"We have thirty riders in the team. They deserve a chance too" - Tadej Pogacar again shuns idea of winning 3 Grand Tours in a season

Tadej Pogacar's 2024 saw him become the first rider since the late great Marco Pantani to complete a Giro d'Italia - Tour de France double in the same season. Despite much speculation though, the potential lure of a historic Grand Tour hat-trick didn't prove enough to bring the Slovenian to the Vuelta a Espana as well.

Despite this year potentially being the best chance Pogacar could ever wish for to make cycling history and claim all three Grand Tours in the same calendar year, those rumours and speculation of the UAE Team Emirates leader attempting to do so in the future continue to do the rounds. At the 2024 Velo d'Or ceremony on Friday, where Pogacar took home the Eddy Merckx Trophy and the Velo d'Or award itself, he was again asked about the prospect of a Grand Tour triple-header.

Read also

"Maybe my name will be on the trophy someday" - Tadej Pogacar reacts to multiple awards picked up at Velo d'Or 2024

“No, I don’t really think about that. To ride three Grand Tours in one year is already something special, to then go for the victories is even harder," assesses Pogacar when quizzed by award ceremony organisers L'Equipe. "Besides, we have thirty riders in the team. They deserve a chance too, so I’ll only do two for now.”

Indeed, UAE Team Emirates have no shortage of options either as the likes of Juan Ayuso, João Almeida, Adam Yates, Pavel Sivakov, Jay Vine, Brandon McNulty, Marc Soler and more up and coming talents such as Isaac del Toro and Pablo Torres could all arguably merit Grand Tour leadership at different World Tour teams.

Understandably though, Pogacar remains the main man at UAE Team Emirates heading into 2025. His schedule is not fully clear just yet. Will he combine Giro d'Italia and Tour de France again? Will he return to the Vuelta a Espana? There are plenty of question marks, but one thing not up for debate, is that wherever Pogacar shows up, he will lead the team and more than likely be pre-race favourite.

Read also

"Eddy Merckx says that Pogacar is better than him, but I totally disagree with that" - Roger De Vlaeminck sticks up for the old guard

"I hope that Remco recovers quickly" - Tadej Pogacar sends message of support to Evenepoel after training horror crash