Tadej Pogačar to only race twice before Tour de France, four weeks away
'Hopefully I will be 100%,' says the Slovenian, who is recovering from a fractured wrist


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Tadej Pogačar will only compete twice before this year’s Tour de France, which begins in just four weeks' time.
The two-time race winner, who is recovering from a broken wrist suffered at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, will only take part in the Slovenian National Championships ahead of the event, riding the road race and the individual time trial on the last weekend of June.
Pogačar was initially scheduled to start the Tour of Slovenia, but has scratched the race from his calendar, as he has been unable to train on the road in the past month.
“I’m taking care every day,” he said in a press conference on Friday. “Every day I’m getting better, without any pain in my body and the wrist is getting better every day. I have more and more mobility.
“I’ve been training quite good until now - home trainer, running - I’m starting now this week on the road. My shape isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be after the rollers.
"Normally I really like to have a race before an important race. But ok, a Grand Tour is 21 stages, and sometimes it's good to be a little bit more fresh. I will do the National Championships, so two days of racing."
After taking a treble of victories at the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, Pogačar crashed out of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April, and has not raced since.
The UAE Team Emirates rider is currently on an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain, where he will remain with his team-mates until 11 June. He will then travel to France to recon a few Tour stages, before undergoing another training camp in Sestriere, Italy.
“Hopefully I will be 100% [for the Tour de France],” he said. “Maybe the wrist will not be at 100%, but I think the legs can be, because you don’t need your wrist to train your legs. I think we will see when the Tour comes, but I think I will enjoy it in any case.
“I think for the Tour maybe I will still need a soft brace around the wrist just for a bit of support. I hope that I get more or less mobility to go out of the saddle and sprinting before the Tour.”
Pogačar posted on Instagram earlier this week to confirm that he had returned to open road training. “I’m a bit stupid and disobeying doctor’s orders,” he smiled in the press conference, “but I pushed the team, I pushed everybody, trying to go on the bike. I knew that I cannot put too much pressure on the scaphoid, on the hand.
“We will see next week after my scan If I have damaged the bone again, but I don’t think I did because I have no pain.”
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is the host of The TT Podcast, which covers both the men's and women's pelotons and has featured a number of prominent British riders.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides.
He's also fluent in French and Spanish and holds a master's degree in International Journalism.
-
-
‘A gateway of just how far their dreams and a bike can take them’ - Los Angeles’ first-ever pump track is now open
Los Angeles’ first-ever pump track opened to the public on Friday, September 22, after two years of construction.
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
UK cycle tech falls by a third, with bikes sales also struggling, says industry report
The cycle industry continues to face challenges, with tech in freefall and even ebikes lagging behind the rest of Europe
By James Shrubsall Published
-
'Fan photos have quadrupled' - has Netflix's Tour de France Unchained made riders more popular?
The show's stars have seen their profiles boosted by the new documentary
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Demi Vollering and Jonas Vingegaard both finished in yellow - but the Tour de France Femmes winner took home less than a tenth of the prize money
To put it in Euro per Kilometer, the 2023 men's Tour paid €146.8 per km while the women earned €52.3 per km.
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
The talent is there: the Americans who impressed us in this year’s Tour de France
There were just six Americans among the 176-rider peloton but that didn't keep them from putting on a show.
By Henry Lord Published
-
Eritrean national champ debuts at Tour de France on a single speed bike with a purpose
Awet Aman, the Eritrean national road race champion, to ride stage 16 time trial route on single speed Qhubeka bike as part of ‘Qhubeka Day’ at French Grand Tour
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tour de France rest day tweets: Cosnefroy lets loose, Pogačar secures a rabbit, and Remco’s rainbow pizza
While the riders rest their legs, here are some of the best posts from the past week
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tour de France rest day tweets: Riders in pools, Lidl madness, and Movistar perfect a dance
It's time to pause at the world's biggest bike race, so here are some social media posts to look at instead
By Adam Becket Published
-
Who is Laurent Gina, the mysterious rider at the 2023 Tour de France?
The Frenchman is omnipresent at this year's race
By Tom Davidson Published
-
‘They created a character’ - What riders really thought of Netflix's Tour de France: Unchained
There was a lot of tension in the series, but how real was it?
By Tom Davidson Published