Pogacar activates Tour mode in Sierra Nevada

Tadej Pogacar has already set his sights on the 2026 Tour de France. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates XRG began his first altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada this Friday, the starting point of a meticulously designed preparation aimed at conquering a fifth Tour in July, which would place him among the most decorated riders in the history of the race.

Pogacar begins Tour de France preparation in Granada with a more reduced schedule than ever

The stay in Sierra Nevada will be the first of two major altitude blocks planned before the Tour. The next one will come after the Tour de Suisse, when Pogačar will return to concentrate in Isola 2000 during the last days of June. The plan was confirmed by Joxean Matxin Fernández in statements to the media Domestique, where he explained that “he will be training at altitude starting this Friday in Sierra Nevada to prepare for the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France” and added that “after Switzerland, he will go back to altitude in Isola 2000”.

Although the overall structure resembles that of previous seasons, this year there are significant changes in the schedule. The first stage in Sierra Nevada has been delayed compared to 2025 to better fit with a much shorter Tour de Suisse, which is scheduled closer to the Tour. Everything indicates that UAE wanted to further compact the Slovenian's competitive calendar to arrive in July with the maximum margin for recovery and physical adaptation.

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The preparation also reflects the enormous change in philosophy that Pogačar has followed this season. During the first part of the year, stage races practically disappeared from his calendar, and all planning revolved around the classics. The result was an extraordinary spring with victories in Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Strade Bianche, before also dominating the Tour de Romandie.

In fact, Romandie was a key piece within the plan designed by the team. Matxin also explained in Domestique that “we have made a program adapted to Tadej” and that the Swiss race should serve as “adaptation to the second cycle of the season”, completely focused on the Tour de France.

The warning for his rivals is that Pogacar managed to dominate in Romandie without having yet started his specific preparation for grand tours. The Slovenian acknowledged there that he was still several kilos above his usual Tour weight, a logical consequence after having directed the entire spring towards the classics and explosive races.