"The same or even better" - Tadej Pogacar hungry for more success in 2026

It's hard to imagine having a better season then what Tadej Pogacar experienced this year, however it is possible. With Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix still missing from his palmarès, the World Champion has clear races where he should put his focus on next season, alongside races such as the Tour de France, World Championships and Il Lombardia where he can continue making history or coming closer depending on the event.

"It was a perfect season this year, but we'll see if we can improve next year. We want the next one to be the same or even better, if possible. It's difficult to improve every year, but we're trying to do it for next season," the World Champion said in words to Marca at the Andorra Cycling Masters.

The Andorran event, a non-UCI one, closed out this season for the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider where he managed to have some fun with Isaac del Toro, Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic - all riders he has been in closee contact throughout his career. "It’s a very good experience, racing against three of the best in the world. It’s a different format and a nice way to end the season for us".

A year that has seen the Slovenian win Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Criterium du Dauphiné (for the first time), Tour de France, World and European Championships, Tre Valli Varesine and Il Lombardia. He won all four final days of his season, and added a few new titles to his palmarès. “It’s been a positive season. Last year there were more victories, but this year we’ve added more Classics. The results have been good, and I think this season has been better than the previous one".

In December, as usual, the team will assemble in Spain and mark out their main plans for 2026, and it's expected that his calendar will be revealed as was the case last year. But that is a topic for when he comes back from well deserved holidays. "We haven’t talked about the calendar yet. Now my holidays start and I want to rest. The World Championships are in Canada and fit well with the Canadian races, but there is still a long way to go to decide the calendar," he says, virtually confirming the Vuelta a España won't be part of his plans.

Often compared to Eddy Merckx and other legends of the sport, Pogacar was also asked about them, but the answer could naturally only be a humble one when facing such figures of the sport. “They were all great champions in their time and still are. Great legends. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there at the time to watch them compete.”