Pogačar Confirms Giro-Tour Double Bid: "I Want to Make History Again"

Tadej Pogačar has confirmed he will attempt back-to-back Grand Tour victories in 2026, targeting both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in what would be cycling's first double since Marco Pantani accomplished the feat in 1998. The Slovenian superstar made the announcement at a press conference in Ljubljana, stating emphatically: "I want to make history again. This is the biggest challenge of my career, and it's something I've dreamed about since I was young."

Pogačar's ambition represents a seismic shift in modern Grand Tour cycling. The last rider to win the Giro-Tour double was Pantani 28 years ago — a feat achieved only six times in the race's combined 150-year history. Legends including Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain have all attempted and failed. The challenge is immense: the Giro typically ends on a Sunday in early June, leaving just 10 days before the Tour de France prologue begins. The physical and mental toll of back-to-back three-week Grand Tours at the highest intensity level has deterred even the sport's greatest champions from attempting such a feat in recent decades.

When asked about the recovery window and logistics, Pogačar appeared unfazed. "I've studied what Pantani did, and I've looked at the modern approach to recovery. My team believes I can do it. I'm stronger now than in 2024 or 2025. I feel like I'm in the prime of my career, and if I'm going to attempt this, it has to be now." His UAE Team Emirates squad has already begun planning the unprecedented campaign, with dedicated coaching staff and physiologists working on recovery protocols between the two races. The team's medical director stated they would employ altitude training, advanced nutrition strategies, and daily monitored recovery protocols to maintain Pogačar's performance across both Grand Tours.

The decision adds another chapter to Pogačar's remarkable 2025 season, in which he claimed six monuments and both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España simultaneously — an achievement that shocked observers and sparked initial double-bid speculation. Observers note that his dominance across all terrain types — climbing, time trialing, technical descending, and flat sprinting — gives him a realistic chance at the double that few riders in history have possessed. The 2026 race calendar also works in his favour: the Tour features just one definitional climbing stage in the final week, a route more suited to his all-around mastery than recent years. If Pogačar succeeds, he'll join Pantani in an exclusive club of just six riders to ever accomplish this feat across cycling's 150-year history.