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Follow us on GoogleTadej Pogačar crashed in stage 8 of the 2026 Vuelta a España, suffering a concussion and fractures to his spine and collarbone. The Slovenian super star has returned to training, and amidst speculation about the crash, and his 2027 race calendar.
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Pogačar will look to return to the yellow jersey at the Tour de France
Pogačar confirms major goals for next season
During a charity press conference, Pogačar revealed his major plans for the coming season.
The Slovenian has been back on the bike and training for a few weeks now, and is not shying away from ambition on his return to the bunch.
He said, "My goal is to ride the World Championships in combination with the Tour and the Vuelta, which didn’t work out this year. Although I’d prefer to ride the Giro, I’ll have to check off the Vuelta at some point.”
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'It was a big rock': Speculation over the Vuelta crash put to bed
The 5-time Tour de France winner also addressed rumours and speculation surrounding how his crash at the Vuelta happened. In Slovenia, rumours have been circulating that it might have been a flash, a TV camera battery, or a GoPro that caused Pogacar to fall.
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In the typically light-hearted Pogi style, he said "It was a big rock, everything else is fake news."
Despite crashing out, and being unable to finish the Vuelta, or compete at the World or European championships, or defend his Lombardy title, the 28-year-old is still the top tanked rider in the world.
Roubaix was the only one-day race that Pogačar started, and didn't win, in 2026
Before his crash he won almost everything he entered, losing out to Wout van AErt at Roubaix, but winning Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, as well as the general classifications in the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, and Tour de France overall.
When will the Slovenian be back in action?
Pogačar now has sponsorship obligations to fulfil in Abu Dhabi, as well as the UAE Team Emirates-XRG annual cycling festival.
He said the festival gave him an opportunity to look ahead to next season, which as of yet has not been confirmed.
He said the trip to fulfil his duties would also be "an opportunity to sit down with the team management and discuss. Since I've already finished the break between seasons, we'll already be discussing specifically what we'll do next year."
According to Michael Matthews, the Slovenian could be back in action as early as the Tour Down Under, a race he has never attempted before.
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- - The bike may be quick, but the article seems a bit too ready to credit the equipment for the result. Remco’s the one producing those watts—though I’ll admit, two minutes is a pretty convincing test ride.jennifer1918-10-2026
- - I’m still learning how time trials work: if Evenepoel caught Jay Vine, does that mean Vine started earlier, and do riders set off at fixed intervals?tourdeforce918-10-2026
- - A flat Tour TT on these roads would be brilliant viewing. Wide, fast courses really let the specialists show what they can do.davidm18-10-2026
- - Fourteen wins in a season is some going. He sounded focused on his own effort rather than the riders ahead, which is exactly the mindset you want in a race against the clock.michael5418-10-2026
- - Catching Vine and putting over two minutes into him is an enormous statement. That new Specialized clearly suits Remco—keen to see how it performs over a longer Tour time trial.raceready718-10-2026
- I’m still trying to understand the history here—why was insulin being used alongside amphetamines? Was that common in cycling at the time?cyclechamp4518-10-2026
- Hard to take the article’s “recovered” line at face value when it ends by raising concerns about team entourages. Cycling has made huge changes, but scrutiny still matters.velodromevirtuoso118-10-2026
- The detail about riders deliberately pushing him off the road is shocking. Do we know whether anyone ever faced consequences for that?pedalpowe2918-10-2026
- Bassons’ story is a grim reminder of what speaking up could cost in that era. Fair play to him for holding his ground when it meant being isolated by his own team.tourdeforce918-10-2026
- I’m still learning how team contracts work: if Barguil had ended his deal before 2018, could the team have left him out of the Tour, or was his place already agreed?sprocketspiny18-10-2026
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