After equalling the record for overall titles at the Tour de France with five, Tadej Pogačar reconfirmed some of his ambitions for the coming two seasons, with Paris-Roubaix and the road race at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as priorities.
Speaking on RTV SLO's Tour 202 podcast after hosting his Pogi Challenge charity events at his hometown of Komenda, Pogačar outlined key goals for the coming two seasons as he nears an almost 'complete palmarès'.
He will be heading back to the Vuelta a España for the first time since 2019 on August 22, where he will look to complete the set of Grand Tour victories and add to his five Tour titles and one from the Giro d'Italia.
After adding new wins at Milan-San Remo, Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse in 2026, the next two seasons could see him win all of cycling's Monuments and most prestigious one-week stage races – he is one away from both feats, only missing Paris-Roubaix and Itzulia Basque Country.
"I also want to win another world championship and a stage race," said Pogačar, "but the big goal remains Paris−Roubaix."
Pogačar lit up the roads en route to Roubaix with his two appearances at the Hell of the North so far, taking second on both thrilling occasions, behind Mathieu van der Poel in 2025 and then Wout van Aert this season in the velodrome sprint. He's shown more than enough evidence that he can win it, but it seems like he won't stop trying until he does, even with the obvious crash risks.
His words also suggested that a return to the iconic climbs of the Cipressa and Poggio may be missing from his 2027 calendar, having finally won La Classicissima after a miraculous recovery from crashing and beating Tom Pidcock in a two-up sprint back in March.
"I still haven't quite grasped that I really managed to win the Milan−San Remo race, I'll probably only realize that next year in January and February, when I don't have to go there every other day to train over the Cipressa and Poggio climbs," he said.
"There are also a lot of cars, motorcyclists and cyclists there, I prefer to train in France on the climbs."
Pogačar also has his eyes set on the 2028 LA Olympic Games, where he should make his second appearance at the Olympics after he finished third in the road race in Tokyo in 2021 behind Richard Carapaz and Wout van Aert.
He pulled out of the Paris Games at the 11th hour in 2024, citing tiredness after winning the Giro and Tour that season, but also admitted that the snub of partner Urška Žigart from Slovenia's selection played a role. "It’s not the main reason, but for sure it didn’t help," he said at the time.
The road race in LA from the Venice Beach Boardwalk to an uphill finish at the Griffith Observatory will run on July 23, 2028, with the Tour moving earlier in the calendar to avoid a conflict.
Still, the final stage of the Tour will be on July 16, giving just a week to travel to the USA and prepare, with Pogačar knowing full well that this won't fit exactly into UAE Team Emirates-XRG's desire for that summer. He's expecting some leniency though.
"The Olympics are of course another race I would like to win. They only come around once every four years, so I would have to tailor my program to be in the right shape at that time," added Pogačar.
"At the same time this race is not exactly in the interests of my team. But these are my wishes and I think the team will take them into account."
UAE have admitted several times how keeping Pogačar was more difficult than keeping him at the level to win the biggest bike races, which has meant many changes to his calendar in the past three years, allowing the sport's top rider to keep his schedule fresh.
Even as he approaches the latter years of his career – with retirement possible after his 2030 UAE contract expires – Pogačar is clearly still most motivated by new challenges and the races he hasn't yet won, though there aren't many left, and after the Vuelta, he will most likely be even closer to that complete palmarès he appears to be chasing.
