Jonas Vingegaard won't get a call from Tadej Pogacar

What do you ask someone who has answered just about every question over the years? Surely with that thought, much of the global cycling media headed to Benidorm to attend Tadej Pogacar's first press conference towards 2026. IDLProCycling was also present with the world champion.

With victories in the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche, La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Critérium du Dauphiné, Tour de France, the World Championships, Tre Valli Varesine and Il Lombardia, the Slovenian had another ultra-successful year in 2025.

Yet he also particularly enjoyed the period that followed Il Lombardia. 'I had a good off-season, but it's always too short,' laughed Pogacar. 'The vacations fly by, but I enjoyed it. Now it's time to get back to work.'

He is doing that getting started in build-up to 2026, which for Pogacar will begin in early March with Strade Bianche. "I get a good program every year. Unlike other riders, I don't race that much and I'm kind of lucky with that because I can pick my goals. Other riders go for 80 race days or have to fill in somewhere, but I think I've found the right balance now.'

For Pogacar, that balance consists of not many races, but the right focus. Thus, in the first four months of 2026, he will ride only five races for now, but they will be immediate big races: after Strade, Milan-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège will follow.

With Sanremo and Roubaix, there are still two empty spots on his well-filled list of honors. 'If I win Roubaix and Sanremo, there's not much left to win. But there are still a lot of races, like the Vuelta, that I haven't won yet. The years fly by, but I don't want to rush either. It shouldn't become an obsession, as people might think. I enjoy every win.

Still, Pogacar, who is making his debut in the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse before heading to the Tour, has started ticking off. "I would prefer Roubaix to a fifth Tour, because for me there is a bigger difference between zero and one than between four and five. For sure. That's why we already scouted and tested Roubaix in December, which I really liked.'

After that spring, the focus should be back on the Tour, where he can go for his fifth victory. A totally different mindset is needed for that, the world champion agrees. "The classics are not easy, but the dynamics are different than in the Tour. It's just one day, while in the Tour you have to have 21 days of focus. Whether I enjoyed it less? Nah, it was a good Tour, basta, on to the next one.'

Pogacar can now count on a solid core in France, including Tim Wellens, Nils Politt, Adam Yates, Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler. 'But you could have drafted anyone from our team. In recent years we have been riding with the same selection and I cherish all those guys, because in those three weeks you fight as a family for your goal.'

That goal is the same as other years: Beat Jonas Vingegaard and all the other competitors. 'I hope Jonas is there at the Tour, because it also gives more cachet to my victory. But he can choose whatever he wants. I'm not going to call him and say, hey Jonas, come to the Tour. Even I can't guarantee that I won't go to the Giro, because I can also change my choice.'

New to the Tour team is Isaac del Toro, who will fill Joao Almeida's spot. 'I hope Isaac can be as good, or even better. He is working on his own path and I already admire him, both as a rider and as a person. I hope he can continue on this footing and keep having fun. He belongs to the group of young guys who are coming through, just like Florian Lipowitz and Oscar Onley, for example.'

Pogacar also doesn't want to get in the way of his teammates, "Whether I can win the grand tours in one year? I don't know if that's fair to the other guys, because we still have a lot of guys who can win. I like to see Joao, Isaac and Adam fighting for wins as well, as they will with Joao next year in the Giro.'

Over the last two years, the Slovenian has been on an impressive run. The 'reason' for that success is often attributed to his new coach, Javier Sola. 'I have had many coaches and every trainer is different, but with Javier we have built a very good relationship.'

'Every day he asks how I'm doing and sometimes you don't sit down and respond to that right away, but he doesn't care either. It shows that he really cares how I'm doing and not just how my workouts are going," Pogacar said.

'There are still areas for improvement, because there always are. Whether it's performance, the mental level or physical, I don't know, but you always have to keep working hard and focus on what can be improved. Although I am also satisfied if I keep up this level. Of course you also have to deal with pressure and obligations, but I also try to enjoy it. I'm blessed.