With his fifth Tour de France victory Tadej Pogačar has achieved a feat that is exceptional even in the history of cycling. Whilst other riders spend years working towards a single Tour victory, the Slovenian now seems able to control the world’s greatest stage race almost at will. At the same time, he has already won numerous Monuments, celebrated world championship titles and established himself as the dominant figure of his generation. His participation in this year’s Vuelta a España is likely, if all goes to plan, to add another race to his list of victories. Yet this is precisely the paradox of his career: the more Pogačar wins, the harder it becomes to find new goals.
No Grand Tour victory
From a sporting perspective, the equation is simple at first glance. Following his Tour victory, the Vuelta offers another chance to make history. The planned start in the Vuelta a España is not simply the logical next step in a successful season. For Tadej Pogačar, it’s about filling one of the last major gaps in his list of achievements.
Although the Slovenian has already won the Tour de France several times, claimed victory in the Giro d’Italia and added numerous Monuments to his collection, the Vuelta a España is still missing from his list of Grand Tour overall victories. A victory in Madrid would see him join the exclusive circle of riders who have won all three major national stage races.
What’s more, the Vuelta is traditionally a race that rewards attacking riding. Hardly any other Grand Tour is such a good sporting fit for Tadej Pogačar’s aggressive style. The prospect of three weeks of racing without the Tour’s controlling mechanisms could therefore prove particularly appealing to fans.
A look at Merckx
In this context, the name Eddy Merckx inevitably springs to mind. Every further Tour victory, every Monument and every major stage race brings Tadej Pogačar closer to that historic standard which was considered unattainable for decades.
What is interesting is that Pogačar’s career has so far taken a different path to that of many Tour specialists. He does not limit himself to a single main goal for the season. Instead, he competes in classics, Monuments, World Championships and stage races at the very highest level. It is precisely this versatility that makes comparisons with Merckx possible in the first place.
The question is not whether Pogačar can win any more races. The question is whether he is even interested in breaking every record over the next ten or fifteen years.
The Olympics as the ultimate goal
Even more interesting than the question of the Vuelta, however, is what comes after it. Tadej Pogačar has made it clear on several occasions that Olympic gold holds special significance for him. The The 2028 Games in Los Angeles could therefore become one of the most important remaining career goals. Unlike a Grand Tour, the Olympics only come around once every four years and hold a unique significance even for riders who have already won almost everything.
At the same time, Pogačar does not come across as the sort of athlete who is bound to chase records right up until the very last possible year. In interviews, he has repeatedly hinted that he does not define his life solely by cycling and that, in the long term, he can envisage a life outside the professional circuit.
That is precisely what makes this current phase of his career so exciting. The question may not be how many Tour victories Tadej Pogačar can still achieve, but rather how long he is prepared to put up with the hardships required to remain at this level.
Conclusion
With his fifth Tour victory, Pogačar has almost reached the point where victories alone no longer tell the whole story. The upcoming Vuelta could fill one of the last major gaps in his career. After that, other goals will come to the fore: Olympic gold, Paris–Roubaix and, of course, a sixth Tour victory, which would make him the sole record-holder.
This is an unusual situation in cycling. Not because Tadej Pogačar has run out of goals, but because he is one of the few riders who can afford to choose for himself which of them are still important enough to him.
Leon Weidner
Editor