{"id":2106707,"date":"2026-08-21T11:22:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2106707"},"modified":"2026-08-21T11:22:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:22:28","slug":"everyone-thinks-tadej-pogacar-will-crush-the-vuelta-a-espana-he-says-not-so-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2106707","title":{"rendered":"Everyone Thinks Tadej Poga\u010dar Will Crush the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a. He Says Not So Fast."},"content":{"rendered":"
Tadej Poga\u010dar could have strutted into Monaco and the start of the 2026 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a like he owned the place.<\/p>\n
Who could blame him?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no Jonas Vingegaard or Remco Evenepoel. Poga\u010dar has been racing at GOAT level all season, and just about everyone expects him to bulldoze through Spain and complete the grand tour sweep.<\/p>\n
Yet Poga\u010dar almost seemed offended by the suggestion that this Vuelta might be a cakewalk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s even worth answering this question,\u201d he said Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a very stacked competition here. I don\u2019t know why you would say that it was much tougher competition in the Tour, because here we have amazing talent on the start line and it\u2019s going to be a very tough race,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a hard battle. Everybody who is here, I expect them to be in top shape. There are very, very good riders here and it\u2019s never, never, never easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Maybe that\u2019s Poga\u010dar being diplomatic, because he always shows full respect for his rivals. And maybe he actually believes it.<\/p>\n
Either way, the world No. 1 certainly isn\u2019t pounding his chest before the race starts with Saturday\u2019s time trial in Monaco.<\/p>\n
Saving something for worlds and beyond<\/h2>\nPoga\u010dar greets Albert II, Prince of Monaco, during Thursday\u2019s team presentation. <\/span> (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Poga\u010dar also revealed that plans for his demolition season won\u2019t end in Granada.<\/p>\n
Yes, he wants to win the Vuelta, but he doesn\u2019t want it to wreck the rest of his 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI shouldn\u2019t finish the Vuelta completely destroyed,\u201d Poga\u010dar said Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m always thinking that I still have three big races after the Vuelta as well, worlds, Europeans and Lombardia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poga\u010dar is already looking down the road to add more trophies to his overflowing case.<\/p>\n
Only two weeks after La Vuelta, he\u2019ll be in Montr\u00e9al trying to win a record-tying third straight rainbow jersey. After that come the European championships and Il Lombardia in October.<\/p>\n
Pogi wants them all, so this Vuelta might look a little different.<\/p>\n
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Most of the other red-hot worlds favorites are either skipping the Vuelta or, if they\u2019re here, won\u2019t spend three weeks chasing the GC.<\/p>\n
But if Poga\u010dar wants to save something for Montr\u00e9al, he won\u2019t have it so easy on this course.<\/p>\n
Twenty-one stages, more than 58,000 meters of climbing, and seven summit finishes stand between Poga\u010dar and Granada in what\u2019s billed as the season\u2019s hardest grand tour.<\/p>\n
Pogi looked ready for all challengers, showing up Thursday evening for the team presentation looking lean, fit, and with a freshly shorn, Eminem-style blond buzz cut.<\/p>\n
Still setting the Vuelta tone<\/h2>\nPoga\u010dar said he\u2019s already thinking about worlds and Lombardia. <\/span> (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Could the Pog Show look different during this Vuelta?<\/p>\n
His ambition mixed with a little caution could shape not only how Poga\u010dar races but how this entire Vuelta unfolds.<\/p>\n
Does he attack every time the road tilts uphill, chase six or seven stages and race like the Pog dominator everyone knows and loves?<\/p>\n
Or is this an older, smarter version who might take his foot off the gas, especially if he grabs the lead early?<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe need to be smart and play the best three week race,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will have to see from the first few days how we approach the stages after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poga\u010dar hasn\u2019t exactly followed the typical grand tour turnaround blueprint, either.<\/p>\n
After winning the Tour, he hosted his \u201cPogi Challenge\u201d fundraiser event in his hometown.<\/p>\n
Then he played lead cheerleader for partner Ur\u0161ka \u017digart at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and steered clear from any major altitude camp.<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s also been thinking about a contract extension to keep racing beyond 2030.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been long since the Tour, but I think it\u2019s enough time to recover,\u201d he said. \u201cThe start is close to my home, and that\u2019s very nice. It\u2019s one of the challenges I still have left, and I\u2019ll give everything to achieve it.\u201d<\/p>\n
And on Thursday, he was pressing the flesh with Albert II, Prince of Monaco.<\/p>\n
Celebrities and presidents just can\u2019t get enough of the Slovenian superstar.<\/p>\n
Completing the circle<\/h2>\n
Winning La Vuelta would make him just the ninth male to win all three grand tours, something he called \u201ca big goal and a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For Pogi, this Vuelta is also about completing the circle.<\/p>\n
Seven years ago, he burst onto the scene with three stage wins and third overall at the 2019 Vuelta in his grand tour debut.<\/p>\n
Now he returns as the biggest star in cycling at the peak of his powers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt almost feels like it\u2019s my first Vuelta,\u201d Poga\u010dar said. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to imagine he\u2019ll change his attacking ways just yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2291319024.jpg”] Andrew Hood Updated August 21, 2026 10:38AM Tadej Poga\u010dar could have strutted into Monaco and the start of the 2026 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a like he owned the place. Who could blame him? There\u2019s no Jonas Vingegaard or Remco Evenepoel. Poga\u010dar has been racing at GOAT level all season, and just about everyone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2106707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2106707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2106707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2106707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2106707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Poga\u010dar](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2291317235.jpg?width=2048&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
![\"Poga\u010dar](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2291304699.jpg?width=2048&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")