Why has Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar pulled out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games?

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar has withdrawn from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games less than 24 hours after winning the Tour de France for the third time.

Having been runner-up to Jonas Vingegaard in cycling’s biggest stage race in 2022 and 2023, Pogacar, the biggest name in the world of cycling, repeated his 2020 and 2021 triumphs in spectacular fashion.

The 25-year-old won six of the 21 stages for team UAE Emirates, ending the race more than six minutes ahead of Vingegaard, whose preparation for the Tour had been decimated by a serious crash in April.

Pogacar snatches stage win from USA’s Jorgenson

On stage 19 in the Alps, Pogacar snatched victory away from American rider Matteo Jorgenson, who finished eighth overall, right at the death, catching and passing Vingegaard’s teammate in the final kilometre or so.

The victory in France saw the rider do a rare Grand Tour double after he also won the Giro d’Italia, a similar three-week stage race in Italy, which finished at the end of May.

The reason Pogacar won’t compete in the Olympics

Despite his hectic summer schedule, Pogacar had been due to compete in the cycling road race for Slovenia in the Olympic Games in Paris but has now chosen to pull out, citing “tiredness” after competing in both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the last couple of months.

Pogacar’s partner, Urska Zigart, wasn’t selected for the Slovenian women’s team, with some mischievously speculating that her omission may also have influenced his decision.

Although the road race in Paris may not have been ideal for him, Pogacar has consistently shown his versatility by winning different types of races, and would surely have been a contender for a medal.

“Pogi,” as he is affectionately known, has previously competed in the Olympics once, winning a bronze medal in the road race in Tokyo in 2021. He will be replaced in the Slovenian men’s team by Domen Novak.