Tadej Pogacar is not yet 30 years old, but the Slovenian is already one of the greatest cyclists in history. He is a three-time overall winner of the Tour de France in 2020, 2021 and 2024, as well as a multiple winner of spring classics.
Much has already been said and written about the two-wheeled star. But what is Tadej Pogacar like in private?
Where does he come from, who is his girlfriend, who is also a cyclist, how much does Pogacar earn with all his successes, and what does he say about doping rumors?
Origin and family
Tadej Pogacar was born on September 21, 1998, in Klanec near Komenda.
Komenda (German: Kommende Sankt Peter) is a municipality with almost 6,000 inhabitants in the center of Slovenia, five kilometers west of Kamnik and 25 km north of Ljubljana in Upper Carniola. His mother is a French teacher and his father is a sales manager.
Tadej Pogacar left his Slovenian homeland long ago and now lives in the tax-friendly Principality of Monaco.
Tadej Pogacar profile
Tadej Pogacar’s achievements: From zero to the yellow jersey
It was almost inevitable that Tadej Pogacar would one day win a major stage race. Even as a youngster, the Slovenian delivered strong performances, prompting his parents to buy a trophy cabinet early on.
In his home country, he won the junior championship in the individual time trial. He also won the youth classifications in the Tour of Slovenia (2017 to 2019) and the Vuelta (2019) with impressive regularity.
In any case, 2019 can be seen as the year in which Tadej Pogacar made his mark on the world stage. With victories in the Algarve and California tours, the youngster put himself at the top of the list.
It was also the first year that Pogacar was under contract with the UAE Emirates Team. In California, at the age of 20, he became the youngest ever winner of a World Tour race. His reward was a stuffed animal instead of champagne – he was not yet of legal drinking age in the US.
The most successful year of his young career was followed by the crowning glory on the Champs-Elysées in 2020. He not only finished the Tour as the overall winner, but also won the mountain and young rider classifications.
After Henri Cornet in 1904, he became the second youngest winner of the Grand Tour ever.
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In 2021, he followed up with his second Tour de France victory, finishing second in 2022 and 2023, and then claiming his third Tour triumph in 2024.
He also has numerous victories in other major stage races (e.g., Giro d’Italia 2024) and important classics, such as two wins in the Tour of Flanders (2023 and 2025), three wins in Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2021, 2024, 2025) and four times in a row in the Tour of Lombardy (2021 to 2024).
Another highlight in Pogacar’s already outstanding career was the world championship title in 2024. This proves once and for all that Tadej Pogacar is already one of the most successful cyclists of all time!
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Tadej Pogacar’s girlfriend: This is Urska Zigart
Success in sports and love: That’s how Tadej Pogacar’s life so far can be summed up. In his private life, he is with his great love, Urska Zigart.
The two share a love of cycling – Pogacar’s girlfriend Urska is also a professional cyclist.
The relationship between the two Slovenians was particularly curious in 2020. Not only did Pogacar become Slovenian time trial champion, but his girlfriend Urska also won the women’s title.
She beat her rivals by a full three minutes and celebrated with Tadej afterwards.
Urska is two years older than her boyfriend. They met – how could it be otherwise – while cycling.
The couple likes to share photos of themselves together on social media and even occasionally arranges photo shoots for this purpose.
In September 2021, Pogacar and his girlfriend Urska Zigart got engaged, but the wedding date is still pending.
After Pogacar’s Tour victory in 2020, Urska expressed her love in a comment: “Words cannot describe this feeling. Not the victory in the Tour, but how I feel with you. I am so proud of you and overjoyed that your dream has come true.”
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Tadej Pogacar Salary & Net Worth: How Much Does He Earn?
How much does a three-time Tour de France winner actually earn? Well, Tadej Pogacar’s salary is actually much higher than many might think.
Tadej Pogacar’s annual salary for the 2025 season is said to be €8 million. His six-year contract is worth a total of over €50 million. This makes the Slovenian all-rounder the top earner in the world of cycling.
No other professional cyclist comes close to Pogacar’s salary from his UAE Emirates team. Second in the cycling world’s salary rankings is Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who earns 5 million euros a year. Primoz Roglic has the third highest annual salary.
Jonas Vingegaard, Pogacar’s main rival in the Tour de France, on the other hand, earns “only” an annual salary of 4 million – half of Pogacar’s salary.
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In addition to his fixed annual salary, Pogacar also receives victory bonuses and bonuses for achievements of varying amounts – for example, when he wins races or stages or wins the various classifications in a stage race.
And then there are the earnings from private sponsorship contracts and advertising deals on top of Pogacar’s salary.
As the Slovenian is one of the best and most successful professional cyclists of the present day, he already has a very high advertising value. He has long been the biggest sports star in his home country, and he is also a big name in the international cycling world.
Tadej Pogacar’s fortune is estimated to have reached the 10 million euro mark. However, there are no official figures available.
Pogacar’s training: watts, FTP and heart rate
“I haven’t just changed my training on the bike. I’m doing more strength and stability training and have implemented things away from the bike,” says Pogacar.
The double winner does not elaborate on the role his new coach Javier Sola plays in this, but adds: “I’ve gone into more detail when it comes to nutrition.”
Pogacar’s training is mostly done in “Zone 2,” i.e., rides in the basic endurance range. According to his own statement, he rides with a heart rate of 140 to 145 when he is a little tired. When he is fresher, it is 150 to 155. He pedals at 320 to 340 watts.
His resting heart rate is also interesting in relation to Pogacar’s training. Pogacar’s resting heart rate is 37, with an average of 42 or 43 beats per minute at night, and he sometimes wakes up with a rate of 48 or 49.
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In professional cycling, however, a lot of attention is now also being paid to FTP (Functional Threshold Power). FTP refers to the maximum power that a rider can maintain for one hour.
Two aspects are particularly important for perfecting your FTP value: perfect training and (even) more perfect nutrition.
What is Tadej Pogacar’s FTP value?
For men at world-class level, an FTP of 6.4 watts per kilogram is considered the top value. Tadej Pogacar weighs around 64 kilograms. This means that Pogacar’s FTP value is around 409 watts.
Tadej Pogacar doping: How clean is the all-round winner?
Of course, doubts are a constant and annoying companion in cycling.
This has been the case ever since the entire industry engaged in widespread doping and only those who became part of the system were able to compete at the front. Due to various team members in the UAE Emirates Team being involved in shady dealings, experts also have doubts about the Slovenian.
That is why there have been rumors of Tadej Pogacar doping since 2020.
Tadej Pogacar has long since gotten used to it. He can now even muster a great deal of understanding for such questions. “I’m not angry or pissed off,” he says.
Why is “Pogacar doping” now a common phrase? Because he dominated the 2021 Tour, for example. On the eighth stage at Col de Romme, he improved the all-time record by 29 seconds.
Doping analyst Antoine Vayer even referred to the high-flyer from Slovenia as “Pogastrong” at the time – a combination of Pogacar and Armstrong. Vayer justified this by saying that the watts he calculated were reminiscent of the former champion from the US, who has since been convicted of doping.
Tadej Pogacar’s entourage has also been viewed very critically since his Tour successes. This is mainly because he has gathered former doping offenders in his support team.
What does Pogacar have to say about this? “These are uncomfortable questions because the history of our sport is very bad. I understand all the questions. I don’t have any prepared answers because I just love riding my bike.”
