Tadej Pogačar has confirmed that he is chasing a victory at Paris-Roubaix and a historic fifth Tour de France title as the focal points of his racing programme with UAE Team Emirates-XRG in 2026.
The reigning World Champion outlined his spring schedule that includes targeted Monuments: Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix – a race he finished second at this year – and Liège-Bastogne-Liège before turning his attention to stage races that will lead up to his next yellow-jersey bid at the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse.
Asked if he had to choose between winning Paris-Roubaix for the first time or a fifth Tour de France, Pogačar said he would rather have a victory at the Hell of the North.
“I think I would choose Roubaix because I already won the Tour four times, and if you win four or five, it is not … I think, it’s a bigger difference between zero and one than four and five,” Pogačar said.
Pogačar confirmed his racing schedule to select members of the media, including Cyclingnews, assembled at a team training camp press conference held at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Benidorm, Alicante, Spain, on Saturday.
Pogačar currently has four Tour de France titles, the same number as Chris Froome, but should he secure a fifth victory at the Tour de France, he would tie that record already held by four other champions, and add his name to the Tour’s history books alongside Miguel Induráin, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil.
At this year’s Tour de France, Pogačar finished ahead of runner-up Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and third-placed Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), while rival Remco Evenepoel was forced to abandon on stage 14 on the Col du Tourmalet.
Pogačar and Evenpoel had raced neck-to-neck in many of the biggest one-day races of the year. The Belgian has since transferred from Soudal-QuickStep to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in 2026 and recently told the media that he too is targeting the Tour de France in a co-leadership role with his new teammate Lipowitz.
Asked if he was ‘afraid’ of the Evenepoel-Lipowitz alliance for the Tour de France, Pogačar said no.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s media day had already produced one major surprise earlier in the morning with one of Pogačar’s key lieutenants, João Almeida, announcing that he would be missing out on the Tour de France in 2026, opting to focus on the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España instead.
The decision means that Pogačar will race without one of the team’s best climbers by his side as he bids for a record-equalling fifth yellow-jersey title. However, he will have the support of Isaac del Toro, who will make his debut at the Tour de France in 2026.
“I hope so, yes, maybe he can even be better,” Pogačar said when asked about Del Toro’s future potential in Grand Tour racing. “He is starting his own way, he has his own way and style of riding, and I already admire him as a rider and a person. I hope that he continues in the same way that he has and that he enjoys cycling as much as he is now.”
Pogačar had another outstanding season this year, securing 20 victories, including his fourth title at the Tour de France, a second victory at Tour of Flanders, a third victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the overall title at Critérium du Dauphiné, a second consecutive road race title at the World Championship, the road race title at the European Championships, and a historic record-tying fifth victory at Il Lombardia.
He confirmed his racing programme, starting with Strade Bianche before going on to race Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour de Romandie, and Tour de Suisse, all ahead of his main summer focus on the Tour de France.
“My programme will be the Classics, like almost every year, I will start with Strade Bianche and move on to Milan-San Remo, in Italy. Then it is Flanders, Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour and then we will see. I think that is good enough. Before the Tour, I will do two races in Switzerland: Romandie and Suisse. I’m looking forward to the new challenges this year,” Pogačar said.
He recently made a surprise visit to Roubaix for a 160km reconnaissance of the Paris-Roubaix course and pavé sectors, which was an early indication that he was already planning to return to the ‘Hell of the North’ in 2026.
“It was good training. We tested some materials from the team, we got lucky with the weather and had good training, good sensations on the cobbles, and it was a nice experience,” Pogačar said.
Pogačar said that it would be a highlight in his career to win Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, but that he is not ‘obsessed’ with trying to win every race that he has not yet won.
“If I ever win these two races, I would think – more or less – there is not much more you can do [in his cycling career],” Pogačar said.
Turning his attention to the Tour de France, Pogačar said that any one of his teammates would be an asset as he chases his fifth victory. Although it will be months before UAE Team Emirates-XRG announce their full Tour de France squad, he said, building that team requires careful planning.