Early retirement? Pogacar’s mother sheds light on her son’s words: “Sometimes it’s all just too much to carry”

After making the decisive difference earlier in the Tour, Pogacar held back somewhat in the final week, at least by his standards. He still gave it everything in the final stage in Paris, but perhaps it was telling that the seemingly unbeatable Pogacar was defeated on that very day.

After the Tour, he stayed quiet for a while, but during his first public appearance in his hometown of Komenda, he made some striking remarks. “Everyone has a bad day sometimes. You can’t expect me to glow with happiness through all 21 stages. The Tour was really tough. One of the hardest I’ve ever done. Everyone who fought for the general classification can confirm that,” the Slovenian reflected.

“Now I’m rested, reset, and ready for new battles,” he said in August, before surprising many with what came next. “The truth is, I’m already counting down the years until my retirement,” Pogacar admitted. “I started winning early, and there will be times when results aren’t as good, but I’m ready for whatever comes.”

He’s already racked up an incredible 108 victories, and naturally, that’s come with a heavy racing load. In 2025, after a highly successful autumn campaign, Pogacar ended the season with 50 race days, eight fewer than the previous year, when he finished at 58 after the Tour of Lombardy. In total, his career tally now sits at nearly 400 race days, and he only just turned 27 this September.

So, Pogacar’s fatigue is hardly surprising. Le Parisien spoke with his mother, Marjeta, who offered more context about her son’s comments. “Not burnout, but overtired, yes. This year, I could see he was really exhausted. Completely drained, maybe. And I thought: now I get it, if he wants to stop cycling,” she said candidly.

And it really wasn’t just about the physical effort alone “There was simply too much, before and after the races. Sometimes it’s all too much to carry,” said Pogacar’s mother, who witnessed it all up close. “He was so tired, mentally and physically. And all of it under the eyes of millions of viewers.”

Marjeta has also noticed that things sometimes go too far during races. “People stick stickers on his back, shout at him, touch him,” she said, referring to the recent European Championships. “Sometimes it’s just too much. Because he wins too often. Because he doesn’t have time to sign autographs.”