With the most famous KOM in the training area, Pogacar scares off the competition right before Christmas dinner.

On one of his last bike rides of 2024, Tadej Pogacar showed the world how strong he was one last time. After his team’s training camp in Spain, the Slovenian world champion of UAE-Team Emirates rode his bike from Benidorm to Valencia Airport… And chose to put in a small (or big) effort along the way.

It was Pogacar who won the Strava KOM on the Coll de Rates, which is one of the most well-known and popular hills in the Spanish countryside where all the WorldTour teams spend the winter. The Slovenian finished the 6.43-kilometer climb in 12 minutes and 21 seconds. The average grade is 5.5%.

The colorful jersey wearer took the win from Peter Oxenberg of INEOS Denmark, who had a 17-second lead. He also really beat other well-known riders, like Jonas Vingegaard. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider’s time of 13 minutes and 2 seconds a few years ago fascinated his present team. Another sign of the respect and authority that the Rates climb has in the peloton, though it should be noted that amateur video shows that his team helped with that effort.

After staying at the team hotel, Pogacar rode to the airport.

The ride from the UAE-Team Emirates hotel to Valencia Airport was already pretty tough, but Pogacar took on the Rates hill. With the text “Going home,” the Tour winner wrote on his 205-kilometer ride through Spain. Pogacar ran the whole thing in just under 5.5 hours. For mid-December, this was a very good showing.

Pogacar announced his 2025 race plan during the UAE-Team Emirates training camp. It includes a short spring season, the Tour de France, and the World Championships. After the Italian race’s route is set in stone in early January, he will choose between the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España as his second Grand Tour.