Spanish all-time great Alberto Contador believes that Jonas Vingegaard will remain Tadej Pogačar's biggest stage racing opponent in 2026 despite two consecutive defeats in the Tour de France.
Speaking at the presentation of the latest version of his Aurum bike, el pistolero – as Contador was known – also paid tribute to Pogačar's ongoing campaign to try and win Paris-Roubaix and to topple Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the Queen of the Classics.
"All of the [Spring] Classics have been really hard-fought. Those duels will go down in history," he told Marca. "When you get the defending Tour champion going into the hell of Paris-Roubaix, getting coated in in mud, taking those enormous risks: that's the kind of cycling that the sport can be proud of."
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Himself the winner of two Tours de France and seven Grand Tours in total, Contador argued that when it came to cycling's biggest stage race race, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) remained the rider most likely to topple Pogačar.
"It'd be hard," Contador recognised, "but there is Vingegaard. He's won the Tour de France twice, he's meticulous, calculating, a total professional. If anybody can give Tadej a headache, it's him."
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader has already stated that the Tour de France will once again be a top goal in 2026, with Vingegaard continuing to be determined to try and close the gap after two consecutive defeats.
However, Contador recognised to MARCA that for now at least, Pogačar was in a league of his own, while refusing to be drawn into the ongoing insistence in some quarters in comparing Pogačar with cycling's greatest ever racer, Eddy Merckx.
"He was clearly superior in the Tour, and he's a sportsman who's redefining the sport," Contador said.
"These days riders only compete in half of what they used to do. We can't compare data."
"So let's just enjoy what Pogačar does. He's unique. Every race he does is a gift."
Looking at the future of Spanish cycling and potential targets for 2026, Contador agreed that Enric Mas (Movistar) – the country's most consistent Grand Tour racer of recent years and a former rider at the Contador Foundation back in his amateur days – could well look at making his debut in the Giro d'Italia.
He also agreed that Juan Ayuso, seen by many Spanish fans as the most likely successor of Contador, had what it took to return to the podium of a Grand Tour with his new Lidl-Trek team in the near future. Last but not least, his own team, Polti-VisitMalta, will be aiming at top performances in the Giro d'Italia as their big goal for 2026.
Regarding Spanish cycling in general, he said: "It's very heartening, we've got a great series of up-and-coming riders like Ayuso, Carlos Rodríguez – who's been hit by more than his fair share of bad luck – [Adrià] Perica, Pablo Torres, and veterans like Enric and [Mikel] Landa who can still be in on the action."
"I just think we need time. And patience. But we're heading in the right direction."
Meanwhile, looking at 2025, Contador said that cycling had lived through a spectacular season. Long-distance attacking – something he was also very given to doing, with memorable all-or-nothing moves like to Fuente Dè in the 2012 Vuelta a España or across the Galibier in the 2011 Tour de France – had become closer than ever to being the 'new normal.'
However, he felt it could be too much to automatically expect the peloton to produce such a similar series of dramatic performances in 2026.
"Even to ask them for a repeat of last year's fireworks would be almost too much. It's getting harder and harder for them to surprise us… the only thing left is for them to start going on the attack in the neutralised zone."
