Tadej Pogačar has spoken for the first time since his crash at the Vuelta a España, and his message is clear: he is riding again and getting better every day. The Slovenian champion, who fractured his collarbone and his neck in the fall, gave his first update through a video call at the presentation of the Super 2031 UCI World Championships in Trentino.
In this narration we go through everything Pogačar said and what it means for the rest of his season and his career. The crash cost him the defence of his rainbow jersey at the World Championships and also kept him out of the UEC European Championships, raced on home roads in Slovenia. For a rider who has dominated almost everything he has touched, this was a strange autumn on the sidelines, spent training at home with his partner and fellow professional Urška Žigart and the Dane Mikkel Honoré.
We also look at the bigger picture: his contract extension with UAE Team Emirates-XRG until 2032, the future of the sport around him, and why the 2031 Super World Championships in Trentino have become his long-term dream. Pogačar admitted he watched the World Championships on television, celebrated teammate Brandon McNulty’s solo win for the United States, and even gave him a new nickname: the King of Montreal.
The most revealing part of his update is what he says about rivals he does not even know yet, the kids watching him on television right now who could be fighting him in Trentino in 2031. A fascinating look at a champion thinking in years, not months.
#tadej pogacar #professional cycling #uci world championships #cycling news #trentino 2031 #uae team emirates #cycling injuries
0:00 He breaks his silence weeks after the Vuelta crash
1:09 A contract that runs to 2032
1:48 Chasing his partner up the climbs of Slovenia
3:28 The dream of racing in Trentino in 2031
1 Comment
When he starts racing, Tadej will be even stronger and more motivated than ever before.