"Will Pogacar be at the start?" - Johan Bruyneel makes a point for World Champion's return to La Vuelta

The 2025 Vuelta a España route was announced this week and it features a route with an extraordinary amount of climbing meters, but also a route that is quite different from the Vuelta's traditional template. Johan Bruyneel and Spencer Martin have discussed the course and the possibility of Tadej Pogacar making his return to the Spanish Geand Tour.

"The same thing as you just said Spencer, when I saw the map... Actually if you take the map of the Vuelta 2025 and you put that on top of the map of the Vuelta 2026 then you have the Tour of Spain," Bruyneel argued on The Move podcast. "Start in Monaco, ok it's becoming a habit, specially for Giro and Vuelta who are looking to have starts outside - of course it's a financial decision".

The race starts in Monaco, has two finales in France and then a stage fully in Andorra. For a second year in a row, only on the fifth day do the riders actually reach Spain, where the route will then hug the Mediterranean for quite a long time, finishing with a second half that almost fully takes place within Andalucia.

"What we do know is for sure Primoz Roglic is going to be at the start. I don't think Primoz really cares about the course, he's a fighter, he goes to win his fifth Vuelta". João Almeida, Enric Mas and Matthew Riccitello are also amongst those who have confirmed their presence in the final Grand Tour of the season.

"The question is will Pogacar be at the start? That kind of makes or breaks the race. If he starts he's most likely going to win it unless something happens. In that point of view it's good for Pogacar that it's a hard race, he has statistically more chances to win".

The start in Monaco definitely can have a major role to play, as its the World Champion's residence. Starting the Grand Tour right from his doorstep is an attractive offer (specially when it comes to having a more relaxed preparation and run-up to the race. If Pogacar wins the Tour de France, he could certainly have the weight off his shoulders, and follow the program that Jonas Vingegaard did this year

Initially, racing the Canadian classics and then the Worlds' course in Montreal would be the ideal run-up, but Pogacar is a two-time world champion, and the Vuelta a España is still missing from his palmarès. "Does he care about that, he is already two-time World Champion, and he hasn't won the Vuelta yet".

The Slovenian is racing the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse this year, showing also that he is looking for variety and to add more races to his palmarès. The Belgian pundit argues also that it is not too difficult of a task for him: "It's not too hard for Pogacar, even a Pogacar at 85 or 90% can still win the Vuelta".

"So I'm not exclusing Pogacar at the start of the Vuelta, specially looking at his program, he has only 16 race days before the start of the Tour de France. He could then do the Vuelta and then the Worlds," he concluded.