Tadej Pogacar - cycling’s biggest name - could race at Tour Down Under in 2026
Tour Down Under organisers have pursued cycling’s biggest name for years in attempt to bring him to Australia. But could 2026 finally be the year Tadej Pogacar races Down Under?
Could the Tour Down Under finally get the biggest name in world cycling back out to Australia?
Race Director Stuart O’Grady went all out to try and get Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar for the 2025 edition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TDU.
But his 18-month pursuit of the world’s best cyclist ultimately fell short after Pogacar’s record-breaking 2024 campaign in which he became the third male cyclist to win the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and World Championship road race in the same year.
However, despite another trophy laden season in 2025 in which he became the first male cyclist to win the Tour de France and World Championship road race in successive years, reports out of Europe have suggested that Pogacar is keen to kick off his 2026 in Australia.
Beppe Conti, of Italy’s most prominent pundits on cycling, said on a broadcast on RAI Sport that Pogacar has asked his UAE Team Emirates XRG to ride the TDU.
When contacted by this masthead a TDU spokesman said;
“Our race direction team is in regular dialogue with men’s and women’s teams and we are still awaiting confirmation of team rosters for next year’s event.
“While we are unable to comment on individuals at this stage, we look forward to welcoming the world’s best riders to South Australia in January and hope to begin making
rider announcements in coming weeks.”
It is understood that the chances of Pogacar coming back out to Australia, he debuted at WorldTour level at the 2019 TDU, are considered to be low.
But TDU organisers have made the 2026 route more attacking and difficult in a bid to convince more of the top riders in the world to make the trip out to Australia to start their campaigns.
Pogacar’s teammate Jhonatan Narvaez, who took out the overall classification, was the highest ranked rider in the UCI rankings who took part in the 2025 TDU at No. 33.
An opportunity for the TDU to convince Pogacar to come to Australia could be through getting his fiance Urška Žigart to compete in the women’s race with all 15 of the UCI Women’s WorldTour teams expected to be on the start line in South Australia next year for the first time in the event’s history.
Pogacar has won four Tour de France’s, a Giro, two World Championships, 10 of the Monuments - cycling’s five most prestigious one-day races - and 11 Classic’s as he builds a case for the greatest of all time in the sport.
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Originally published as Tadej Pogacar - cycling’s biggest name - could race at Tour Down Under in 2026
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