Imagine for a brief moment that you get a newsflash in the coming weeks: Tadej Pogačar has retired from professional cycling aged 26. Ludicrous, right? But given the recent proliferation of such comments from the Tour de France champion, it’s not such an unthinkable prospect anymore. What started in the final week of the Tour, with references to not being immune to burnout and repeatedly forecasting his looming retirement even when unprompted, has grown into a genuine topic of discussion within the sport: are Pogačar’s days really that numbered? 

The logical, rational answer to all this is that Pogačar is just tired, mentally and physically frazzled. After winning two Monuments in the spring, coming close in the other two, and then winning his fourth yellow jersey, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider is worn out. While it’s true that he races less than the average rider in the World Tour (56 v 77 in the past four seasons), no one races with as much as pressure and expectation on his shoulders, and no one has to sit through an hour of media, anti-doping and podium commitments every time they step off their bike. Pogačar’s life is a well-earned prosperous and fortunate one, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be taxing. Referencing his €8.4m annual salary and suggesting he should just get on with it will only upgrade him to the speedy boarding line on a one-way ticket out to the Maldives. His current fatigue is entirely understandable and shouldn’t be dismissed.

This article was published by Rouleur in August, 2025. You can read the full article here.