Cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar is apparently already in top shape around four weeks before the start of the 2026 Tour de France. Red Bull driver Maxim Van Gils spotted the Slovenian during altitude training in the Sierra Nevada – and was amazed.
While Jonas Vingegaard has been busy with the Giro d’Italia over the last four weeks, Tadej Pogacar has clocked up countless kilometers in the Sierra Nevada to get himself in shape for the mountains of the 2026 Tour de France. The Slovenian over-driver apparently managed that quite well.
Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) reported to the Belgian newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws” about a training ride that he and a few other riders undertook in the south of Spain a few days ago. The group was overtaken by Pogacar a few times. “And he was very fast,” observed Van Gils.
Pogacar looks “very thin.”
“Although we certainly didn’t drive slowly, Tadej was very fast on the climb. At first we thought he was bluffing and hiding in the bushes higher up,” joked the Red Bull driver. “But at the summit we opened up again. It was normal mountain training for him. I also had the impression that he looked very thin,” the Belgian speculated that Pogacar is already in tour shape.
How strong Pogacar really is will become clear in the days before the start of the Tour of France. The UAE captain will take part in the Tour de Suisse for the first time in his career in immediate preparation for the Grande Boucle. This will take place from June 17th to 21st.
The program in Switzerland initially includes three stages with moderate gradients. An individual time trial takes place on the penultimate day. The grand finale then becomes a real endurance test in which the Col de la Croix has to be climbed twice.