Pogačar, unfinished business with the Vuelta: a return to Spain in 2027 is more likely than the Giro.

The world's cycling leader has unfinished business, and apparently he has no intention of leaving it there. According to his agent, Alex Carera, Tadej Pogačar has "unfinished business" with the Vuelta a España , the race he was forced to abandon last August after a high-speed crash while leading the general classification on stage 8. A return to Spain in 2027 therefore seems more likely than ever.

The fall left its mark: fractures to his collarbone and neck, as well as a concussion, and the season ended abruptly. A bitter end, which prevented the Slovenian from completing his collection of three Grand Tours victories in the general classification. He already won the Giro in 2024, the Tour is his home, and what's missing is the red jersey.

A guest on the RAI RadioCorsa program, Carera didn't mince his words: "Tadej clearly has a bone to pick with the Vuelta, and he doesn't like to leave things half done." He then clarified: the official decision on the 2027 stage races won't be made until December, when the champion will be in the United Arab Emirates with his team for the collective training camp.

On that occasion, Pogačar will sit down with all the UAE sports directors, including general manager Mauro Gianetti and technical director Joxean Matxin Fernandez . "That will be the moment when we'll decide which race he'll participate in in 2027. If I had to make a prediction, the chances of him returning to the Vuelta are higher than those of him starting at the Giro d'Italia," the agent explained.

Yet the Slovenian champion's heart could beat for the Giro d'Italia. Speaking at a press conference before a charity golf tournament in Slovenia, Pogačar hinted at a similar scenario: "My dream for next year would obviously be a World Championship combined with the Tour and the Vuelta. Even though I'd prefer to go to the Giro, sooner or later I'll have to tick the Vuelta box. I think that will be the goal for next year."

Meanwhile, the Giro d'Italia will reveal its route on November 3 , with a Grand Start in Trieste that should cross the border into Slovenia. This scenario would be tempting for Pogačar, but according to Carera, it won't be enough to change his priorities.

The schedule will be extremely tough. After the World Championships in France, on the roads of Haute-Savoie, Pogačar will have just five days to recover before the start of the Vuelta a España on September 4th, a date moved forward to accommodate an earlier World Championships, dubbed the "super" World Championships. With a calendar so skewed toward the second half of the season, appearances at the start of the year seem unlikely.

However, it's not out of the question that the Slovenian champion might make a surprise appearance in January: there's talk of a return to the Tour Down Under, where he hasn't raced since his WorldTour debut seven years ago. Race director Stuart O'Grady admitted he's "doing everything" to bring him to Australia. This would be a departure from recent seasons, which often started in March or the UAE Tour in mid-February.

Which Classics and Monuments he'll tackle in 2027 remains a mystery until December, but the World Championships and Tour de France seem virtually certain. At the Grande Boucle, he'll be chasing a record: his sixth victory in the yellow jersey.

Carera then commented on the 2027 Tour route, unveiled on October 22 in Paris, which some have called the "anti-Pogačar" route due to the two time trials over 30 km, which would favor his main rival from last season, Remco Evenepoel . "I don't know if you can call it the anti-Pogačar Tour," he said. "I'll just say one thing: if every rider interviewed is asked about Pogačar, if the organizers change the routes to make things interesting against Tadej, and if the sponsors continue to mention him, it means he matters enormously to cycling. Whether these time trials put him in trouble, we'll see. He remains the man to beat."