Tadej Pogačar Ends Season and Will Miss Home European Championships

Tadej Pogačar’s injuries have ended his 2026 season and denied Slovenia’s cycling star a chance to race at the European Championships hosted at home.

Pogačar suffered a broken left collarbone, a fracture to his seventh cervical vertebra and a concussion in a serious crash on the eighth stage of the Vuelta a España. He underwent surgery in Barcelona on Monday and returned to home care in Monaco on Wednesday, where team doctors are monitoring his recovery.

His absence removes three major targets from the remainder of his season: the world championships in Canada, the European Championships in Šenčur and the Tour of Lombardy. The article says he had particularly wanted to compete at the European Championships because Slovenia is unlikely to host another major event of that scale during his career.

The reigning world champion’s status had remained uncertain because of the upcoming European Championships, where the main continental champions will be crowned in less than a month. He will now focus on recovering from his injuries, with a possible return to competition ruled out for the rest of the year.

Pogačar could still attend the championships in Šenčur in October as a spectator, supporting his national-team teammates and his fiancée, Urška Žigart.