Speaking during a virtual community ride on the MyWhoosh platform in late October 2026, the five-time Tour de France winner and UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader confirmed that his team has presented him with three possible programmes for the coming season. “There’s like three options that I can do. The team gave me three options of my calendar, but it’s a big decision,” Pogačar said. “I think I still need some time to really analyse what I really want for next year. And I think the final decision will be done in December, where we have another training camp.”
While the full schedule remains open, the outline is already clear on several key points. The Tour de France is non-negotiable. “There’s a big chance I come back to Classics for sure, and also UAE Tour, and obviously Tour de France. There’s no hiding in this, I think, so we will see,” he added.
A return to the UAE Tour in February would mark an earlier start than in 2026, when Pogačar delayed his first stage race until late April. The Emirati event, which he has already won multiple times, would allow him to race on home roads for his team and build form ahead of the Classics. A spring campaign focused on the Monuments is also high on the agenda, particularly after he claimed Milan-San Remo in 2026 and continues to eye the one major one-day race still missing from his collection, Paris-Roubaix.
These early-season options sit alongside his three stated major targets for the year: a record sixth Tour de France victory, the World Championships in Haute-Savoie, and a return to the Vuelta a España. The Spanish Grand Tour remains unfinished business after a crash on stage 8 of the 2026 edition—caused by a large stone, Pogačar has clarified—ended his season while he was leading. Although he has said he would prefer the Giro d’Italia in some circumstances, the Vuelta is the priority in 2027, partly due to the crowded 2028 calendar that includes the Los Angeles Olympics.
Pogačar has been recovering and training earlier than usual following the injuries (including a fractured collarbone and vertebral issues). He has downplayed the details of the newly announced 2027 Tour route, noting that the race is always demanding regardless of the specific parcours: “It’s always more or less the same—and it’s the toughest race in the world. So you just have to be prepared for anything.”
The December training camp will bring the whole UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad together and provide the setting for the final call on which of the three calendar options Pogačar will pursue. Until then, the picture is one of ambition tempered by careful planning: the Tour remains the fixed star, with the Classics and UAE Tour looking increasingly likely companions on the road to another historic season.
