Tadaj Pogačar will lead the UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad at the Vuelta a España, the team has announced today.
This year’s Vuelta covers 3,275km. It starts in Monaco, where Pogačar resides, on 22 August, hugging the east and south coasts of Spain, and finishes in Granada on 13 September. Unusually, it omits the typical climb-heavy stages through the north of the country.
It’s the first time Pogačar has returned to the Vuelta since 2019. That was a year before his first of five Tour de France victories and the first time he had been let loose on a three-week grand tour.
At that race, he finished third behind Primoz Roglič and Alejandro Valverde, mopping up three stage wins along the way.
The Vuelta is the final grand tour missing from Pogačar's palmarès, having won the Giro d’Italia in 2024 to go alongside his five Tours de France.
According to Pogačar: “I’m excited to say I’m going back to La Vuelta. It was my first ever Grand Tour back in 2019 and an amazing experience. Spain is a country I love to visit and race in and I think the time is right to go back.”
At the 2026 Vuelta, Pogačar will be supported by João Almeida, Jay Vine, Pavel Sivakov, Kevin Vermaerke, Domen Novak, Ivo Oliveira and 20-year-old Spaniard Pablo Torres.
UK viewers will be able to follow the race live on TNT Sports/HBO Max and, for the first time for several years, watch free-to-air highlights, which will be provided as part of 5’s deal with TNT Sports to air a number of major cycling events.
