Tadej Pogacar's La Vuelta return being hinted? World Champion trains on Spanish Grand Tour's climbs ahead of Tour de France
Cycling
The decision on whether Tadej Pogacar will race the 2026 Vuelta a España will only be made after the end of the Tour de France, however there is another argument for the World Champion's participation. Whilst preparing for the Tour at Sierra Nevada, the Slovenian has also reconned several climbs that will be used in the Spanish Grand Tour.
Pogacar exploring La Vuelta climbs in June
According to AS the Slovenian has spent the last few days going through several of the climbs that will be tackled at the 2026 Vuelta. At that location, the climbs to El Purche and the Alto de Hazallanas are obvious features; but the climb that ends stage 20 - the lesser known Collado Alguacil - has also been on the menu.
The Vuelta was initially planned to end on the Canary Islands this year, but after last summer's protests and the existence of Israel - Premier Tech in the peloton, the decision was made in anticipation.
Hence the route will feature its second half almost fully in the region on Andalucia. Four more stages will be raced in the area when compared to the initial plan, making the area around Sierra Nevada the potential key part of the race.
Pogacar ends altitude camp with eyes on the Tour
The Slovenian will race the Tour de Suisse which starts on the 17th of June, and is putting in his final touches on an altitude camp that is key for his overall preparation towards the Tour de France.
The Tour begins on the 4th of July in Barcelona, where he will aim to take a record-matching fifth yellow jersey. Afterwards there are questions on what his calendar will look like. The Canadian classics, ahead of Canada's World Championships (on the same circuit at the GP de Montréal) are an obvious path for many, but for the rider whose won the world titles in both previous seasons, it may not be the highest priority.
Pogacar has, on the 22nd of August, a home start at La Vuelta, which begins in the streets of Monaco. This, combined with the Vuelta's lower overall pressure and the absence of Jonas Vingegaard and Paul Seixas (if nothing out of the ordinary happens) means that the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider could have a relatively relaxed Vuelta, and have space to build his form into it as Vingegaard did in 2025.
With the Vuelta beginning at his home and finishing in an area that he is already familiar with and has been exploring, it might be the perfect opportunity to complete the Grand Tour list - whilst in 2027 and 2028 the 'Super' World Championships and the Olympic Games will both put important milestones in the months of July and August that would make a Vuelta participation more difficult.
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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- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin is wuite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
- dude, Lemond never even was in the same race as Armstrong. He throws all these aspersions on other American riders who might usurp his throne as the greatest ever American racer. He doesn't say a single thing about (foreign) dopers who he actually raced against. Biggest douchebag move ever. I used to revere that guy, now I despise him. His actions are so weird.fatsupermodel02-11-2026
- This is just stupid, You do what you are good at not what you are weak at. He has no results to speak of when he participated. Even Froome, Conatdor had very little. With Pogi there he wont win none of the classics. he is already 30+ with a few years left at the top. It takes years to get good at classics. Is that really worth the effort???abstractengineer02-11-2026
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