Marc Soler: 'If Pogacar wins a fifth Tour, there will be fewer comparisons'

“It’s been a good winter. The sensations are good, although the first races are always difficult,” Soler said to AS. His programme includes Comunidad Valenciana, Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. 

At Catalunya, he expects to have some room for his own chances while still working around João Almeida.

Soler has quietly become one of UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s most trusted riders. After years of trying to lead at Movistar from 2015 to 2021, he has found a different niche at UAE: a rider who does the hard work for his leaders but can still seize his own moment when the race breaks open. 

He proved that last season, taking stage 14 of the 2025 Vuelta a España to La Farrapona with a long solo attack.

Inevitably, the conversation turns to Tadej Pogačar, who is chasing a fifth Tour de France title, a number only Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin have ever reached. Soler was part of UAE’s Tour squad around Pogačar last summer, and he made no secret of what another yellow jersey would mean.

“It would be very special,” he said. “If Tadej wins a fifth, there will be fewer comparisons between him and the other great riders.”

There is also the question of whether UAE can reach 100 wins in a season, after finishing 2025 with a record 95 victories.

Soler played it down. “It’s not something we think about,” he said, pointing instead to the simple reality of starting the year well. 

“It’s true we’ve started well already at the Down Under with Vine, although it’s a shame what happened to Narváez (fractures to the thoracic vertebrae). We hope he recovers soon because he’s important for us.”