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Tadej Pogacar has set his sights on a tilt at a Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana double in 2025, and hinted that he may race all three grand tours in a single season in the future.
Pogacar enjoyed a remarkable 2024, becoming the first man since 1998 to win both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in a single summer before securing an audacious World Championship triumph in Switzerland last month.
The Slovenian now has four grand tour wins overall to go along with seven victories in the prestigious one-day Monuments.
A Vuelta red jersey eludes him, though, with the UAE Team Emirates finishing third on grand tour debut in 2019 and yet to return to the Spanish race.
But an attempt to complete the set of three-week races witth a Vuelta win looks to be on the cards next year.
“I’ll probably have to go to the Tour [de France] again,” Pogacar explained to Slovenian outlet Delo. “At the beginning of the season, also I’ll be at UAE Tour, which I haven’t been to for two years.
“I will most likely be at the Tour of Flanders again, which I missed this year, but I am also thinking about taking part in the Vuelta.
“I might try all three [grand tours] in the same season when I’m a bit older. We’ll see, I don’t feel like being away for so long. Next season, we will again undertake two three-week tests, but various possibilities remain open in the future. I may only want to do one three-week race again.”
Pogacar’s securing of the rainbow jersey emulated the feats of Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche in securing cycling’s “triple crown”: the Tour, the Giro and the World Championships. No male rider has ever won the three grand tours in a single year, though.
The 26-year-old believes it is possible, but is cautious not to deny his teammates opportunities to chase victories themselves.
“The jump to winning all the three-week races in the season is doable, but I respect my colleagues,” Pogacar said. “We know that the UAE team has the potential to win the grand tour even without me. There’s no need for me to be greedy within my team and make enemies at home.”
