
Brucegel15-11-2026 - You are interested in Pogi for one reason only, you feel like you are somehow related because you share some vague geographical identity. Other than that you have very little interest in cycling as all your posts show, if it can’t be connected to Pogi you have nothing to post. That said, recent activity here shows we are attracting quite a crowd from his region.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- From knowing past cycling stars with shops I can only say, think it through. Not only is it mundane after a while but it really doesn’t take you out of the limelight, in the end you’ll be trying to stay away from the place yourself whilst all your fans keep coming for you.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Careful investment? I think he can live very comfortably with zero investments, what does he need more? The world would do well if more people set a target for how much they need or would make them “happy” and then stop worrying about perpetually having to make more.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Yes, Roglic could theoretically have beaten Sepp. Jonas must have had complete confidence that he could come back and win the Vuelta another year. Visma had not allowed Roglic to ride the Tour that year, so his future did not look so bright, despite his narrow Giro win..Hills3315-11-2026
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
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