Tadej Pogacar's right-hand man postpones retirement to assist the Slovenian for one more year
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates will count on the experience and strength of one of the best climbers in the pro peloton with Rafal Majka extending his current deal until the end of 2025.
Majka is one of those riders who have around for so long that many may forget that the 35-year-old rider podiumed Vuelta a Espana nine years ago. In addition, he also won three stages and two polka dot jerseys at Tour de France in the period.
Majka's last "big year" was in 2019 when he finish sixth overall at both Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana. In Spain, he crossed paths with then 20 years old youngster Tadej Pogacar who podiumed the race. Two years later, he was part of the team that guided the Slovenian towards his second Tour victory. This year, when Pogacar won his first Giro d'Italia, you could guess Rafal Majka was once again his teammate.
"I’m very pleased to be staying here at UAE for next season," Majka expressed in press release. "I feel very at home in this team and excited for what we can achieve over the next year. I think I still have a lot to give to the team and have found a role which I am enjoying a lot."
Team manager Mauro Gianetti is also more than happy to keep the Polish climber who assisted Tadej Pogacar on so many victories on-board for another year. "We are happy to have Rafal with us again for 2025. It’s a team which has a lot of young talents but also a rider like Rafal with his experience and qualities can have an important part to play. Majka is an example of a rider who has grown into his role in the team and is still one of the best climbers in the world on his day."
Entering his fifth season at UAE Team Emirates, it doesn't seem like Majka will wear different jersey during his career. Whether he chooses to continue beyond 2025 is yet to be seen.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Good boy Obviously doesn’t need that much help dealing with pressure, as some have suggested. Wiser (and humbler) than many far further along their careers. About offering him the moon, recently someone came up with an explanation of the downfall of a football great (either referring to Maradona or Portuguese Ronaldo) saying it was kind of normal after coming back from the moon, except that others, including some who actually did go to the moon like Armstrong (Neil in case anyone is too switched off to realise) didn’t go through any of the same motions after coming back. A lot of how you deal with situations has less to do with the situation than with your character.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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🇵🇱 Rafał Majka 🤝 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ 🖋️ We‘re thrilled to announce that @majkaformal has signed a contract extension until the end of 2025. Full story: uaeteamemirates.com/rafal-majka-re… #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
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