Tadej Pogačar has declined his spot to race in the Paris Olympic Games citing tiredness as the reason after completing the first Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double since 1998.
Pogačar was due to compete in the men’s road race on August 3.
The Slovenian Olympic Team announced the news on Monday, with UAE Emirates trade teammate Domen Novak set to replace him in the road race. Jan Tratnik will compete in Saturday’s time trial, while Matej Mohorič and Luka Mezgec will also ride in the road race.
Defending Olympic time trial Champion Primož Roglič wasn’t on the original squad or announced as the replacement for Pogačar, however, he is likely still in recovery from the heavy crash which took him out of the Tour de France.
“The men’s cycling team selector revealed the names of the cyclists that will compete in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris,” read the Instagram post.
“Unfortunately, Tadej Pogačar won’t be among them, who cancelled his performance due to being too tired. He will be replaced by a representative colleague Domen Novak. We wish Dom all the best and success.
“Congratulations again to the winner of the France race for his third victory at the most prestigious cycling race in the world and we hope that he will rest well and get ready for the next performances.”
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Pogačar will be celebrated for his historic achievements in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital city, on Wednesday, July 24 and is expected to receive a hero’s welcome.
There were rumours that Pogačar would skip the games, where he was set to look for gold after managing a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 after an interview in BiciSport with agent Johnny Carrera (one-half of A&J All Sports) suggested participation was by no means guaranteed.
Pogačar also shied away from speaking much about Paris 2024 after he won the Tour de France in Nice, choosing instead to focus on the Zurich World Championships which arrive in September on a course that suits him.
There has been controversy around some of the Slovenian selections, notably that Urška Žigart, whose fiancée is Pogačar, was snubbed from the women’s road squad despite being the dual national champion and highest-ranked female rider.
