Tadej Pogacar is back! The Giro d’Italia and Tour de France champion is heading to Canada, where he will lead UAE Team Emirates as the Slovenian steps up his preparation for the upcoming World Championships.

Tadej Pogacar is back! The Giro d’Italia and Tour de France champion is heading to Canada, where he will lead UAE Team Emirates as the Slovenian steps up his preparation for the upcoming World Championships.

“I’ve had a good break from racing and am eager to get back to it now starting in Canada,” the 25-year-old says in conversation with UAE Team Emirates’ official website as his leadership for the 2024 GP Quebec (13 Sept) and GP Montreal (15 Sept) were confirmed. “It’s a beautiful part of the world to ride a bike in and I have great memories here from two years ago.”

 

With Pogacar joined by the former GP Montreal winner Tim Wellens and the returning Juan Ayuso, plus the likes of Finn Fisher-Black, Rafal Majka, Igor Arrieta and Domen Novak, UAE Team Emirates is sending a very strong squad to North America.

“The level will be high there as always and we will need to be at our best,” previews Pogacar himself. ” Whatever happens for the rest of the season I can be happy with what I’ve achieved this year. Anything else will be a bonus. My condition is good and I’m focused on enjoying and doing well in this last part of the season.”

Jonas Vingegaard will no longer compete until the 2025 season. In the meantime, the Dane will be looking to organize the best possible schedule to make his presence in both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France next season a reality. Over the course of his career, Vingegaard has participated 4 times in the Tour de France, coming out victorious in 2 of them (2022 and 2023) and 2 times in the Vuelta a Espana. But he has never tried the roads and hard climbs of a Giro d’Italia, where Tadej Pogacar is rumoured to be returning to defend his crown next year.

There are still several months to go, but the 2025 season is already getting very, very interesting. To enjoy a double showdown between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar in two grand tours in the same year will be an event that could mark two completely historic editions of the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.