Pogacar confirms he will skip Vuelta a España and target Worlds

Tadej Pogačar will not ride the Vuelta a España, with the Slovenian instead opting for a break from racing after claiming a fourth Tour de France victory on Sunday.

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, UAE Team Emirates-XRG indicated that Pogačar would return to competition at the Grand Prix de Québec and Grand Prix de Montréal in mid-September ahead of his defence of the rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Rwanda later that month.

It is also expected – though not explicitly confirmed – that Pogačar will also target a fifth successive victory at Il Lombardia in October.

In Pogačar’s absence, João Almeida and Juan Ayuso will lead UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the Vuelta, which gets under way in Turin on August 23. Pogačar’s runner-up at the Tour, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) will line up as favourite.

Pogačar had hinted at mental and physical fatigue during the final week of his Tour victory, and in that light, his decision not to add the Vuelta to his schedule did not come as a surprise.

“After such a demanding Tour, we decided it was best to take a break,” Pogačar said. “The Vuelta is of course a race I would dearly love to return to. I have fantastic memories there from 2019, but now the body is telling me to rest. I’m excited to go back to Canada; the races are tough but beautiful, and they fit my style well. I’ll be aiming to be back racing well again for that part of the season and for the World Championships especially.”

Pogačar’s decision to forgo the Vuelta means that his late-season plans appear to be in line with previous post-Tour campaigns. He has never competed in a stage race after any of his five previous Tour appearances, with his lone Vuelta outing coming as a neo-pro in 2019.

Almeida and Ayuso will share leadership at the Vuelta of a UAE team completed by Mikkel Bjerg, Felix Großschartner, Domen Novak, Ivo Oliveira, Marc Soler and Jay Vine.

Almeida abandoned the Tour at the end of the first week after crashing heavily on stage 7 to Mûr-de-Bretagne. The Portuguese rider has enjoyed a fine 2025 campaign, winning Itzulia Basque Country, the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse. 

“It’s a special feeling to start the Vuelta as team leader, especially with the form I’ve shown this season,” Almeida said. “The recovery from the Tour crash has been smooth and my sensations in training have been good. We have a strong group around us, and I believe we can fight for something big.”

While Almeida’s inclusion in the Vuelta squad was always a certainty, Ayuso’s place in the team was less clear in the aftermath of his abandon at the Giro d’Italia. Although under contract at UAE until the end of 2028, the Spaniard has been linked with a possible move to Movistar next season and he is reported to have hired Giovanni Lombardi as his agent.

Ayuso finished third overall on the 2022 Vuelta while still a teenager and he placed fourth overall in 2023. He will return to action at the Clásica San Sebastián on Saturday before riding next week’s Tour de Pologne.

“The Vuelta is a very special race for me, my home race. I’ve been training well, I’m feeling good, and I’m focused 100% on doing a good race for the team,” Ayuso said. “It’s always an honour to race on home roads, and I’ll give everything to make it count — whether it’s helping the team or going for a result myself. Spain always brings out something extra in me.”