"There's no chance to do the Vuelta" - Exhausted Tadej Pogacar takes time off and confirms Vuelta a Espana absence

Tadej Pogacar has been constantly at a high level, preparing for races or recovering from injuries, and for the first time in a while he will take some rest after concluding his stint in the 2023 World Championships.

"I've been on a high level since February, there's no chance to do the Vuelta. We have a super good team for the Vuelta, I don't want to even interfere with them," Pogacar told Cyclingnews after the time-trial Worlds. "They're a super good squad and they're used to each other, they've been training together. I think our team in the Vuelta can go for the win. I will be couch selection for one time."

Whilst Jonas Vingegaard will ride the Spanish Grand Tour, Pogacar rode the Worlds after finishing second at the Tour de France. A strong bronze medal in the road race was a sign of a great level, however in the time-trial he was far from his best level and could only manage a 21st place. "The road race was super hard and above my expectations to get the bronze medal. Slovenia before has only had one bronze medal and now we have two. It was my DS, my coach from the juniors (Andrej Hauptman, ed.) who was the bronze medal and I equalled this record."

His effort against the clock was a painful one, and if the clock didn't say it, having been overtaken by Filippo Ganna it was apparent that it was no the Pogacar of usual. "That was not the first time he came past me. I already knew before I could not match the best today. I just tried to survive until the finish line," he reports. "I did as much as I could and it was not my best day. I think I can train for the next time trials even more. I'm really happy but today I was just tired and couldn't push much.”

Pogacar will not race the Vuelta now as it was a possibility earlier in the year, most likely he will set his sights at Il Lombardia before the end of the season, where he is the reigning champion

"The first goal is to recover from the World Championships, then we'll see how we'll proceed until the end of the season. It's been a long season, I've been on the top level since February with no recovery, no vacation – and an injury as well. It was a really hard season and probably the best season I've had of my career," he concluded.