Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar sets 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games as 'one of my goals' before 'retirement'
Updated 28/07/2025 at 15:35 GMT+1
Tadej Pogacar has positioned success at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as one of his goals. The 26-year-old Slovenian just won his fourth Tour de France and is one title shy of equalling the record held by four riders. But he is already looking ahead to 2028 and is hoping to add to his bronze from Tokyo in 2020, having pulled out of the Paris Games last summer.
Victorious Pogacar wants 'week off' and 'hot days' before making Vuelta decision
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After winning his fourth Tour de France title, Tadej Pogacar [UAE Emirates-XRG] is setting his sights on adding an Olympic gold medal to his collection.
The Slovenian finished more than four minutes ahead of Jonas Vingegaard [Visma–Lease a Bike] in the general classification at this year's Tour, and is already thinking about the next mountains he has to conquer, one of which is at LA 2028.
"The Los Angeles Olympics are one of my goals, which are three years from now. After that, I might start thinking about retirement, we’ll see," he told l'Equipe.
He will be nearing 30 by the time the 2028 games roll around, and by then could have cemented himself as cycling's greatest.
Another Tour de France title will bring him to five, equaling the all-time record currently shared by four riders.
He is likely to draw level with Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Jacques Anquetil, and he could even surpass them by winning a sixth.
Retirement will only enter his mind after the 2028 Games, however.
"I don’t think I’ll stop right away, but I also don’t see myself going on for much longer," Pogacar revealed.
But 2028 may be his last chance at Olympic glory. He won bronze in the road at Tokyo 2020, but Paris 2024 saw him pull out with fatigue.
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He said he was tiring in the final week of this year's Tour as well, and will have to manage his activity over the next few years in order to enter the Games at his best.
"Burnouts happen in a lot of sports; mental burnout, physical burnout," he said.
"I think cyclists are a bit too obsessed with training. We always try the hardest and everybody wants to train more and more.
"You see riders with fatigue too early in the season, the team needs you to race, race, race and you keep going and you never really recover. Burnouts happen all the time and it can happen to me as well."
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