Since winning the Tour de France 2025 last month, world
champion
Tadej Pogacar has been enjoying a period of well-deserved rest. The
Slovenian has kept a low profile, making only brief appearances on the bike
since Paris, including riding in a post-Tour criterium at home in Slovenia, and
later joined Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot for a training
ride. Away from the spotlight, his partner
Urska Zigart has been competing in
the Tour de Romandie, where she impressed in the opening time trial by clocking
the second-fastest time against the clock.
Yesterday, Pogacar unexpectedly became part of the action in
Romandie. Footage published on the race’s official social media channels showed
him roadside, cheering for Zigart as she passed. The images quickly spread
across cycling circles, with Pogacar’s rainbow-striped Colnago bike making him
instantly identifiable despite not wearing his UAE Team Emirates - XRG kit. His
presence drew smiles, but what really caught attention was a small detail
captured on camera.
At the very moment he was encouraging Zigart, Pogacar
appeared to grab a discarded Team Visma | Lease a Bike water bottle from the
verge. That small gesture carried some irony, considering Visma are home to
Jonas Vingegaard, Pogacar’s fiercest rival and the man he narrowly defeated in
July’s Tour. While Pogacar enjoys downtime, Vingegaard is in the thick of
preparations for the upcoming Vuelta a España, as he tries to win his first
grand tour since the 2023 Tour where he beat the Slovenian.
Pogacar’s own racing calendar resumes in September, when he
heads to North America for the WorldTour classics in Canada. Those races will
serve as his warm-up before he travels to Rwanda, where the World Championships
take place on a hilly course that seems perfectly designed for him. Then, he
will try and win Il Lombardia for a fifth time, to wrap up another glorious
year for the world’s best rider.