Pogacar to defend Tour de France and world title on ambitious 2025 program

UAE Team’s Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar speaks to members of the media during the press conference at the Grand Luxor hotel in Benidorm, Spain, on Dec. 10, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 11 December 2024
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Pogacar to defend Tour de France and world title on ambitious 2025 program

  • Pogacar: Last year was an exceptional year for me. I had a great time. Everything went super smoothly, I managed to be in great shape in every race
  • He will get his 2025 season underway at the UAE Tour

BENIDORM, Spain: Tadej Pogacar insisted on Tuesday he would not ease off after a record-breaking 2024, declaring he was hungry for more success with a plethora of one-day classics and two Grand Tours on the 2025 menu.

The 26-year-old Slovenian dominated the 2024 season winning two one-day monuments, the Italian Giro, the Tour de France and the world title on his way to 25 wins in total for the year.

He will get his 2025 season underway at the UAE Tour. He will race the Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, the E3 Grand Prix, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders before the Ardennes classics.

One race off the agenda is the Paris-Roubaix, suited to heftier riders due to its harsh old cobbled mining roads.

“I wanted to get back on the cobbles and I’ll do it again in the future. I’m saving Paris-Roubaix for later. But I love racing the classics.” he said in Benidrom, Spain, on Tuesday.

“After the Giro-Tour thing this season, I’d like to do the Tour-Vuelta, or even the Giro-Vuelta. But the Tour is the Tour, and it will still be my priority next year, along with the Worlds,” he confirmed.

As well as the Tour de France, which will run from July 5-27, Pogacar will choose between the Giro and Vuelta once the routes have been revealed.

If he foregoes the Giro (May 9-June 1) in favor of the Vuelta (August 23-September 14), the Slovenian will take part in the Criterium du Dauphine (June 8-15) in preparation for the Tour de France.

“What’s certain is that he won’t be doing the three big Tours next year,” Team UAE sports director Joxean Fernandez Matxin said.

Pogacar is also due to defend his title at the World Championships, which will be in Rwanda in September, on a very demanding course in Kigali.

“I’d like to race all three Tours one day but there are 30 riders in the team you know, and I can’t race everything,” Pogacar said.

He should then end his season on Oct. 11 at the Tour of Lombardy, the last Monument of the year, where he will be aiming for a fifth consecutive success.

“Last year was an exceptional year for me. I had a great time. Everything went super smoothly, I managed to be in great shape in every race,” said Pogacar who at only 26 years old, feels “still young” and believes he can “progress,” particularly on the “small details.”


Paul Casey and Anirban Lahiri re-sign for Crushers GC ahead of new LIV Golf season

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Paul Casey and Anirban Lahiri re-sign for Crushers GC ahead of new LIV Golf season

  • Crushers to maintain same roster for a record fifth consecutive season under captain Bryson DeChambeau 
  • Team returns in 2026 Season as most successful team in LIV Golf history, with eight regular-season team titles and one team championship

NEW YORK: Crushers GC of the LIV Golf League has solidified its roster for the 2026 season with the confirmed return of team veterans Paul Casey and Anirban Lahiri, who once again will team up with captain Bryson DeChambeau and Charles Howell III following an accomplished 2025 showing that included three consecutive team victories in 2025 at LIV Golf Korea, Virginia, and Dallas.

“Keeping this core together for 2026 positions us to build on the momentum we carried out of 2025,” DeChambeau said. “This group knows what it takes to win; we lifted the trophy in 2023 and finished second last season, and that experience fuels our drive to compete at the top week in and week out. We’re a team of competitors, creators, and leaders who take pride in pushing the game forward, and having this group return gives us continuity, confidence, and a clear direction as we raise our standards heading into next season.”

Crushers GC enters the 2026 season with a clear identity rooted in inspiration, energy, and creativity, built to push boundaries and expand its global footprint. Led by DeChambeau, the Crushers combine elite competition with a creator-first mindset, using connection, innovation, and global reach to ignite fandom. The team prides itself on making golf more accessible, entertaining, and engaging, blending high-performance play with education, mentorship, and social-first storytelling that resonates with modern fans. 

DeChambeau returns as one of the sport’s most exciting and influential figures. His power game has remained elite; he impacted both individual and team performance in 2025, winning the individual title at LIV Golf Korea and finishing third in the season-long individual Championship race. He also led Crushers GC to three consecutive victories in 2025 in Korea, Virginia and Dallas.

Paul Casey returns as a steadying force within the Crushers lineup, and as one of the most consistent players on the LIV Golf circuit. A proven winner with more than two decades at the highest level of professional golf, Casey has won 21 times in 13 different countries on his way to becoming one of the sport’s most popular players. His precision, consistency, and competitive intelligence remain central to the team’s pursuit of excellence. Casey recorded four top-10 finishes in 2025, and finished runner-up at LIV Golf Dallas in a four-man play-off. 

Two-time Olympian Lahiri begins his fourth full season with Crushers GC after providing a reliable and consistent presence, anchoring the back of the lineup to keep things steady. A trailblazer whose career spans victories and contention across multiple tours, Lahiri is one of the most decorated Indian professional golfers, having earned 18 professional wins worldwide.

Howell continued to be a steady backbone for Crushers GC throughout the 2025 season, underscoring his value as one of the league’s most consistent and dependable competitors. The veteran posted six top-24 points finishes, including two top-five results in Crushers GC’s three team wins, proving he delivers when it matters most in big moments. Howell is the only other Crusher besides DeChambeau to win a LIV Golf individual title, having done so in Mayakoba in 2023. Whether anchoring the team’s deep lineup or contributing key points in high-pressure situations, Howell’s blend of consistency, experience, and measured excellence helped fuel Crushers’ run in 2025 and sets a tone for his role heading into 2026.

With their full 2025 roster returning, Crushers GC enters the 2026 season tied as most successful team in LIV Golf history, with eight regular-season team titles and one team championship.