Tadej Pogačar ends season after serious Vuelta crash: will miss World Championships, European Championships and Il Lombardia
Tadej Pogačar will not race again in 2026. UAE Team Emirates-XRG officially confirmed on 5 September that the Slovenian cyclist, following a serious crash at the Vuelta a España and surgery on his left collarbone, had decided together with the team's medical and sporting staff to end his season in order to focus fully on recovery. This confirmed that the reigning world and European champion will not defend his titles at the road championships in Montréal and Ljubljana, while he will also miss Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season, which he has won five years in a row. On the same day, UAE also announced important long-term news: Pogačar extended his contract with the team until the end of 2032.
The decision to end the season was made following the injuries sustained on 29 August during the eighth stage of the Vuelta. According to the medical report published by UAE Team Emirates-XRG after the crash, the 27-year-old Slovenian was diagnosed with a concussion, a fracture of the left collarbone, a stable fracture of the seventh cervical vertebra C7 and multiple abrasions. The team later stated that it was an open collarbone fracture, while the initial hospital findings described a displaced fracture. The collarbone was operated on in Barcelona on 31 August, and the team described the procedure as successful and without complications.
The crash that ended his fight for the only Grand Tour victory still missing from his record
Pogačar entered the Vuelta with a clear sporting objective: to try to win the only one of the three biggest stage races that he had not yet won. He won the Giro d'Italia in 2024 and has already won the Tour de France five times, including the 2026 edition. He arrived in Spain after another dominant Tour victory and very quickly took control of the general classification. According to UAE Team Emirates-XRG data, he had already won three stages during the first six days of the Vuelta, and after the sixth stage he held a lead of three minutes and 34 seconds over Enric Mas.
At the time of the crash in the eighth stage, Pogačar was still leading the general classification and held an advantage of several minutes. EFE reports that the accident happened around 32 kilometres before the finish of the stage towards Xeraco in the Valencian Community. Television footage showed a crash in the group, after which Pogačar tried to get up and continue, but because of an injury to the left side of his body he abandoned the race. The race medical service treated him on the road before he was taken to hospital for detailed examinations.
The crash therefore abruptly ended an attempt through which Pogačar could have completed his collection by winning all three Grand Tours. UCI data from previous seasons confirms that he has already won the Giro and the Tour, while overall victory at the Vuelta remains one of the few major goals still missing from his list of greatest victories. His return to the Spanish race in 2026 carried additional significance precisely because he had shown form earlier in the season that was sufficient for a fifth overall triumph at the Tour de France. Tour organisers state that with that title he joined Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain in the group of riders with five victories in the biggest French stage race.
Doctors do not want to accelerate his return because of the calendar
In its announcement of 5 September, UAE Team Emirates-XRG stressed that Pogačar is recovering well following surgery, but that the combination of injuries requires caution and a controlled rehabilitation process. The team's medical director, Dr Adrian Rotunno, stated that both the operated collarbone and the cervical vertebra fracture will require a structured rehabilitation period. He particularly highlighted the need to progress gradually through the concussion recovery protocol, with continuous neurological monitoring. Only after complete medical recovery and when the rider himself is ready will it be possible to gradually increase the training load.
That approach explains why the team did not leave open the possibility of a return for the most important autumn races. According to Rotunno, there is no medical benefit in accelerating the process merely in order to meet a particular date on the racing calendar. UAE has therefore removed the pressure of any deadline and set complete recovery as the sole objective. The team management also stated that there is no pressure for Pogačar to return to racing during 2026 and that the comeback will take place only when the necessary medical and sporting conditions have been met.
In the same announcement, Pogačar admitted that he had not wanted the season to end this way, but stressed that the most important thing now is to recover properly and give his body the time it needs. His message was focused on 2027: recovery, following the team from outside the races and returning when he is once again ready for a full competitive programme. This means that his final official appearance of 2026 will remain the eighth stage of the Vuelta, a race that until the crash had looked like another possible major triumph of the season.
No defence of the world title in Montréal
The biggest immediate consequence of the decision is his absence from the Road World Championships. According to the official calendar of the Union Cycliste Internationale, the 2026 UCI Road World Championships will be held in Montréal from 20 to 27 September. Pogačar was due to defend his title in the elite men's road race and attempt to win a third consecutive rainbow jersey. The UCI confirms that he won in Zürich in 2024 and in Kigali in 2025, where his second consecutive title further strengthened his status as one of the dominant riders of his generation.
His absence significantly changes the balance of power in one of the most important one-day races of the year. In recent seasons, Pogačar has become the benchmark for the toughest road races featuring large amounts of climbing, while his world titles in Zürich and Kigali demonstrated that he can also win with long-range attacks on extremely demanding courses. The UCI has announced a championship in Montréal featuring 13 disciplines and approximately one thousand riders across elite, U23 and junior categories, with the men's road race expected to be one of the highlights of the programme. Without the reigning two-time champion, the rainbow jersey is certain to have a new owner.
For Pogačar, the absence is particularly significant because the World Championships were a logical continuation of his successful summer campaign. After his fifth Tour, defending the world title would have been an opportunity to finish the season as road race world champion for the third consecutive year. However, the seriousness of the injuries and the proximity of the championships made such a scenario unrealistic, which the team has now formally confirmed.
He will also miss the European Championships in front of the Slovenian crowd
Pogačar will also not compete at the European Championships, which according to the calendar of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme will be held in Ljubljana from 2 to 7 October. This was supposed to be a particularly important appearance for him because he would have defended his European champion's title in Slovenia. The UEC states that Pogačar won the title in October 2025 at the championships in the French regions of Drôme and Ardèche, where he won the elite men's road race after a long solo attack, ahead of Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas.
Missing the championship in Ljubljana therefore also has a symbolic dimension. The reigning European champion was supposed to compete at a major international championship in front of his home crowd, in the country he comes from and for whose national team he wins medals. Under normal circumstances, this would have been one of Pogačar's most eagerly anticipated appearances at the end of the season. However, only a few weeks between the operation and the championship leave no room for a safe return to the level required for an elite road race, particularly while simultaneously recovering from a concussion and a fracture of the C7 vertebra.
The team's decision to close his season completely instead of leaving open the possibility of a return for Ljubljana also removes any potential uncertainty surrounding his participation. For the Slovenian national team, this means that it will have to plan for the European Championships without the reigning champion, while for Pogačar it means that rehabilitation can proceed without attempting to time his form for one of the most important events on the national sporting calendar.
Five-win streak at Il Lombardia comes to an end
The third major race Pogačar will miss is Il Lombardia, traditionally also known as the Giro di Lombardia. Organiser RCS Sport confirmed that the 120th edition of the race will take place on 10 October 2026, starting in Bergamo. It is the final one of cycling's five Monuments of the season and a race that in recent years has become almost synonymous with Pogačar's dominance during the autumn part of the calendar.
The official Il Lombardia website states that Pogačar achieved his fifth consecutive victory in the race in 2025. The streak began in 2021 and continued without interruption through 2025, meaning that the 2026 edition was supposed to be an opportunity for a sixth consecutive triumph. His absence opens the race to other favourites and ends one of the most impressive current winning streaks in the major one-day classics. RCS Sport describes Il Lombardia as traditionally the final Monument of the year, a race for riders who perform best on long and demanding climbs, which is exactly the profile in which Pogačar has regularly created the decisive difference in recent seasons.
Losing the World Championships, European Championships and Il Lombardia within a period of only three weeks demonstrates how much the crash at the Vuelta changed the conclusion of his 2026 season. Instead of attempting to defend three major titles, his season ended at the end of August, immediately after the most successful part of the year. Nevertheless, the team has made it clear that short-term results will not take priority over the rider's long-term health.
Fifth Tour and 22 victories remain the main landmarks of his 2026
Despite the premature ending, Pogačar leaves behind another exceptionally successful season. The official Tour de France website confirms that in July he won his fifth overall title, following victories in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. In doing so, he equalled the historic record of five victories shared with four other legends of the race. At the 2026 Tour, he won five stages, including victory on Alpe d'Huez, and finished six minutes and 26 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel in the overall classification.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG recorded that his victory in the sixth stage of the Vuelta was his 22nd victory of the season. Since he did not achieve another victory after that before crashing in the eighth stage, that number remains his final total for 2026. In sporting terms, the season therefore cannot be reduced only to the injury: it ends with a fifth Tour, a series of stage and one-day victories and the status of reigning world and European champion, even though he will not be able to defend those titles on the road.
The crash at the Vuelta nevertheless leaves one major unfinished story. Pogačar was leading in Spain and attempting to win a third different Grand Tour in his career. His withdrawal allowed the other contenders to take over the fight for the red jersey, while the question of a future attempt to win the Vuelta is postponed until at least a subsequent season. The team has not yet announced a racing programme for 2027, and its official statement also did not set a deadline for a return to full training.
Contract until 2032 sends a message about long-term plans
At the same time as announcing the end of his season, UAE Team Emirates-XRG announced that Pogačar had extended his contract until the end of 2032. The team states that the Slovenian has been a member since 2019 and that during that period he became the central figure of the project. According to EFE, his previous contract had been extended in 2024 until 2030, meaning that the new extension moves the end of the partnership back by a further two seasons.
Pogačar said in the team's announcement that he had felt at home at UAE from the beginning and that he wanted to continue building results with the team. He particularly stressed that there are still many goals he wants to achieve in the sport. That message is also important because of the moment in which it was published: just a few days after a serious injury, the contract extension shows that both the rider and the team are planning their cooperation well beyond the current rehabilitation process.
Mauro Gianetti, chief executive officer and team principal, stated that Pogačar had played a central role in the development of UAE Team Emirates-XRG and that his health is now the priority. In practice, the combination of a long-term contract and the decision to end the season completely allows the team to manage rehabilitation without immediate pressure for results. For Pogačar, this means that the next important date will be determined by medical progress rather than the racing calendar.
Only when the collarbone and cervical vertebra have healed sufficiently, and recovery from the concussion has been completed according to the medical protocol, will it be possible to discuss a gradual return to full training. UAE has not set a date for that step and currently does not intend to tie it to any specific event. After a season in which he won his fifth Tour, dominated the first week of the Vuelta and then suffered his most serious injury of the year, Pogačar enters autumn 2026 with a completely different priority: to recover without rushing and lay the foundations for a return in 2027.
Sources:
- UAE Team Emirates-XRG – official confirmation of the end of Pogačar's 2026 season, medical context of his recovery and contract extension until 2032 (link)
- EFE – report on the crash during the eighth stage of the Vuelta, diagnosed injuries and withdrawal from the race (link)
- EFE – confirmation of successful surgery on the left collarbone in Barcelona (link)
- UCI – calendar and information on the Road World Championships in Montréal from 20 to 27 September 2026 (link)
- UCI – confirmation of Pogačar's second consecutive world title won in Kigali in 2025 (link)
- UEC – official calendar of the 2026 European Road Championships in Ljubljana (link)
- UEC – report on Pogačar winning the European title in 2025 (link)
- Il Lombardia / RCS Sport – date of the 2026 race and confirmation of Pogačar's fifth consecutive victory in 2025 (link)
- Tour de France – official confirmation of Pogačar's fifth overall Tour victory in 2026 (link)
- UAE Team Emirates-XRG – data on his third stage victory at the Vuelta and 22nd victory of the 2026 season (link)