What's next for Tadej Pogacar? Vuelta a Espana start speculation and his next career goals
CyclingTuesday, 28 July 2026 at 19:00
On this Monday's episode of the CyclingUpToDate Podcast, Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn discussed what's next for Tadej Pogacar. After winning his fifth Tour de France title, a record-equalling triumph leaves fans wondering what's next for the world champion.
In the short-term, Pogacar has been heavily linked with a start at the Vuelta a Espana next month in what would be his second participation after 2019. If he was to rider the grand tour, he could complete the career set of all three of cycling's grand tours.
Looking further ahead, the attention turned to Pogacar's long-term future and what's left for the Slovenian to achieve in the sport.
Gavin Quinn put out the question - Is Pogacar going to ride the Vuelta and furthermore will he only compete in a handful more Tour de France editions?
"Do you see him in Vuelta this year? Also, could we see him maybe go on to one more Tour and then maybe not coming again? I think there's a world in which Tadej Pogacar potentially only rides one or two more Tour de Frances."
Tadej Pogacar wins the Tour de France 2026.
Will Tadej Pogacar ride Vuelta a Espana?
Rúben Silva sees one major milestone on the calendar that Pogacar could be eying, the 2028 Olympic Games. However, in the short term, the Vuelta a Espana's start location as well as his overall condition at the end of the Tour has convinced him that he will ride in August - despite it ending close to the World Championships.
Rúben said: "I think until 2028, he stays because we have the Olympic Games. From there on after? I'm not sure. He's going to go to the Vuelta. I'm very certain of that because, look, he is not fatigued in the same way that he was last year. He just seemed to finish the Tour fine.
"His level was incredible. As we saw in the last Mountain Stage, he didn't even look to be in great concern to take all the time he needed to put in everything that he could. The Vuelta starts in Monaco and that makes a massive difference. He lives in Monaco. He can just go home, spend the next three weeks pretty much at home, recover a little bit, train a little bit, start the Vuelta."
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2028 Olympic Games a potential Pogacar goal
"Well, you don't have to travel. He's just there and that makes a big difference for a rider, especially if there's motivation of his calibre. You just need the motivation from these small things. The Vuelta may not have too much of a competition. He can just go home, enjoy summer for three weeks, train a little bit. The Vuelta finishes in Andalusia around Sierra Nevada."
Gavin wondered if the 2028 Olympic Games' proximity to the Tour de France could mean he doesn't ride La Grand Boucle that summer. However, if the games were to be this summer, he's sure Pogacar would be in good enough condition to take the win.
He concluded: "I think he looks at the Olympics maybe as his last true big huge career goal, but that would probably mean he doesn't ride the Tour de France in 2028 because the Olympic Games is only a couple of days after. He will also remember this Tour he finished is pretty fresh. I think if the Olympic Games are in two days, he's winning them."
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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- The record on the tourmalet is anything but a fairly contested record like the 100m (track or pool) which is done many times under the same conditions contrary to less than once a year with different distances up to the foot of the mountain and different strategies from pacemakersJoostMehrtens28-07-2026
- Tadej had a bad day in 2022 TDF only because he aggressively chased down every single attack (WVA, Rogla, Laporte and Jonas) himself rather than relying on his team or riding defensively.MajorPayne28-07-2026
- Vingegaard and Philipsen losers? A bit harsh since they both still won a stage. Especially since Vingegaard got kicked out of the tour and was not able to show himself on stages where he would be at his best (even though he probably still would have lost) Merlier a winner, we have often seen the best sprinter win at least 4 stages or otherwise all, he was beaten by Kooij and did not even finish the tour. 3 stages is good but doesn’t beat 2 stages and a second place overall while being competitive in a few others stages.JoostMehrtens28-07-2026
- OK! ;)MajorPayne28-07-2026
- You did not watch the individual stages apparentlyJoostMehrtens28-07-2026
- Nonsense. Tadej had bad days in both of his TDF losses, and with Jonas at his peak and Wout at his, it was game over. Take away any of TJV's other domestiques and the result is exactly the same.MidnightRider28-07-2026
- I've told that before: salary cap is not sustainable. If you try to somehow impose it by controlling contracts, the companies behind teams would simply make a workaround by eg establishing some company under the cyclist's name to found him or just send the money to his family. That is 100% impossible in XXI capitalists world, unless you'd try to make North Korea.BenAflec28-07-2026
- Salary cap would have no impact. I suppose one good helper is nice in case of emergency, but outside of that Tadej needs very little. He won his first TDF by (mostly) sitting on TJV. Since then his team has gotten better, but it's irrelevant on the monster solos that provide most of his time gaps. I mean, with or without Yates he was going to set Alpe d'Huez on fire, right? And heck, Tadej did more to support Del Toro than Del Toro did for Tadej. Take away both those guys and what would be different about this TDF? Not much.MidnightRider28-07-2026
- This has nothing to do with tactics, domestiques, course design, or anything else other than pure power. Mike Tyson famously said "everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth." Wout and MVDP can manage Tadej on the flats, (barely) but on pretty much every other terrain, Tadej can deal knockout blows all by himself. As long as he is on this level there is no rule change or strategy that will change outcomes. Either someone rises to his level or he will just keep winning.MidnightRider28-07-2026
- Evenepoel = Winner. So much trash talk saying he wasn't even a contender. Hopefully this performance silences that nonsense once and for all. Once Vingo was out he was clearly the best of the rest by a solid margin.mobk28-07-2026
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