Take3 weeks ago
Pogačar pushed back hard on the easy-win narrative hours before the Vuelta a España 2026 start: «I don't know if it's even worth answering that question. It's going to be a very tough race.» The real signal is that UAE Team Emirates-XRG is already planning for him to ease off in week three — the 2026 UCI Road World Championships in Montréal, not the red jersey, is the actual target.
The calculus is tight: the Vuelta a España 2026 ends in Granada on September 13, leaving Pogačar just two weeks before Worlds. UAE performance head Jeroen Swart has already flagged that the route — over 58,000 metres of elevation gain, more vertical than the 2026 Tour de France — is something they've had to actively factor in. A deliberately managed week three isn't a concession to weakness; it's the team treating a Grand Tour as a training block with a red jersey attached.
Sources
'It's going to be a very tough race' - Tadej Pogačar looking to complete the Grand Slam of Grand Tours in the Vuelta a España | Cyclingnews'The Vuelta is going to be arduous, even for Tadej' – UAE performance head warns | CyclingnewsTour. Vuelta. Worlds. Can Tadej Pogačar Really Win Them All in a Row?