No rainbow jersey, no stars: Pogačar returns to UAE’s regular kit two years later

Tadej Pogačar seems to be just another rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG. The Slovenian has been seen training in Slovenia with his team's conventional kit, a sight that hasn't occurred since 2024 after two seasons where the world champion jerseys had replaced the usual UAE colors.

Tadej Pogačar returns to wearing the UAE's standard kit two years later

Pogačar was spotted training near Komenda alongside his partner, Urška Žigart, dressed in the red, black, and white jersey of UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Another video also showed him riding with Marco Frigo, who will join the team in 2027.

To find the last occasion when Pogačar wore the conventional UAE kit, we have to go back to September 14, 2024, when he won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

 

 

 

 

 

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Two weeks later, he conquered the World Championship in Zurich and began his stint wearing the rainbow jersey. In 2025, he was crowned world champion again in Rwanda, extending his presence with one of the most recognizable jerseys in the peloton for another year.

His crash in the 2026 Vuelta a España, where he suffered fractures to his collarbone and C7 vertebra, prevented him from defending his world and European titles afterward. The rainbow jersey changed hands in Montreal, where his teammate Brandon McNulty became world champion and we have already seen him debut his new jersey and a matching Colnago Y1Rs.

Pogačar still held the European champion jersey until this past weekend. But that last distinction has also changed owners since Remco Evenepoel became the European champion in 2026.

Although the video does not show enough detail, this may not yet be the final kit that Pogačar will wear during the season. It is worth noting that riders who have been world champions are entitled to incorporate rainbow stripes on the cuffs and collar of the jersey, as well as on the shorts. A distinction reserved for former world champions that, at least in these images, is not discernible in the Slovenian's kit.