Pogačar to race at the Vuelta? The decision will come next week.

Tadej Pogačar could write another legendary chapter in cycling history. After winning his fifth Tour de France , the Slovenian champion and his team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, will sit down on Tuesday to decide whether to also aim for the 2026 Vuelta a España . A decision that could change the course of cycling history. According to his agent, Alex Carera, the official announcement is expected within a week or ten days.

Winning the Vuelta would mean Pogačar completing a hat-trick of Grand Tours , becoming only the ninth man in history to have won the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta. A very exclusive club, the same one his great rival Jonas Vingegaard just missed by winning the Giro d'Italia in May. The 2026 Vuelta kicks off on Saturday, August 22, departing from Monaco—Pogačar's adopted home—and even the Prince of Monaco seems convinced the Slovenian will be there.

But Pogi is keeping his mouth shut. "Right now, if the Vuelta started tomorrow, I'd say no. But I can still decide in two weeks," he said on Sunday after his Parisian triumph. It's the response of a seasoned champion, one who knows how to weigh his words and manage expectations. Last year, he risked burnout and battled a knee injury. This year, however, he seems in significantly better shape, both physically and mentally.

Meanwhile, Pogačar returns home to Slovenia for an eventful weekend: on Friday evening, he'll compete in a criterium in Komenda with some of his teammates and rivals from the Tour, and on Sunday, he'll take part in the S Klanca v klanc , a granfondo where he'll try to catch up with all the starters ahead of him on his home climb. Proceeds will go to the Tadej Pogačar Foundation. He'll then follow his partner Urška Žigart in the Tour de France Femmes.

The rest of the season is already mapped out: defending the world title in Montreal at the end of September, the European Road Championships in Slovenia on October 4th, and, to cap it all off, attempting to win Il Lombardia for the sixth time on October 10th—an all-time record. The Vuelta, if anything, would fit into this already ambitious schedule. "I'm aware that burnout can happen if you push yourself too far," Pogačar admitted. "That's why I don't say yes to everything right away. I also have to think about it and keep my feet on the ground." Wise words, from a champion who knows how to take care of himself as much as he knows how to win.