Tadej Pogačar signs long-term contract extension with UAE Team Emirates
The-22-year-old Tour de France winner will remain with his current team for the foreseeable future
Tadej Pogačar has signed a long-term contract extension with UAE Team Emirates, as he continues to dominate stage races.
The 22-year-old Slovenian is celebrating victory in his first race of the season, the UAE Tour, where he was able to defend against stinging attacks from Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers).
On Tuesday (March 2) UAE Team Emirates announced that Pogačar, winner of the 2020 Tour de France at just 21-years-old, would be extending his current contract with the team until 2026.
Pogačar has only raced at WorldTour level since 2019, but has already extended his contract with UAE three times, as he has racked up five stage race victories since reaching the highest level.
Team principal and CEO Mauro Gianetti said: “We are happy to announce the further extension of Tadej’s contract with us. He strongly believes in our project as we do in his abilities.
“It is already the third time we’ve extended his contract which shows his commitment to the project we are building here at UAE. We are creating a real group, united, with an atmosphere that I don’t remember in all my years in cycling. I am particularly proud of this.”
Pogačar arrived at WorldTour level in 2019 and immediately delivered on his potential, winning the Volta ao Algarve and the Tour of California in his first year and then finishing third in his debut Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España, that season.
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Since then Pogačar has only continued to impress, as he won the Tour de France in 2020 on his first attempt and then went on to be a major protagonist in the Ardennes Classics, finishing third in Liège-Bastogne-Liège to close out his season.
This year Pogačar continued to deliver, beating Adam Yates to a stage victory in the UAE Tour and securing the overall title in the process.
He said: “I feel at home in this team. There is a special atmosphere between the management, riders and staff and it’s a good environment to be in. The team shows a lot of trust and confidence in me which I am thankful for, and I work hard to show that when I’m racing alongside my team-mates. I hope we can have many more successful seasons together in the years ahead.”
Pogacar’s season is once again built around the Tour de France, as he will continue his season this weekend at Strade Bianche before heading to Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of the Basque Country.
After another attempt at the Ardennes Classics, Pogačar will follow the traditional route to the Tour via the Critérium du Dauphiné.
He is also expected to return to the Vuelta later in the season.
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UAE Team Emirates president Matar Al Yabhouni said: “Tadej is our present and our future. He is a rider who was able to win the Tour de France despite his young age and still managed to handle the pressure of such a great success. He showed great poise and determination to win the UAE Tour, a race that is growing year after year and which is of obvious importance to us. I am sure that we will continue to achieve important successes together going forward.”
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.