UAE boss Mauro Gianetti does not rule out Tadej Pogacar competing at La Vuelta after Tour de France leader hints at involvement
Updated 18/07/2026 at 14:32 GMT+1
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The boss of UAE Team Emirates-XRG Mauro Gianetti has said a decision will be made on Tadej Pogacar's involvement in La Vuelta once the Tour de France has finished, after the rider hinted he could appear in Spain’s Grand Tour for the first time in seven years.
Will Pogacar ride La Vuelta? 'We will decide after the Tour' says UAE boss
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The 27-year-old has only once taken part in Spain’s Grand Tour, finishing third in the general classification back in 2019.
With the race set to depart from Monaco, Albert II, the Prince of Monaco, told L’Equipe that Pogacar ”would be at the start”.
Whether that is because Pogacar plans to be in attendance simply because he is a resident of Monaco is unknown, but the question was put to the Slovenian by Eurosport Italy’s Andrea Berton after a gruelling Stage 13 at this year’s Tour de France.
”Well, if Prince [Albert] said it, then it’s a high chance,” Pogacar said, with a playful smile on his face.
Gianetti has since responded to his rider's comments by stating the team will make a decision "after the Tour".
"You cannot be in the middle of the Tour - so much important racing - and thinking to the Vuelta," he said. "It's already complicated to be concentrating on the Tour.Â
”It's nice that Prince Albert would like to have Tadej at the Vuelta, but it will be possible to decide after the Tour how the condition of Tadej will be, physically and mentally.”
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Pogacar teases possibility of first Vuelta appearance since 2019
Video credit: TNT Sports
Should it come to fruition, Pogacar would have the chance to follow in Jonas Vingegaard’s footsteps this year and complete the clean sweep of Grand Tour victories.
Pogacar is a four-time Tour winner and also triumphed in his only Giro d’Italia appearance to date in 2024.
With a 3’36” lead over Visma-Lease a Bike’s Vingegaard at the top of the GC, the 27-year-old is the overwhelming favourite to claim a fifth Tour crown, drawing him level with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain for the most yellow jerseys.
Pogacar finished well down on the leaders on Stage 13 in the peloton on what he described as a ”crazy day.”
”It [the pace] was incredible,” Pogacar added. ”It wasn’t just the first 100km, it was the [full] 205km.
”A really tough day but we managed it pretty well and I’m happy.”
Stage 13 was a largely flat route but there were a series of hills during the second half of the day. It was completed at an average of around 50km/h by the lead group.
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It was won by Jayco AlUla's Mauro Schmid in a two-up sprint against XDS Astana's Harold Tejada, but Tom Pidcock was the biggest mover in the GC. The Briton came home third to vault himself into contention for a podium finish.
At one point, Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) was ahead of second-placed Vingegaard in the virtual GC standings, but after everyone had crossed the line, he had moved up from 11th to fourth, hot on the heels of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Remco Evenepoel ahead of him.
On Saturday at the Tour, it’s back into the mountains and asked if he prefers the look of that profile, Pogacar continued: ”More than today, yes. We go climb by climb tomorrow and I hope we have good legs.”
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