Pogacar confirms his big goals for 2026: 'Don't want to end my career without having tried everything'

From February to October, Tadej Pogacar delivered yet another wonder year. Twenty victories, including three Monuments, the Tour de France, the European Championships and the World Championships… So what is there left for the Slovenian serial winner to achieve in 2026? His bingo card is almost full – but not completely. And that keeps nagging at him. The leader of UAE Team Emirates – XRG knows exactly what he has to do.

He knows himself that his year was almost perfect. Almost, but not entirely. "I’d give it a 9, but there’s always room for improvement in every aspect of your life," Pogacar tells Marca. "“I think I can still improve in certain areas, both on and off the bike. It can be better." Because in Paris–Roubaix and Milan–Sanremo, he was unable to win.

And it wasn’t for lack of trying. In both races he ended up beaten by Mathieu van der Poel. Especially in Roubaix we discovered a new side of Pogacar: the true cobbles specialist. In his first appearance at the Hell of the North, only the Dutchman from Alpecin–Deceuninck could follow when the world champion put the hammer down. Van der Poel then profited when the Slovenian crashed

“I like challenges and I try to tweak my race programme a bit every year,” Pogacar explains his Roubaix debut. “But now I think I’m pretty limited in what I can race. Every year there’s the Tour de France, the main goal for the team and for me. But yes, I like trying new things, and in the coming years I don’t want to end my career without having tried everything.”

The Tour de France will remain the main target next year. “But I also want to prove myself in the classics, to see if I can improve in one-day races compared to this year or last year,” he says. “Milan–Sanremo and Roubaix are two races where I’m enormously motivated to try again and fight for the win," stresses the world champion, who already turned Sanremo and Roubaix into all-time spectacles in 2025.

And the Vuelta a España? The Spanish Grand Tour is the only one missing from his palmarès and therefore an obvious goal. But an obsession, it is not. "No, I’m not obsessed with it. I want to go to the Vuelta, I want to take part and of course I also want to win. But if I were to end my career today, I’d be very happy.”

At 27, Pogacar is still very young, even if he already has 108 victories to his name. For five years now the Slovenian has topped the UCI rankings, and together with Remco Evenepoel he was one of the first truly young global superstars. Now, riders like Paul Seixas and Isaac Del Toro are itching to follow in his footsteps.

“These days everyone is obsessed with young talent,” Pogacar observes. “No one stops searching, especially not around the Tour de France. That’s why we see so many riders arriving at a very high level already: strong legs, strong minds, very professional. Young riders like Paul Seixas or Isaac Del Toro are impressive. I want to see how their careers develop.”

The world champion will be following them with genuine interest. “I see what they do well and what they don’t do so well. I’ve walked a similar path and it’s very interesting to see how quickly they’re rising. In my case it all went a bit slower, but yes, it’s very interesting to follow them and compete with them.”