Blink and you missed it: barely 24 hours after reports emerged that Tadej Pogačar might make a surprise early comeback from his injuries in the Vuelta a España to ride the European Championships in his home country of Slovenia this weekend, the story has already seemingly hit the sidings.
On Monday afternoon, Spanish newspapers El Periódico and El País co-ran an exclusive claiming that Pogačar had recovered so fast from his broken collarbone and other injuries incurred on stage 8 of the Vuelta that he was set to become a last-minute sign-up for the Slovenian squad in the European road race on October 4.
Their report went directly against the earlier insistence by UAE Team Emirates-XRG that Pogačar would not be racing the Europeans, when it emerged that his name had not been scratched from a longlist for Slovenia, published almost a week before his crash. Perhaps more importantly, there was also no comment from the rider himself on social media regarding a possible much earlier comeback than the original date set of 2027.
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Whilst the Slovenian Cycling Federation told Cyclingnews on Tuesday that it had yet to publish the definitive list of selected riders - which is still yet to happen - UAE made their position even clearer on Tuesday in La Gazzetta dello Sport, in an interview with team principal Mauro Gianetti.
"His will to be there it's easy to understand, but it's too early, health is priority so it won't happen," Gianetti said.
Whilst official confirmation of the Slovenia list of elite men may yet take some time to emerge, Gianetti's comments make it clear that from the trade team's point of view, Pogacar will not be at the startline in Ljubljana on Sunday to defend his title. It also makes it very likely that his original plan to rest up from his injuries until his return to racing next January remains intact.
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