Tadej Pogačar reveals his wish list for 2027 and 2028: ‘It is not really in the team’s interests’

Tadej Pogačar already has a glittering palmarès, but the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider is far from completely satisfied. Whenever the Slovenian appears on a start line, he is generally there to win. Whether that is the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de France or, next month, the Vuelta a España, Pogačar continues to set himself the biggest possible objectives. He has now identified the races he would most like to add to his record during the remainder of his career.

The prolific Slovenian discussed his achievements on the Tour 202 podcast. Earlier this spring, he finally crossed Milan-San Remo off his list of major targets. At the post-race press conference, Pogačar had already spoken about his relief at not having to return immediately to the roads along the Italian coast. One week after the Tour de France, he repeated that sentiment.

“I still cannot fully comprehend that I have actually won Milan-San Remo,” Pogačar said with a laugh. “I will probably only realise it next January and February, when I no longer have to go there every other day to train on the Cipressa and Poggio. There are also a lot of cars, motorcyclists and cyclists there. I prefer training on the climbs in France.”

His next major project is the Vuelta a España. Pogačar made his Grand Tour debut in the Spanish race in 2019 and finished third overall, but he has not returned since. In 2026, he hopes to complete his set of victories in all three Grand Tours at the Vuelta, after Jonas Vingegaard achieved the same feat by winning the Giro d’Italia in May.

His principal objective for the following season already appears to be set in stone as well. In the spring of 2027, Pogačar intends to make Paris-Roubaix a major target. The cobbled Classic is the only Monument still missing from his palmarès. “That remains the big goal,” confirmed the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, who has finished second in the Hell of the North in each of the past two editions.

Pogačar is also looking further ahead to 2028. “Then, of course, there are the Olympic Games, which take place once every four years, and I will have to plan my race programme carefully throughout the year so that I can be in top form,” he explained. “At the same time, that race is not really in the interests of my team. But these are my wishes, and I think the team will take them into account.”

Pogačar was surprisingly absent from the most recent Olympic Games in 2024 after winning the Tour de France. The Slovenian did compete in Tokyo in 2021, where he finished third in the men’s road race behind Richard Carapaz and Wout van Aert — and one place ahead of Bauke Mollema — to take home the bronze medal.

The Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles in 2028. The road races are expected to start at the iconic Venice Beach Boardwalk and finish near the famous Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, following a two-kilometre climb at approximately seven percent. There is talk of a 251-kilometre course featuring around 5,000 metres of elevation through the Santa Monica Mountains, although those details have not yet been officially confirmed.