The Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, second classified in the recently finished Tour de France, will not run the Vuelta a España despite having it planned. After the intense fight for the lead with the Dane Jonas Vingegaard in the queen competition, in which the Jumbo-Visma team cyclist ended up imposing himself, his team, the UAE Emirates, has announced the Slovenian's schedule for the remainder of year. In it, there is no big date on Spanish soil.
In his plans, however, he was participating in the Vuelta, as Joxean Matxín, manager of UAE, confirmed in statements collected by Diario As: "It was the plan, but I have to sit down with him, see how he is after the Tour and decide the best. In fact, a block of the Tour team will be present at the Vuelta", he assured. Pogacar's absence from the competition that starts on August 19 in Utrecht is now confirmed.
The 23-year-old rider will take part in the San Sebastián Clásica next Saturday, July 30, before taking a break and taking a breather for what's to come. His team insisted on the importance of "taking a break and preparing for a one-day block of racing that will start with GP Plouay in France, before getting in tune for the World Championship and Il Lombardia, where he won in 2021." ".
The absence of Primoz Roglic, Pogacar's compatriot and champion of the last three editions of the Vuelta a España, is also likely. This would be motivated by the injuries he suffered during his participation in the Tour de France, in which he ended up leaving before the 15th stage. His refusal to run the Vuelta would force his team to look for other possibilities.
The World Cups will be held between September 18 and 25 this year in Wollongong, Australia. Until then, Pogacar is not scheduled to participate in competitions other than one-day events. Their full schedule is as follows:
- July 30: Classic San Sebastian
- 28 agosto: GP Plouay
- September 9: Quebec GP
- September 11: Montreal GP
- September 18: World Championship
- 1 octubre: Giro Dell'Emilia
- 4 octubre: Tre Valli Varesine
- October 8: Il Lombardia
