"You have to adapt and bounce back" - Urska Zigart provides update on Tadej Pogacar's health
CyclingSunday, 13 September 2026 at 01:09
Tadej Pogacar will not race anymore until 2026 but he will be present in Canada for the World Championships, and to support fiancée Urska Zigart. The latter has provided an update on the World Champion's conditions, a few weeks after his season-ending crash.
“It’s not exactly home turf, but it will be very special to have so many fans there," Zigart shared with DirectVelo. Zigart is putting in the final touches for the Montréal World Championships, where she will be an outsider for the rainbow jersey.
After the Worlds come the Europeans the week after, where Zigart will be racing at home. "There’s a huge buzz across the country surrounding this European Championship. We’re a bit disappointed that Tadej won’t be part of the action, but he’ll still be there to support us".
Pogacar, who suffered a concussion, fractured collarbone and a vertebra, was ruled out of the rest of the season as there was not enough time to recover from his injuries.
“Right now, he’s fully focused on recovering from his injuries. But maybe he’ll come to Canada to support me at the World Championships—or why not race himself," she joked. "Crashes happen. You have to adapt and bounce back, and I’m sure he’ll come back stronger next year.”
Tadej Pogacar ended his season after a crash at the 2026 Vuelta a España
Zigart ready to fight for the win in France
Having had a packed schedule this year, Zigart finished in the Top10 of both the Vuelta Femenina and Giro Donne. Her Tour de France Femmes performance didn't match the AG Insurance - Soudal rider, but her return to racing now in September shows a better face.
After two stages of the Faun Tour Femmes, the Slovenian sits third in the overall classification behind Niamh Fisher-Black and Juliette Berthet. "We came here with a strong squad and plenty of climbers. The course will be tough every day—or at least punchy—and that should suit us well, especially me".
Amongst others, Zigart is teaming up with the returning Sarah Gigante, who began her 2026 season only this week. On the final stage of the race, the peloton will tackle an hard ascent on two occasions, a day for the pure climbers such as her.
"It’s a small peloton here; I like that kind of scenario, though I know it makes the race harder to control. We’ll need to be very smart to sniff out the right moves. But ultimately, it’s going to come down to attacking at some point."
"I feel good; my form is solid. I took a bit of a break after the Tour and am now in the final phase of preparation for the World and European Championships. I feel ready," Zigart concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 6visitors 5
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Pogacar won't race till 2026 🤔
leedorney13-09-2026 - I don't visit this site that often. What's the deal with Mou?megasmacky13-09-2026
- Nice.megasmacky13-09-2026
- Evenepoel's my favourite for the RR but with so many riders only racing minimal programs, it can be tough to rank riders. I assume Sexias will be strong but he hasn't raced in a while so I don't know. I've said before that this circuit isn't the leg breaker, climber's course it once was, so WVA could be up there as well. My only problem is with the world's here in Canada, we'll have to listen to possibly the worst sports announcer on earth for six hours. Not just cycling, all sports. You'd think that the expert analyst would be, well, an expert. Instead we get Curt Harnett, a track rider from back in the 90's, who made it blatantly obvious at the Olympics that he doesn't even follow racing. He spent that whole race, when he wasn't yapping about nothing or missing moves, calling WVA, Woot Van Irt. That would be like me saying I'm a football expert and the best player is Linus Massi. You wouldn't take anyone very seriously if they said that, but that's how bad this stupid clown is. CBC really can't find a single ex-pro Canadian rider who can do a better job? I'D do a better f***ing job and I'd do it for free and all the poutine I can eat. A rabid beaver would be a better analyst than Harnett. I hope everyone who attends has a great time. Montreal is a wonderful city.megasmacky13-09-2026
- You sure you're not making up phantom enemies? Everything you said is true, who's arguing with you?megasmacky12-09-2026
- LA apparently is always the villain, but they honor Pantani to the clouds along with all the "stuff" he filled himself with, even naming a UCI race after him. Interesting.Ride197412-09-2026
- I'm happy to see Mas finally winning a GT (if he stays upright tomorrow). He's been 2nd and 3rd all over his career so many times. But I'd also have liked to see Roglic writing history.Ride197412-09-2026
- PogiSloFans, sadly recent concussion research shows the ill-effects on the brain last many months, long after symptoms clear up.Hills3312-09-2026
- Congrats to Landa, a deserved win after so many years. But nevertheless... OMG, what Pogi would have done to them… 15 min. difference over the entire Vuelta. Just proves that these guys are unfortunately second and third class compared to Pogi.PogiSloFans12-09-2026
- Anyone “new” to this site cannot be instant Mou, it takes months of commentary to show you’re wearing blindersMistermaumau12-09-2026
Loading
1 Comments