Tadej Pogačar and Urška Žigart were crowned Slovenia’s top male and female cyclists on Wednesday as they returned home for the 75th anniversary of the cycling club they both rode for as juniors, KD Rog.
The association, founded in 1949, plays an important part in Slovenian cycling and even runs its youth team under Pogačar’s name and with funding from his trade team UAE Emirates-Pogi Team UAE Generali.
The couple received the golden wheel trophies at the gala event hosted by KD Rog in Ljubljana as the highest-ranked Slovenian cyclists at the end of 2024, with Gal Glivar taking home the award for the best under-23 rider.
Pogačar enjoyed an unprecedented 2024 season, the best seen for years, in which he won the Giro d’Italia, a third Tour de France and the World Championship road race, achieving the first ‘Triple Crown’ since Stephen Roche in 1987.
However, while he also took in two more Monuments at Liège and Lombardia and managed 25 wins from just 58 race days this past season, the best cyclist in the world is still hoping for more in 2025.
“I am not often in Slovenia. It’s always a pleasure to come home and see family and friends. I love attending such events,” said Pogačar to Slovenian broadcaster RTVSlo.
“So far, each season has been better than the last. I hope the next one will be even better. I look forward to new challenges. I like to test myself on the bike and enjoy nature. It’s not hard to motivate yourself.”
Speaking to the media at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Slovenia’s capital city, he didn’t reveal too much about his coming season, with final decisions to be made at UAE’s next training camp in December. However, alongside the Tour de France, he did mention Milan-San Remo as a big target, having eluded his palmarès for the past few years, and a defence of his world title in Rwanda next year.
“I can’t reveal much about the program yet, we’ll talk about it in December or later. We’re quite flexible about my program. The UAE Tour is a suitable race to start with,” said Pogačar in a press conference according to Ekipa.
“This season’s performance on two grand tours worked out well, and I think I will continue in a similar rhythm for a few more years,” he continued, not mentioning whether this meant the Giro and Tour once again or a hit out at the Vuelta alongside a defence of his yellow jersey.
While his immediate future isn’t set in stone, what is certain is where Pogačar will continue the coming years of his career, having signed a monumental six-year extension with UAE Team Emirates until 2030, which will see him earn €50 million in that time frame.
Pogačar’s world-beating season saw him not only finish 2024 as the top individual ranked rider on 11,655 points, almost double Remco Evenepoel in second but also earn more points than several WorldTour teams.
Žigart, who Pogačar is engaged to, finished 101 spots higher than the next highest-ranked Slovenian woman, Eugenia Bujak, despite controversially being left out of the Paris Olympics team.
Her highlights included winning both the road race and time trial at the Slovenian national championships, fourth at the Giro dell’Emilia and ninth overall at the Tour de Suisse. After four years on Liv AlUla Jayco, she’ll ride for AG Insurance-Soudal in 2025.
