Pogačar Goes For Red: Tour Champion Confirms His Vuelta Return

The suspense is over. Tadej Pogačar will race the 2026 Vuelta a España, returning to the Spanish Grand Tour seven years after the performance that announced his arrival among cycling's biggest stars. UAE Team Emirates-XRG officially confirmed that its leader will start in Monaco on August 22.

Pogačar reaches the final Grand Tour of the season after winning his fifth Tour de France. He already conquered the Giro d'Italia in 2024, leaving the Vuelta as the only three-week race missing from his record. Victory in Spain would make him the ninth male rider to win all three Grand Tours during his career.

The Slovenian has competed in the Vuelta only once. In 2019, during his first professional season, he won three stages and finished third overall at just 20 years of age. He returns as a very different rider: a multiple Tour winner, world champion and the clear favourite to take the red jersey.

UAE has selected a powerful and versatile team to support him over the 21 stages from Monaco to Granada. João Almeida, Jay Vine, Pavel Sivakov, Pablo Torres, Kevin Vermaerke, Domen Novak and Ivo Oliveira complete a line-up equipped for the mountains, time trials and the tactical demands of a three-week race.

The decision adds another enormous objective to an already exceptional season. Pogačar will attempt to manage the fatigue of the Tour, recover in less than a month and then pursue one of the few major prizes still absent from his collection. The Vuelta now has its central figure, and the rest of the contenders know who they will have to beat.