Johan Bruyneel expects more Pogacar dominance at the Vuelta a España after speaking to former UAE staff: 'It makes perfect sense'

In one week, the 2026 Vuelta a España will kick off in Monaco, and it does so with one clear favorite: Tadej Pogačar. In his podcast THEMOVE, Johan Bruyneel looks ahead to the race, and he can’t help but single out the Slovenian from UAE Emirates-XRG as the number one contender.

According to Bruyneel, the fact that Pogacar is even at the start is a sign in itself. “It shows that he’s absolutely determined to win those three Grand Tours. Of course, he rode an amazing Tour de France—we all saw that.”

"I happened to hear today from someone who used to work for UAE and still has good connections there that Pogačar never went all out during the final week of the Tour. "He was really just focused on guiding Del Toro to the podium, while in his mind he was already thinking about the Vuelta," says Bruyneel.

"In hindsight, that makes perfect sense. If you think back to the last week of the Tour, he was indeed holding back. It’s bizarre to think that he was already preparing for the next Grand Tour while competing in one. In the Giro, by the way, he did exactly the same thing for the Tour. So he knows exactly what he’s doing,” says host Spencer Martin.

So who could pose a threat to the Slovenian? “I don’t know exactly who’s on the starting line yet, but it looks like Felix Gall will be Pogacar’s biggest challenger.” Based on what we’ve seen in the Giro and the Tour of Burgos, Pogacar doesn’t even need to be in top form to win the Vuelta. Unless something crazy happens or he has bad luck, he’ll just win it.”

"Some people claim he’s not concerned with records or statistics, but I don’t really buy that. He’s definitely checking things off his list. Otherwise, you wouldn’t prepare for the end of the season like this, especially not after the spring season and the Tour he’s just completed. Three weeks of racing in Spain is no small feat—it really takes it out of you. Especially when it gets this hot. Last year, the Vuelta stayed around Madrid, but this year everything is moving south,” said Bruyneel.