[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-pogacar-targets-vuelta-grand-tour-treble-after-fifth-tour-de-france":82,"category-counts-nav":97,"related-pogacar-targets-vuelta-grand-tour-treble-after-fifth-tour-de-france":107},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":24,"author":86,"excerpt":87,"date":88,"readTime":89,"image":90,"imageAlt":83,"tags":91,"body":95,"_path":96},"Pogacar Chases Grand Tour Treble With Vuelta Entry","pogacar-targets-vuelta-grand-tour-treble-after-fifth-tour-de-france","long-reads","Marcus Wright","Fresh off a fifth Tour de France crown, Tadej Pogacar lines up for the Vuelta targeting all three Grand Tours in a single season.","2026-08-03 12:36:31","2 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fpogacar-targets-vuelta-grand-tour-treble-after-fifth-tour-de-france.webp",[92,93,94],"Grand Tours","Vuelta a Espana","Cycling","## Pogacar Backs Up Tour Win With Vuelta Commitment\n\n**Tadej Pogacar** will start this month's **Vuelta a España**, aiming to complete a Grand Tour treble that no male rider has achieved in a single calendar year. The announcement lands weeks after the Slovenian secured his **fifth Tour de France** title.\n\nPogacar has already banked the **Giro d'Italia** in May and the Tour in July. The Vuelta, starting **August 26**, is the final leg of a project that demands sustained peak condition across roughly four months of racing.\n\nGrand Tours are spaced to allow recovery, not to encourage stacking. Most GC leaders target one, perhaps two, and treat the third as preparation for the following season. Pogacar, backed by a **UAE Team Emirates** squad built around his ambitions, is rejecting that model.\n\nWinning all three in a single season would place Pogacar in unprecedented territory for male professional cycling. **Eddy Merckx** won all three across the 1970s but never within the same calendar year. **Bernard Hinault** and **Stephen Roche** each claimed the Giro-Tour double, but neither added the Vuelta in the same season.\n\nThe Vuelta's late-summer slot is both the opportunity and the obstacle. Riders arriving from the Tour carry residual fatigue that often surfaces in the third week. Pogacar's team will need to manage his exertion across **21 stages** while fielding a squad capable of controlling breakaways and protecting his position on the climbs.\n\n**Pogacar at 26** is already in the conversation as the most complete stage racer of his generation. His recent dominance has come through explosive climbing, improved time-trialling, and aggressive stage tactics. He leads from the front rather than nursing a lead through conservative racing. The Vuelta's parcours, typically heavy on summit finishes and selective mountain stages, plays into that approach.\n\nA Vuelta start confirms Pogacar's intent to chase outright historic landmarks rather than manage his legacy conservatively. UAE's commitment to the project, from staffing to equipment logistics, reflects a full-season investment in a single rider's calendar.\n\nFor the Vuelta itself, Pogacar's presence elevates the race's profile. Organisers now have the sport's biggest star targeting their event with a concrete historic purpose. Rivals who might have viewed the Vuelta as an open opportunity now face a rider operating at peak form with a specific goal.\n\nIf Pogacar succeeds, he widens the gap between himself and the current field to a degree that reshapes how the peloton approaches Grand Tour planning. The standard he is setting is dominance across the entire season, compressed into the most demanding format the sport offers.","\u002Farticles\u002Fpogacar-targets-vuelta-grand-tour-treble-after-fifth-tour-de-france",[98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,85,106],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","tennis",[108,121,134],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":112,"badgeType":113,"author":114,"authorRole":115,"authorInitials":116,"date":117,"readTime":89,"image":118,"imageAlt":111,"tags":119,"excerpt":120},"tour-de-france-night-anti-doping-tests-under-scrutiny","\u002Farticles\u002Ftour-de-france-night-anti-doping-tests-under-scrutiny","Tour de France Night Testing Raises Questions About Anti-Doping Protocol","Long Reads: Feature","category","Elena Rossi","SportPulse Contributor","ER","2026-07-22 17:17:04","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F0b07\u002Flive\u002Fc71345a0-8521-11f1-97e8-4f50dea2b016.jpg","Cycling, Tour de France, Anti-Doping","Night-time anti-doping controls on the Tour de France's biggest names have sparked debate about testing methods and timing.",{"id":122,"stem":122,"path":123,"title":124,"category":85,"badge":125,"badgeType":113,"author":126,"authorRole":127,"authorInitials":128,"date":129,"readTime":130,"image":131,"imageAlt":124,"tags":132,"excerpt":133},"mcgregor-ufc-329-return-deserves-spotlight-debate","\u002Farticles\u002Fmcgregor-ufc-329-return-deserves-spotlight-debate","McGregor's UFC 329 Return: Redemption Tour or Undeserved Circus?","Feature","Sarah Martinez","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-07-10 14:02:47","5 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fe969\u002Flive\u002Ff1157200-7ba9-11f1-9671-6995d20a3bb8.jpg","UFC, MMA","Five years away, endless controversy, and a main event slot. Does McGregor still deserve the spotlight?",{"id":135,"stem":135,"path":136,"title":137,"category":85,"badge":125,"badgeType":113,"author":138,"authorRole":139,"authorInitials":140,"date":141,"readTime":142,"image":143,"imageAlt":137,"tags":144,"excerpt":145},"golf-ball-rollback-delayed-usga-ra-distance-debate","\u002Farticles\u002Fgolf-ball-rollback-delayed-usga-ra-distance-debate","Golf's Distance Debate Hits the Brakes as Ball Rollback Gets Shelved","James Chen","Senior Football Analyst","JC","2026-06-30 04:31:40","6 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F3fea\u002Flive\u002F53a80d00-6a7b-11f1-8e56-530bbb41ec43.jpg","Golf, PGA Tour, R&A, USGA","Rulesmakers pause plans to limit golf ball distance, igniting fresh debate over the sport's future direction."]