MADRID (AP) 鈥� is returning to the Spanish Vuelta after a seven-year absence to pursue a Grand Tours hat trick of titles.
The Slovenian rider鈥檚 UAE Team Emirates-XRG team announced its lineup for the three-week race on Monday, confirming Poga膷ar will take part after claiming a record-equaling fifth Tour de France crown last month.
鈥淚t was my first ever Grand Tour back in 2019 and an amazing experience,鈥� Poga膷ar said. 鈥淪pain is a country I love to visit and race in and I think the time is right to go back.鈥�
Exclusive clubs
Poga膷ar joined Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain, and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only riders with five Tour de France titles to their names.
Unlike male riders including Hinault, Anquetil, Merckx and Jonas Vingegaard, however, Pogacar has not won the Spanish Vuelta for a hat trick of Grand Tours wins.
Poga膷ar, who by a big margin, is also bidding to become just the fourth male rider to win the Vuelta and Tour de France in the same year after Anquetil, Hinault and Chris Froome.
Spanish Vuelta
The 81st Vuelta starts on Aug. 22 with an individual time trial in Monaco 鈥� where Poga膷ar lives 鈥� before making its way through France and Andorra to Spain. It concludes in Granada on Sept. 13 after nearly 3,300 kilometers of racing.
The 27-year-old Poga膷ar won three stages when he finished third on his last and only appearance so far at the Vuelta.
鈥淛oining Poga膷ar are Jo茫o Almeida, Jay Vine, Pavel Sivakov, Pablo Torres, Kevin Vermaerke, Domen Novak and Ivo Oliveira,鈥� UAE Team Emirates-XRG said.
___
AP sports:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
