This is the year when Tadej Pogacar made a tremendous comeback – if that’s the right word to use for a person born in 1998 with two Tour titles under his belt. Having won the 2024 Giro and Tour, Tadej has been in the spotlight for the last two weeks. Everybody was wondering whether this Slovenian Sportsman of the Year 2023 would take part in the Vuelta race.
The second best in the focus was Jonas Vingegaard, the year-after-year Tour de France winner in 2022 and 2023. Even cycling pundits and online betting platforms, from traditional websites to offshore sportsbooks, started offering their odds regarding their appearance and potential positions, as well as free sign-up and extra bonuses for newcomers.
The answer provided by both these remarkable athletes is: No. Neither Tadej nor Jonas will take part in this year’s Vuelta. Having won his third Tour de France this year, Pogačar has decided not to cycle through Spain and Portugal. In addition to physical exhaustion, he has also expressed his desire to make room for other teammates from his UAE Team Emirates. Apart from that, Tadej wants to fully prepare for the Road World Championships, held this September in Zurich. Although he won three individual stages at the Vuelta in 2019, he still hasn’t won the general classification, i.e., the overall standings Given his age, there will be numerous opportunities for this miraculous cyclist to conquer the Vuelta in the time ahead.
Jonas Vingegaard, on the other hand, has addressed utter exhaustion as the main reason for skipping this year’s Vuelta. Clearly disappointed after the Tour de France and affected by a string of consecutive injuries in the first half of the year, Vingegaard wants to give his body some time to rest and recover. The same goes for his participation in the ongoing Summer Olympics in Paris. There’s a chance he will appear at the Road World Championships and compete against Pogačar. If these two legends appear wheel to wheel in the streets of Zurich, cycling fans and spectators will be delighted.
In the meantime, cycling enthusiasts have two real treats before them: cycling competitions in the Olympics and the Vuelta. The good news is that Pogačar’s compatriot Primož Roglič, who won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has confirmed his participation in the Vuelta. Having already won this title three times, he perfectly knows the ins and outs of the Spanish-Portuguese cycling tracks.
Also, last year’s winner Sepp Kuss will be there to try and defend his title. Mikel Landa is another well-known cycling name who has already confirmed he’ll take part in the 2024 Vuelta.
Even though Pogačar and Vingegaard will be greatly missed, it’s expected that several more successful cyclists will appear at this race once they recover from the Olympics, completing a distinguished starting lineup.
