Pogacar to ride Vuelta after fifth Tour de France title

MADRID, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar will ride in this year's Vuelta a Espana, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team confirmed Monday.

The announcement comes just over a week after the 27-year-old Slovenian claimed his fifth Tour de France title in Paris, further cementing his status as one of cycling's dominant riders.

Victory in Spain would complete Pogacar's set of Grand Tour titles, adding the Vuelta to his Tour de France and Giro d'Italia victories. Only seven riders have previously won all three Grand Tours: Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome and Felice Gimondi.

Pogacar has raced the Vuelta only once, announcing himself on the world stage with a third-place finish in 2019 behind fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic and Spain's Alejandro Valverde.

Competing in his first three-week Grand Tour at the age of 20, Pogacar won three stages and claimed the white jersey as the race's best young rider, a breakthrough performance that preceded his maiden Tour de France victory the following year.

This year's Vuelta begins in Monaco on August 22 with a nine-kilometer individual time trial. The route features only four flat stages, with the remainder made up of rolling, medium-mountain and high-mountain terrain, including six summit finishes, a profile expected to favor the climbing ability of Pogacar.

High temperatures in southern Spain could provide an additional challenge during the three-week race. ■