Pogacar's agent gives clear indication on Giro and Vuelta plans for 2027

Tadej Pogačar is more likely to return to the Vuelta a España next year than to ride the Giro d’Italia, according to his agent Alex Carera, although a final decision will not be made until December.

Pogačar crashed out of this year’s Vuelta on stage 8 while leading the race, having already won three stages. The Spanish Grand Tour is the only one he has yet to win, and Carera says that is weighing on him.

“Tadej clearly has unfinished business with the Vuelta, and he doesn’t like having unfinished business,” Carera said on RAI’s RadioCorsa programme. “But the final decision on which stage races he will ride in 2027 will be made in December, when he is in the Emirates with the team for a training camp.”

That meeting will include UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s sports directors, general manager Mauro Gianetti and technical director Joxean Matxin. Carera was clear about which way he expects it to go. 

“If I had to make a prediction, the chances of him returning to the Vuelta are higher than those of him starting the Giro,” he said.

Pogačar himself had already named his three main targets for 2027 earlier this month, speaking to RTV SLO at a charity golf event in Slovenia. He will chase a record sixth Tour de France in July, then the World Championships in Haute-Savoie and the Vuelta. He made no secret of where he would rather be in May.

“The goal for next year would obviously be the World Championships, combined with the Tour and the Vuelta,” Pogačar said. “Even though I’d rather ride the Giro, I’ll have to tick off the Vuelta at some point too.”

The 2027 calendar makes that combination a demanding one. The men’s road race at the Worlds is on August 29, five weeks after the Tour finishes in Paris, and the Vuelta starts in Galicia on September 4, a week later than usual to make room for the Worlds. That leaves Pogačar six days between chasing the rainbow jersey and the first stage of a three-week race.

Pogačar won the Giro on his only appearance in 2024, and the 2027 route is set to be unveiled on November 3. A tilt at winning Paris-Roubaix, where he was second to Wout van Aert in April, is expected to be the focus of his spring.

There is also talk of an earlier start than usual start to the season. Tour Down Under race director Stuart O’Grady has said he is doing everything possible to bring Pogačar to Adelaide in January for his first Tour Down Under appearance since he was a neo-pro in 2019.

Pogačar spent five weeks off the bike after his crash in Spain, and has said the incident was caused by a large stone in the road. He resumed training this month, around four weeks earlier than in previous years.