Tadej Pogačar: The Life Story Behind Cycling's Young Star

Tadej Pogačar rides a bicycle with a smile that makes cycling look like fun, and that is exactly what makes him so dangerous. He attacks when others would wait, he smiles when others would suffer, and he wins races that other riders would not even try to win. He won the Tour de France at twenty-one, in 2020, in one of the most dramatic finishes in Tour history, and he has kept winning ever since, in the Tour, in the Giro d’Italia, in the great one-day races, and at the World Championships. He is not just a Tour rider. He is a complete cyclist, a rider who can climb, who can time trial, who can sprint, and who can win on any terrain, in any weather, against any opponent. That completeness, combined with his joy, makes him one of the most exciting riders of his generation.

He was born on 21 September 1998 in Komenda, a small town in Slovenia, a country in central Europe with mountains, with forests, and with a strong cycling tradition. His parents, Mirko and Marjeta Pogačar, raised him with his brother Tilen in a family that loved sport, and he started cycling as a young boy, riding with a local club, Rog Ljubljana, where he learned the basics of the sport. He was not a big child, and he was not the strongest, but he was fast, he was brave, and he loved to ride. He rode to school, he rode in races, and he dreamed of becoming a professional cyclist, as many Slovenian boys do, inspired by the mountains around them and by the great riders who came before him.

What makes his story special is how young he was when he reached the top, and how much he has already achieved. He turned professional with UAE Team Emirates in 2019, at the age of twenty, and he won the Tour de France in his first attempt, in 2020, beating his fellow Slovenian Primož Roglič in a time trial on the penultimate day, a comeback that shocked the cycling world. He won the Tour again in 2021, and again in 2024 and 2025, he won the Giro in 2024, and he became world champion in 2024, winning the road race in Zurich with a long solo attack. He has also won the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and many other great races, showing that he is not just a stage racer, but a rider who can win anywhere.

He is also a humble and cheerful man who loves his family, his fiancée Urška Žigart, herself a professional cyclist, and his home in Slovenia. He speaks simply, he smiles often, and he treats fans with kindness, signing autographs, posing for pictures, and talking to children who dream of riding like him. He is a role model for young cyclists in Slovenia and around the world, not just because he wins, but because he wins with joy, with humility, and with a love for the sport that is easy to see. His story is still being written, because he is still young, and the best may be yet to come.

Komenda, Slovenia, And A Boy Who Loved To Ride

Tadej Pogačar grew up in Komenda, a small town north of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, in a country where cycling is loved and where the mountains are never far away. His parents, Mirko and Marjeta, raised him and his brother Tilen in a family that valued sport, hard work, and the outdoors. He started cycling at a young age, joining the local club Rog Ljubljana, where he learned to ride in a group, to race, and to handle a bike on the roads around his home. He was a small boy, but he was fast, and he was brave, and he loved the feeling of riding fast downhill and climbing uphill, pushing himself to go further each time.

At school, he was a good student, a polite boy, and a rider who listened to his coaches. He was not the biggest boy in his class, but he was one of the fittest, and he could ride for hours without getting tired. His coaches noticed his talent early, and they helped him develop, teaching him about tactics, about training, and about the discipline needed to be a professional. He raced in junior events in Slovenia and in Europe, and he won races, showing that he was not just a good local rider, but a rider with the potential to compete at the highest level. He was still a teenager, but he was already dreaming of the Tour de France.

Slovenia has a strong cycling tradition, with great riders like Primož Roglič, who came before Pogačar and who showed that a Slovenian could win Grand Tours. Pogačar grew up watching Roglič, and he was inspired by him, but he also wanted to make his own path. He was a different kind of rider from Roglič, more attacking, more joyful, and more willing to take risks, and that difference became his trademark. He did not want to win by waiting. He wanted to win by attacking, by smiling, and by making cycling exciting to watch. That attitude, learned in Komenda, stayed with him when he became a professional.

He also had to learn about life as a young rider far from home, travelling to races in Europe, living in hotels, and racing against older, stronger riders. He handled that life with maturity, because he was focused, because he loved cycling, and because he had the support of his family. His parents travelled to watch him race, his brother supported him, and his coaches believed in him. That support helped him stay grounded, even as he became famous, and it is why he is still a humble young man today, despite winning some of the biggest races in the world.

Rog Ljubljana, Junior Races, And The Road To UAE

With Rog Ljubljana, Tadej Pogačar learned the craft of cycling, racing in junior events in Slovenia, Italy, and France, and winning races that showed his potential. He was a strong climber, even as a junior, and he could ride uphill faster than boys who were bigger and stronger than him. He also learned to time trial, to sprint, and to read a race, skills that would help him later as a professional. His coaches at Rog saw that he was special, and they worked hard to help him develop, giving him good training, good advice, and opportunities to race in Europe.

He won the Tour de l’Avenir in 2018, a race for young riders that is often called the mini Tour de France, and that win announced him to the world as a future star. The Tour de l’Avenir is a hard race, with mountains, with time trials, and with the best young riders in the world, and winning it is a sign that a rider is ready for the professional ranks. Pogačar won it at nineteen, showing that he could climb, that he could recover day after day, and that he could handle pressure. That win earned him a contract with UAE Team Emirates, a WorldTour team based in the United Arab Emirates, with a big budget and big ambitions.

He turned professional with UAE in 2019, at the age of twenty, and he immediately showed that he belonged at the highest level. He won the Tour of California in 2019, a major stage race in the United States, and he finished third in the Vuelta a España in his first Grand Tour, winning three stages. That Vuelta performance was remarkable for a twenty-year-old in his first three-week race, and it showed that he could compete with the best riders in the world, even as a young man. He was not afraid of the big names, and he attacked them, smiled at them, and beat them in the mountains. That fearlessness became his trademark.

His first season as a professional also taught him about the demands of WorldTour racing, with long travel, with hard races, and with the need to recover quickly. He handled those demands well, because he was young, because he was fit, and because he loved to race. He did not complain about hard work, and he did not seek attention. He simply rode, he won, and he smiled, and his teammates and his coaches loved him for it. He was a rider who made cycling fun, and that fun was infectious, spreading to his team and to the fans who watched him.

The 2020 Tour: A Time Trial That Shocked The World

The 2020 Tour de France was held in late summer, after being postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it was a strange Tour, with no crowds on the mountains, with masks, and with strict health rules. Tadej Pogačar, at twenty-one, was riding his first Tour, and he was not the favourite. His fellow Slovenian Primož Roglič, riding for Jumbo-Visma, was the favourite, and he wore the yellow jersey for most of the race, leading by almost a minute going into the penultimate stage, a time trial up La Planche des Belles Filles, a steep mountain finish. Most people thought Roglič would win the Tour, and that Pogačar would finish second, a great result for a young rider in his first Tour.

Pogačar had other ideas. On that time trial, he rode the ride of his life, climbing the mountain faster than anyone, beating Roglič by almost two minutes, and taking the yellow jersey by 59 seconds. It was one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Tour history, and it shocked the cycling world, because no one had expected a twenty-one-year-old to beat the favourite in such a way, on the penultimate day, in a time trial. He rode with a smile, with power, and with a calm that belied his age, and when he crossed the finish line, he knew he had won the Tour. The next day, he rode into Paris in yellow, the youngest Tour winner in more than a hundred years, and a star was born.

That win changed his life, and it changed Slovenian cycling. Slovenia, a small country of two million people, suddenly had two of the best riders in the world, Roglič and Pogačar, and the whole country celebrated. Pogačar became a national hero, and he handled that fame with humility, thanking his team, his family, and his country, and saying that he still had much to learn. He was right to say that, because he did keep learning, and he kept winning, year after year, in the Tour and in other races. His 2020 win was not a one-off. It was the start of a great career.

He won the Tour again in 2021, dominating the race from the early mountains, wearing yellow for most of the race, and finishing more than five minutes ahead of the second-placed rider. He was the clear best rider in the race, and he showed that his 2020 win was no fluke. He also won stages, he attacked when he wanted to, and he smiled throughout, enjoying the race even when it was hard. That joy, that love of racing, is what makes him different from many other Tour winners, who often look serious and stressed. Pogačar looks happy, and that happiness makes him fun to watch, and hard to beat.

Rivalry With Vingegaard, Defeats, And Learning To Come Back

After winning the Tour in 2020 and 2021, Tadej Pogačar faced a new rival in Jonas Vingegaard, a Danish rider for Jumbo-Visma, who beat him in the Tour in 2022 and 2023. Those two defeats were hard for Pogačar, because he was used to winning, and because he had to watch another rider take the yellow jersey that he wanted. In 2022, he lost the Tour after a tactical mistake on the Col du Granon, where Vingegaard and his team attacked him, and he lost more than two minutes in one stage. In 2023, he lost again, after breaking his wrist in a crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring, which kept him out of training for weeks before the Tour. Those losses taught him about humility, about the need to be ready for every stage, and about the strength of his rival.

He handled those defeats with grace, congratulating Vingegaard, thanking his team, and saying that he would come back stronger. He did not blame his teammates, he did not blame his bike, and he did not make excuses. He accepted the losses, he learned from them, and he worked harder in the winter, training, preparing, and planning for the next Tour. That ability to learn from defeat, rather than to be broken by it, is one of the most important qualities in a champion, and Pogačar has it in abundance. He is not a rider who gives up after a loss. He is a rider who comes back, smiling, and tries again.

In 2024, he came back in spectacular fashion, winning the Giro d’Italia in May, dominating the race from start to finish, and then winning the Tour de France in July, becoming the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro and the Tour in the same year. That double, winning two Grand Tours in one season, is one of the hardest achievements in cycling, because it requires a rider to be at his best for months, to recover quickly, and to stay healthy. Pogačar did it with a smile, winning stages in both races, attacking in the mountains, and showing that he was the best rider in the world. He also won the World Championships in Zurich in September 2024, with a long solo attack, becoming world champion and completing a remarkable season.

He won the Tour again in 2025, beating Vingegaard once more, and showing that his rivalry with the Danish rider is one of the great rivalries in modern cycling. Their battles in the mountains, in the time trials, and in the overall classification have made the Tour exciting to watch, and fans around the world have enjoyed watching two great riders push each other to be better. Pogačar’s wins in 2024 and 2025, after two years of defeat, show that he is not just a talented rider, but a resilient one, a rider who can lose, learn, and come back to win again. That resilience is part of why he is loved by fans.

Giro, World Title, Classics, And A Complete Rider

Tadej Pogačar is not just a Tour de France rider. He is a complete cyclist, a rider who can win in the great one-day races, the Classics, as well as in Grand Tours. He has won the Tour of Flanders, one of the hardest one-day races in the world, with cobbles, with steep climbs, and with terrible weather, and he has won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, another great Classic, multiple times. He has also won Strade Bianche, a race on the white gravel roads of Tuscany, and he has won many other one-day races, showing that he can win on any terrain, in any conditions, against any opponent. That versatility is rare, because most Tour winners focus only on stage races, and most Classics riders focus only on one-day races. Pogačar does both, and he does both brilliantly.

His Giro win in 2024 was a masterclass in stage racing. He won six stages, he wore the pink jersey for most of the race, and he finished almost ten minutes ahead of the second-placed rider, a dominant victory that showed his class. He attacked in the mountains, he time trialled well, and he controlled the race from start to finish, with a calm and a confidence that made it look easy. It was not easy, but he made it look that way, because he was so much stronger than his rivals. That Giro win, followed by his Tour win in the same year, made 2024 one of the greatest seasons by any cyclist in history.

His World Championship win in Zurich in 2024 was another highlight, because he won it with a long solo attack, riding alone for more than 100 kilometres, holding off the best riders in the world, and crossing the finish line in the rainbow jersey, the jersey worn by the world champion. That win showed his courage, because attacking so far from the finish is a huge risk, and most riders would not try it. Pogačar tried it, he believed in it, and he won. That attack is now remembered as one of the great World Championship rides, and it showed that he is willing to take risks to win in style, not just to win by waiting.

He has also won the UAE Tour, Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, and many other stage races, showing that he can win throughout the season, not just in the summer. He is a rider who loves to race, who races often, and who wins often, and that love of racing makes him popular with fans, who want to see the best riders compete, not just train for one race a year. He races with joy, he attacks, he smiles, and he makes cycling exciting to watch, which is why he is one of the most popular riders in the world today.

Urška, Family, And The Smile That Never Fades

Away from cycling, Tadej Pogačar is a humble and cheerful young man who loves his family, his home in Slovenia, and his fiancée Urška Žigart, a professional cyclist herself who rides for a top women’s team. Urška and Tadej met through cycling, they share a love of the sport, and they support each other through the hard times of professional racing, with travel, with injuries, and with pressure. He has spoken about how much Urška means to him, and how her support helps him stay focused and stay happy. They are engaged, and they plan to marry, and their relationship is a partnership built on a shared love of cycling and on mutual respect.

He is close to his parents, Mirko and Marjeta, and to his brother Tilen, who have supported him since he was a boy in Komenda. His parents travel to watch him race, they celebrate his wins, and they keep him grounded, reminding him of where he came from. He is also close to his team, UAE Team Emirates, where he has ridden since 2019, and where he is the leader, the star, and the rider around whom the team is built. He treats his teammates with respect, he thanks them after every win, and he shares his success with them, because he knows that cycling is a team sport, even when one rider wears the yellow jersey.

He lives in Monaco for part of the year, as many professional cyclists do, because the weather is good for training, and he trains in the mountains around Nice, preparing for the Tour and for other races. He also spends time in Slovenia, where he enjoys the mountains, the lakes, and the quiet life of his home town. He is a young man who loves the outdoors, who loves to ride, and who loves to be with his family and friends. He does not seek fame, he does not show off, and he handles his success with a smile and with humility, which is why fans love him.

As he moves into the next part of his career, he is still young, still improving, and still hungry to win. He has already won four Tours, a Giro, a World Championship, and many Classics, but he wants more. He wants to win more Tours, to win the Vuelta, to win more Classics, and to keep making cycling exciting. His future is bright, because he is healthy, because he is motivated, and because he loves the sport. Whether he wins more Tours or not, he will be remembered as one of the great riders of his generation, a rider who won with a smile, who attacked with courage, and who made cycling fun again.

My Take:

I think Tadej Pogačar is the most exciting cyclist I have watched in many years, because he rides with joy. He attacks when others would wait, he smiles when others would suffer, and he makes cycling look like fun, even in the hardest mountains. I have watched his Tour wins, and I still marvel at how he can attack, ride alone, and win with a smile on his face. That joy is rare in professional sport, where many athletes look stressed and serious, and it is why fans love him. He reminds us that sport should be fun, even at the highest level.

What I admire most about him is his completeness. He can climb, he can time trial, he can sprint, and he can win one-day races as well as Grand Tours. Most riders are good at one thing, and they focus on that one thing. Pogačar is good at everything, and he wins everywhere. That versatility is remarkable, and it shows that he is not just a Tour rider. He is a complete cyclist, a rider who can win on any terrain, in any weather, against any opponent. I think that completeness is what makes him special, and it is why he will be remembered as one of the greats.

I also think about his 2020 Tour win, and about how dramatic it was. He was twenty-one, he was not the favourite, and he was almost a minute behind going into the penultimate stage. Then he rode the time trial of his life, beat Roglič by almost two minutes, and took the yellow jersey. That is a story that sounds like a film, not like real life, because it is so dramatic. Yet it happened, and it happened because Pogačar believed in himself, because he rode with courage, and because he did not give up. That belief, that courage, is a lesson for any young athlete who feels they are behind. You are never beaten until the race is over.

His rivalry with Jonas Vingegaard is another thing I think about a lot. They are two great riders, from Slovenia and Denmark, who push each other to be better, year after year. Pogačar won in 2020 and 2021, Vingegaard won in 2022 and 2023, and Pogačar won again in 2024 and 2025. That back-and-forth makes the Tour exciting, because fans do not know who will win, and because both riders race with respect for each other. They do not hate each other. They respect each other, and they make each other better. That is how a great rivalry should be, and I hope it continues for many years.

I also admire the way he handled defeat in 2022 and 2023. He lost the Tour twice, and he could have become bitter, or he could have given up, but he did not. He congratulated Vingegaard, he learned from his mistakes, and he came back stronger in 2024, winning the Giro and the Tour in the same year. That resilience, that ability to learn from a loss, is one of the most important qualities in a champion, and Pogačar has it in abundance. He shows that losing is not the end. It is a lesson, and if you learn from it, you can come back and win again.

His Giro and Tour double in 2024 is one of my favourite achievements in cycling, because it is so hard to do. Winning one Grand Tour is hard. Winning two in one year is extraordinary, because it requires a rider to be at his best for months, to recover quickly, and to stay healthy. Pogačar did it with a smile, winning stages in both races, attacking in the mountains, and dominating his rivals. That double, last done by Marco Pantani in 1998, shows that Pogačar is a rider for the history books, not just for his generation. He is a rider who will be talked about for decades.

I also think about his World Championship win in Zurich, because it was a ride that showed his courage. He attacked more than 100 kilometres from the finish, alone, against the best riders in the world, and he held on to win. Most riders would not have taken that risk, because it could have ended in failure, and because it is a long way to ride alone. Pogačar took it, he believed in it, and he won. That attack is a perfect picture of who he is: brave, confident, and willing to take risks to win in style. I love that kind of riding, because it makes cycling exciting to watch.

His smile is another thing I think about, because it is part of his story. He smiles when he wins, he smiles when he attacks, and he smiles when he talks to fans. That smile is not fake. It is the smile of a man who loves his job, and who is grateful for the life cycling gave him. In a world where many famous athletes look tired or angry, Pogačar looks happy, and that happiness is catching. Young fans see it, and they want to ride a bike because they want to feel that happy too. That is a powerful kind of influence, and it is why he is a great role model.

I also think about his relationship with Urška Žigart, because it shows another side of him. She is a professional cyclist herself, and they understand each other’s lives, with travel, with training, and with pressure. They support each other, they train together, and they share a love of cycling. That partnership is a beautiful thing, because it is built on mutual respect and on a shared passion. I think it helps Pogačar stay grounded, because he has someone who understands his life, and who loves him for who he is, not just for his wins.

His childhood in Komenda is also worth thinking about. He grew up in a small town in Slovenia, with mountains around him, with a local club, and with a dream of becoming a professional. He did not grow up in a big city, with fancy facilities. He grew up in a small place, with a bike, with a club, and with a family who supported him. That story reminds me that greatness can come from small places, from ordinary families, and from a love of sport. You do not need to be born in a big city to become great. You need a bike, a dream, and people who believe in you.

If I were talking to a young cyclist, I would tell them to watch Tadej Pogačar. I would tell them to attack, to smile, and to enjoy riding. I would tell them to work hard, to climb a lot, and to learn to time trial. I would also tell them to be humble, to thank their teammates, and to put the team first. Those are the lessons of his career, and they are lessons that apply to any sport, and to life as well. He is not just a great rider. He is a joyful rider, and that joy is what makes him special.

I also think about his age, and about how much he has already achieved at such a young age. He won the Tour at twenty-one, he won the Giro at twenty-five, and he became world champion at twenty-six. He is still young, and he has many years ahead of him, if he stays healthy. That is exciting, because it means we may see even more great wins from him, more attacks, more smiles, and more moments that make cycling fun. I hope he stays healthy, because the sport needs riders like him, riders who attack, who smile, and who make fans love cycling.

I also want to be honest about something. He is not perfect, and he has made mistakes, he has lost Tours, and he has had bad days. He also faces pressure, as every great rider does, and he has to deal with expectations from fans, from media, and from his team. Yet he handles that pressure with a smile, with calm, and with a focus on riding his bike. That is a mature way to handle fame, especially for a young man, and it shows that he is not just a great rider, but a grounded person as well.

His versatility is another thing I admire. He wins Tours, he wins Giros, he wins Classics, and he wins World Championships. Most riders specialise in one type of race, but Pogačar wins in all of them, and he does it with the same joy and the same attacking style. That versatility is rare, and it is why he is compared to the great all-rounders of the past, like Eddy Merckx. I do not want to compare him too much to Merckx, because that is a heavy comparison, but I think Pogačar is on his way to becoming one of the great all-rounders in history, if he keeps winning like this.

I also think about Slovenia, and about what Pogačar means to his country. Slovenia is a small country, with two million people, and it now has two of the best cyclists in the world, Pogačar and Roglič. That is remarkable, and it has made Slovenia proud. Pogačar is a national hero, and he carries that responsibility with humility, thanking his country, his family, and his fans. He does not forget where he came from, and he uses his fame to inspire young Slovenians to ride, to dream, and to work hard. That is a good use of fame, and it is why he is loved at home.

In the end, I think Tadej Pogačar’s story is about joy, courage, and completeness. He rides with joy, he attacks with courage, and he wins as a complete cyclist, in Tours, in Giros, in Classics, and in World Championships. He is still young, and his story is still being written, but he has already given cycling some of its greatest moments, and he has done it all with a smile. I hope he keeps riding, keeps attacking, and keeps smiling, because the sport is better when he is in it, and because fans around the world love to watch him race.

I also think about his team, UAE Team Emirates, and about how they built a team around him. They signed strong riders to help him in the mountains, they gave him good coaches, and they trusted him to lead. That trust matters, because a Tour winner needs a team that believes in him, and Pogačar has that team. He repays their trust by winning, by thanking them, and by sharing his success with them. That is a good partnership, and it is why he has stayed with UAE since 2019.

Another thing I admire is his willingness to race often, not just in the Tour. Many Tour riders race only a few times a year, saving themselves for July, but Pogačar races in the spring Classics, in stage races, and in one-day events, because he loves to race. That love of racing makes him popular with fans, who want to see the best riders compete, and it also makes him a better rider, because he learns from every race he rides. I think more riders should race like him, with joy and with frequency.

I think about his future, and about how much more he could win. He is still in his twenties, he is healthy, and he is motivated. He could win more Tours, he could win the Vuelta, and he could win more World Championships. He could also become one of the greatest cyclists of all time, if he keeps winning like this. I hope he stays healthy, because the sport needs him, and because fans love watching him. His future is bright, and I am excited to see what he does next.

Finally, I want to say that Tadej Pogačar reminds me why I love cycling. He attacks, he smiles, he wins, and he makes the sport exciting. He is not just a winner. He is a rider who makes people fall in love with cycling, especially young people who see him and want to ride a bike. That is a gift, and it is why his story matters, not just for Slovenia, but for cycling all over the world.

I also think about the way he is remembered in Komenda, his small home town, where people still talk about the boy who rode with Rog Ljubljana and who dreamed of the Tour. That local pride matters, because it shows that a great cyclist can come from a small town in Slovenia, and that a small town can produce a world champion who smiles, attacks, and wins with joy. Komenda will always be proud of Tadej Pogačar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where was Tadej Pogačar born and when did he start cycling?

Tadej Pogačar was born on 21 September 1998 in Komenda, a small town in Slovenia. He started cycling as a young boy with the local club Rog Ljubljana, learning to ride and race on the roads around his home.

How did Tadej Pogačar win his first Tour de France in 2020?

He won his first Tour at twenty-one by beating Primož Roglič in a time trial on the penultimate day, up La Planche des Belles Filles. He overturned a deficit of almost a minute to take the yellow jersey by 59 seconds, the youngest winner in over a hundred years.

How many Tours de France has Tadej Pogačar won?

He has won the Tour de France four times, in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025, after losing to Jonas Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023. He also won the Giro d’Italia in 2024, completing the rare Giro-Tour double in one season.

What other major races has Tadej Pogačar won besides Grand Tours?

He has won the Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Strade Bianche and many other Classics, and he became world champion in 2024 in Zurich with a long solo attack. He is known as a complete rider who can win on any terrain.

Who is Tadej Pogačar’s rival in the Tour de France?

His main rival is Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark, who beat him in the Tour in 2022 and 2023. Their rivalry is one of the great battles in modern cycling, with both riders pushing each other to be better in the mountains and time trials.

Is Tadej Pogačar engaged and who is his partner?

He is engaged to Urška Žigart, a professional cyclist from Slovenia who rides for a top women’s team. They met through cycling, share a love of the sport, and support each other through the demands of professional racing.