Tadej Pogacar has enjoyed a hugely successful year, winning Tour de France for the fourth time, the World and European Championships, the monuments Tour of Flanders, Il Lombardia, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège... However, all that work took a toll on his body, and he almost quit Tour de France due to an injury he kept secret until months later, and sometimes hinted that he was thinking about a retirement.
However, in a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Eurosport), the 27-year-old Slovenian cycling denied rumours that he was thinking about retiring after the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games: "The idea of retiring in 2028 has never been on the table. I signed a contract until 2030, and unless something crazy happens before then, I'm going to honour it. If I wasn't sure about that, I wouldn't have signed that contract.
"Every year the team improves, and I feel more and more like I'm part of a family. I can't see myself anywhere else, and if I want to keep racing beyond 2030, it's very likely to be with UAE. But there's still a long way to go: I'm relaxed, I'm enjoying this sport, and I have no worries."
Further reading: Tour de France 2026 route revealed, with first three stages in Catalonia
Tadej Pogacar wants to have as many different victories as possible
Tadej Pogacar clears doubts about ending his career prematurely, and intends to stay with UAE Team Emirates-XRG until at least 2030, when his contract ends. Next year, he could join Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, and Induraín as the only cyclists to win Tour de France three times in a row, plus winning the last two Monuments he hasn't conquered, Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo... or win La Vuelta for the first time.
If I had to choose, I'd go for the widest possible variety of victories. I'd even choose that over winning seven Tours. Yes, the Tour is the biggest race, but in the other races, to win you have to do it against the best, always. And that's why, for me, they're all on the same level.