Italy's Jonathan Milan, the best sprinter, Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, the Tour de France winner, and Germany's Florian Lipowitz, the best young rider, from left, celebrate during the presentation ceremony for the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (Bernard Papon, Pool Photo via AP)
July 29, 2025 - 8:24 AM
PARIS (AP) — Four-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar has decided against taking part in the Spanish Vuelta next month as he recovers after winning cycling's biggest race.
“After such a demanding Tour, we decided it was best to take a break,” Pogacar said. “The Vuelta is of course a race I would dearly love to return to. I have fantastic memories there from 2019 (finishing third), but now the body is telling me to rest.”
The Slovenian rider from the UAE Team Emirates-XRG was not included in the eight-man squad for the Vuelta, which will start on Aug. 23. The team will be led by Portuguese rider João Almeida — who retired from the Tour earlier this month after fracturing a rib — and Spain's Juan Ayuso.
After doing the Giro d'Italia and Tour double last year, Pogacar had planned to ride both the Tour and the Vuelta this summer.
“The idea this year was for Tadej to return to the Vuelta, but the season has been a long one for him,” the team's sports manager Matxin Fernández said. "We spoke and agreed that the best thing for him now is to take a good rest and build up to his final season goals.”
It has already been a long season for Pogacar, a versatile rider known for his unsatiable appetite for victory. In addition to his Tour title, he also won the Critérium du Dauphiné, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Flèche Wallonne and Strade Bianche this year.
On the way to his fourth Tour title, Pogacar won four stages to take his Tour tally to 21, and 30 at major races, including six at the Giro d’Italia and three at the Vuelta. Only four riders have won the Tour de France five times: Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Induráin and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.
Pogacar will take a break until September. He is planning to compete in North America at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.
“I’m excited to go back to Canada. The races are tough but beautiful, and they fit my style well,” said Pogacar, who also wants to defend his world champion title later this year in Kigali, Rwanda. "I’ll be aiming to be back racing well again for that part of the season and for the world championships especially.”
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