Tadej Pogačar's European Championship rivals are preparing to race him in Slovenia: 'I won’t believe that'

Pogačar won the European Championships in France in 2025, and it was immediately announced that he would be able to defend his title a year later in his home country of Slovenia. The European Championships in Ljubljana kick off on Saturday, October 3, with the road races, and the elite men’s race is scheduled for Sunday, October 4. Pogačar will therefore need to bounce back quickly after his crash in the Vuelta a España.

After suffering a broken vertebra, a broken collarbone, and a concussion in August, UAE called it a season for Pogacar, but he was spotted back out on his bike last Sunday. Wearing his European champion’s jersey must have given him pause: are the European Championships and the Tour of Lombardy (a week later) perhaps still options after all?

The question is whether UAE will stand its ground, because Pogacar is the team’s biggest star. In the past, the team hasn’t always had the final say when he’s set his sights on something. Plans to start the Tour Down Under in January could therefore change if Pogacar gets the green light from the doctor who operated on him and is treating him.

That doctor reportedly told Pogacar that he can’t go far wrong with a European Championship, so the competition needs to take the Slovenian into account, even though UAE keeps saying it won’t happen. “I won’t believe that Pogačar isn’t racing until the European Championships have started without him on Sunday,” says Michael Mørkøv meaningfully via Feltet, in his capacity as head coach of the Danish team.

"It will remain an option until the very last moment," said the former cyclist. "My gut feeling tells me I should wait and see first. You have to remember that he’s racing on home turf and he’s already back in training. He has nothing to lose by starting, that’s how I see it. Provided he’s in at least decent shape—we’ll have to wait and see. It’s going to be a European Championship where climbers can break away, but where there will also be opportunities for sprints.”