“That won’t happen”: UAE responds to Pogačar and rules out the European Championships

The possibility of seeing Tadej Pogacar back in competition this Sunday seems to have been definitively closed. Mauro Gianetti, the sports director of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, has ruled out that the Slovenian will compete in the European Championship in Ljubljana despite his desire to return sooner than expected.

UAE maintains its position: Pogacar will not race in the European Championship

"His desire to be there is easy to understand, but it is too soon, health is the priority, so it will not happen.", Gianetti assured in statements reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport and reproduced by Eurosport.

Gianetti's words come after the possibility of an unexpected return of Pogacar gained strength in recent hours.

According to El País, Pogacar would be pressuring UAE to allow him to race this Sunday in the European Championship. The Slovenian has significantly accelerated his recovery and last weekend he returned to road training just four weeks after his fall in La Vuelta.

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Additionally, according to the same information, he would have contacted Xavier Mir, the surgeon who operated on his collarbone, to request his medical clearance with the intention of returning to competition.

But UAE does not seem willing to take risks. Gianetti acknowledges that he fully understands Pogacar's eagerness to participate in a race that is especially significant for him. The European Championship is being held this year in Slovenia, and the reigning continental champion would have the opportunity to defend his title in front of his home crowd.

However, the UAE official has been emphatic. The recovery process is above any sporting objective, and he still considers it too soon for his return.

If the position expressed now by Gianetti holds, Pogacar will also not return to compete in the last Monument of the season, Lombardia, and his competitive 2026 will have definitively ended in La Vuelta.

For the moment, Pogacar has not publicly commented on the refusal.