Four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar is only 26 years old, but he admits he is increasingly thinking about ending his career. Pogačar is contracted with UAE Team Emirates-XRG until 2030, but recently hinted to L'Equipe that he will start thinking about retirement after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The Slovenian rider began competing at the World Tour level in 2019, aged just 20. He finished third in his Grand Tour debut, the Vuelta, in 2019, and has since won the Tour four times and over a hundred other races. Only the Vuelta, Milano-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix remain as future goals before he ends his career.
"It may seem funny to many people that I'm already counting down the time to retirement, but the truth is that a sports career is not very long," Pogačar admitted. "I started winning quite early and everything has been going very well. Every year we train harder and faster, so I'm looking forward to the future. On the one hand, I know that my sports career is not long, but on the other hand, I'm aware that I can enjoy the moment where I am now for a few more years. Most likely, my level will drop at some point and there will be no more victories like now, and there will also be a few bad years. I'm ready for whatever comes, so I'm even more aware that I have to enjoy the moment. I have to be ready to finish, thank you and say goodbye to competing at the highest level."
Pogačar indicated that the Tour will be his big goal again next season. "I think I will probably come back to the Tour because it is the biggest race and I don't think the team would leave me at home..." Pogačar said.
While Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) is currently riding the Vuelta, Pogačar has chosen a different program. He will return to Canada to compete in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Montréal, then attempt to defend his World Championship title in Rwanda. He also has the mountain European Championships in mind, which will take place a week later, on October 5 in the south of France.
