Gianetti puts a stop to rumours of Pogačar's return to the European Championships.

A bolt from the blue that was almost immediately extinguished: just 24 hours were enough for a sensational rumor to be debunked in its infancy. There was talk of a possible lightning return for Tadej Pogačar from the injuries sustained in the Vuelta a España to race the European Championships in his native Slovenia this weekend, but the story already seems to have run aground on the dead-end tracks of cycling gossip.

On Monday afternoon, Spanish newspapers El Periódico and El País dropped the exclusive bombshell: Pogačar had recovered so quickly from the broken collarbone and other injuries he suffered during the eighth stage of the Vuelta that he was ready to make a last-minute signing with the Slovenian national team for the road race on October 4th.

The report, however, went directly against previous statements from UAE Team Emirates-XRG, which had already ruled out this possibility, despite Pogačar's name not having been removed from Slovenia's long list published almost a week before his accident. But above all, the silence from the rider himself on social media weighed heavily: no evidence, no confirmation of a return so early compared to the originally scheduled January 2027 date.

While the Slovenian Cycling Federation announced on Tuesday that it had not yet published the final list of riders called up – a process that is still pending – a cold shower arrived from the UAE, which made its position even clearer in an interview with team principal Mauro Gianetti in La Gazzetta dello Sport .

"His desire to be there is understandable, but it's too soon, health comes first so it won't happen," Gianetti declared, effectively closing any door to last-minute surprises.

While official confirmation of the Slovenian elite men's list may still take some time, Gianetti's words are a blow to any hopes: from the team's perspective, Pogačar will not be competing in Ljubljana on Sunday to defend the continental title he won last year. This also makes it highly likely that the original plan—full recovery from injuries and a return to competition in January—will remain intact and unaltered.