Will Tadej Pogacar try to go for Tour de France win record? "Why not?" UAE DS Gianetti says

Officially speaking, the record of Tour de France victories stands at five currently, and Tadej Pogacar has just matched Chris Froome this Sunday afternoon by winning his fourth edition. At only 26 years of age, the Slovenian could make history in the coming years and UAE Team Emirates - XRG DS Mauro Gianetti certainly believes the team can work for this objective.

"Carrying this trophy down the Champs-Élysées was an immense emotion. But I'll just keep it safe for Tadej Pogačar later," Gianetti joked in words to Cyclism'Actu. "It means a lot, because behind it lies a lot of passion, effort, work, and sacrifice, whether from me, my family, all the people who believed in us, our sponsors... and above all, the luck of having a champion like Tadej Pogačar on the team..."

UAE had no idea how far they would be able to go with the Slovenian when they signed him back in 2019, even with the talent he displayed at a young age. "It's true that we discovered him, that we thought he would go far... but it's even better than anything we could have imagined. It's fantastic to be here in Paris for the fourth time with the winner of the Tour".

Pogacar's fourth Tour win was marked by a return to a more traditional preparation towards the race and an exhausting battle against Jonas Vingegaard and Team Visma | Lease a Bike that left him in a psychological state like never seen before in the race. But the World Champion has reached Paris with the yellow jersey and has come closer to yet another record. Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Eddy Merckx have won five Tours each, and if Pogacar was to win the Tour next year he would already match this.

The Slovenian was honest in his interviews over the past few days and has talked about the risk of burnout and having thoughts about retirement later in the decade, but he pointed out the Los Angeles Olympic Games as a key goal, which will happen in 2028 - the year where, if Pogacar hypothetically won all Tours in the coming years, he would take his sixth title.

The truth is reaching this record is viable and a possibility for him, and Gianetti naturally would like to see it happen as one of the heads of the Emirati team: "Since we're this far, why not? We'll at least try. It's going to be a challenge, as always, because our opponents are numerous and increasingly strong. This year we succeeded again, but we'll have to come back, because aiming for five Tours de France is a good goal".

Asked about the Vuelta a España, Gianetti tells that a decision wasn't made with the Slovenian yet, but his caution is another sign that in the coming days we are likely to learn that this will not happen, officially. "We'll see in the coming days; we need to think carefully about Tadej Pogačar's future. It could be a solution, but we really need to think about it carefully. We'll decide on that calmly in a few days".