Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar will not race in next month’s Vuelta a Espana as he takes a break before focusing on the World Championships.

Pogacar won his fourth Tour de France last week to further establish himself as the dominant force in modern cycling.

The 26-year-old won road race gold at the World Championships last year with an epic attack from 100km out and is aiming to defend his crown in Rwanda in late September.

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider will return to racing at the Canadian one-day races in Quebec and Montreal in mid-September.

“I’m excited to go back to Canada; the races are tough but beautiful, and they fit my style well,” Pogacar said.

“I’ll be aiming to be back racing well again for that part of the season and for the World Championships especially.”

The Vuelta is the only one of the three Grand Tours Pogacar has not won, having finished third during his only appearance in 2019.

The 2025 World Championships will be the first to take place in Africa and will be held in the Rwandan capital Kigali from 21-28 September.