Having clinched his first victory of the season at the UAE Tour, Tadej Pogacar is excited about the years ahead.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar has committed his future to UAE Team Emirates by signing a new deal to 2026, the cycling outfit announced on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old is one of cycling's brightest prospects and the announcement comes days after he claimed the honours at the season-opening UAE Tour.

Matar Al Yabhouni, President of UAE Team Emirates said: “Tadej is our present and our future. He is a rider who was able to win the Tour de France despite his young age and still managed to handle the pressure of such great success.

“He showed great poise and determination to win the UAE Tour, a race that is growing year after year and is of obvious importance to us. I am sure that we will continue to achieve important successes together going forward.” Pogacar joined UAE in 2019 after training in the continental team Ljubljana Gusto Santi, and had already extended his contract last year until 2024.

Brimming with confidence after claiming his first victory of the season, Pogacar, 22, is excited about the years ahead.

"I feel at home in this team. There is a special atmosphere between the management, riders and staff and it's a good environment to be in," Pogacar said in a statement.

"The team shows a lot of trust and confidence in me which I am thankful for, and I work hard to show that when I'm racing alongside my team-mates.

"I hope we can have many more successful seasons together in the years ahead." Pogacar kicked off the 2021 campaign in style at the weekend by winning the UAE Tour, holding off Briton Adam Yates to finish top of general classification by 35 seconds.

Runner-up behind Yates 12 months ago, the Slovenian made amends by claiming the lead in the third stage this year and then successfully defending it for the remainder of the seven-stage World Tour race.