Has Tadej Pogačar plateaued before the Tour de France?

Tadej Pogačar heads into the 2026 Tour de France, beginning next week, as the overwhelming favourite, having already claimed 13 wins this season including Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the Tour de Suisse. The 27-year-old Slovenian is chasing a fifth Tour de France title, which would equal the all-time record. However, UAE Team Emirates-XRG Head of Performance Jeroen Swart has noted that Pogačar's performance data no longer shows the same rate of improvement as in previous years, raising questions about whether further gains are possible.