"The difference in potential between Pogacar and the rest is what it is, but he's a legend" - Vuelta director explains why races want UAE rider despite domination
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar's Vuelta a España return is upon us as the UAE Team Emirates rider returns to the race where he made his first major breakthrough - seven years on from his debut. Six Grand Tour victories and dozens of marquee victories later, the Slovenian is favourite to complete the Spanish Grand Tour.
After several seasons of trying to entice Pogacar to Spain, the stars aligned for organisors in their bid to lure him to La Vuelta. For race director Javier Guillén, Pogacar's participation is big business.
Labelling Pogacar the purest of spectacles in the sport of cycling, Guillén hopes that fans are in for an exciting edition of the race, despite reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard not returning to defend his title. A climbing heavy route with mountains at the forefront is set to be a showcase for cycling fans.
"I expect a Vuelta that's exciting right to the end, as is always our wish. We have a very challenging and varied route, dominated by mountains, which is very much to the spectator's liking," Javier Guillén told EFE.
"Furthermore, with the great novelty of Pogacar's participation, the Vuelta will be even more spectacular. The Slovenian is a legend of world sport; he is pure spectacle and cycling in its purest form."
Tadej Pogacar
Pogacar set to dominate La Vuelta
Pogacar brings domination to the race. With his nearest challengers to the title unlikely to pose a significant challenge to the two-time world champion. However, what the race does get with Pogacar's presence is attention - and lots of it. Boosted media attention and higher amounts of fans roadside are what attracts the race organisers to push for his start.
"I was absolutely thrilled with the announcement of Pogacar's participation. It was a dream come true for the Vuelta. We always want the best, and he is the best."
He added: "The difference in potential between Pogacar and the rest is what it is, but he's a legend, and with him comes the spectacle; he's a unique rider. His presence fulfils a kind of wish we had been putting off, since he hasn't participated since his debut in 2019."
Guillén said that "Pogacar's presence is important." His mere presence ensures the race "will have greater media coverage, and also more attention from the roadside."
"We'll see how he feels after the Tour, but he starts as the clear favourite, and also as an incentive for his rivals because they'll be facing the best," he said.
Strong startlist including Wout van Aert and Primoz Roglic
"What we want from the organization is excitement until the very end, but in the end, the road decides. He dominated the Tour by a wide margin, but it was an entertaining race. I'd like to see some of Pogacar's displays of skill."
Despite Pogacar's expected domination, a varied field also includes some of cycling's biggest hiters - like Wout van Aert, Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz, Mads Pedersen and Enric Mas - making up for the absence of Tour de France stars like Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel.
He added: "We have the best possible field. Besides Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, winner of four Vueltas, will be at the start, as will Wout Van Aert, always a great contender, Richard Carapaz, who had a great Tour as King of the Mountains, and Movistar will bring a very strong team, with Enric Mas full of enthusiasm. We won't have Evenepoel, Seixas, or Vingegaard, but the field is good."
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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- 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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