After dominating the 2025 UAE Tour , taking his third title in the Emirati race, Tadej Pogačar is preparing to change his plans for the Classics season . The reigning world champion has decided not to take part in any stage races until the Critérium du Dauphiné in June.

The Slovenian champion, who literally dominated the 1013 kilometers of the UAE Tour, will now focus his energies on the Strade Bianche on March 8, where he will defend the title he won last year with a spectacular 80-kilometer solo breakaway. Immediately after will be the turn of the Milan-Sanremo , one of his big goals of the season.

A program studied in detail

“We’ll stay in Italy until Strade Bianche,” Pogačar explained. “It’s been a busy week of racing here in the Emirates, so we’ll have a few days to recover before we change the format and prepare specifically for the one-day races.”

The decision to focus mainly on the classics until the summer was made primarily by Pogačar himself, with the full support of the team. "It's mostly my choice," the rider confirmed. "The team supports me in what I want to do, but they also tell me what they want, and we usually find a common ground."

Spring Goals

After the Italian races, Pogačar will make his long-awaited return to the Northern Classics, taking part in the E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders.

The world champion will also be banking heavily on Milan-San Remo, one of the few major classics that is still missing from his palmares. It will be his fifth participation in the Classicissima , where he has shown constant improvement, going from 12th place in 2020 to third last year. A victory in the Classicissima would be his eighth success in a Monument , further confirming his status as a phenomenon of modern cycling.