Tadej Pogacar stepped outdoors on his bike again on Saturday, nearly a month after the crash that ended his season — and marked the occasion with a poignant note: “First day back, but the last in the rainbow jersey.”
The two-time world champion shared photos and videos from a ride near his home, joined by his partner Urška Žigart, her teammate Gladys Verhulst, and Eddie Dunbar.
He also showed the scar from his collarbone surgery, a visible reminder of the injuries sustained in the Vuelta a Espana: a broken left collarbone, a stable fracture of the seventh cervical vertebra, a concussion, and multiple abrasions. Those injuries forced him to abandon the Vuelta while leading and ruled him out of the rest of the 2026 season, including the World Championships in Montreal.
On Sunday, a new men’s elite road race world champion will be crowned, ending Pogacar’s two-year reign in the iconic rainbow bands he claimed in Zurich (2024) and Kigali (2025).