The 110ᵉ edition of the Tour de France starts on Saturday July 1 from Bilbao, in the fervor of the Spanish Basque Country, with the main question being the state of form of Tadej Pogacar, the only one to appear able to deprive Jonas Vingegaard of the double.
If rivalries are the spice of any sport, the Grande Boucle is particularly well served this year with the duel that everyone is waiting for between the Slovenian and the Dane. Winners of the last three editions, they are moving one, or even several notches, above the competition which, unless there is a huge surprise, will fight for third place.
The Tour de France has always been transcended by the great mano a mano, Anquetil/Poulidor, Hinault/Lemond or Schleck/Contador.
No observation round
The match between Pogacar (winner in 2020 and 2021, second in 2022) and Vingegaard (second in 2021, winner in 2022) falls into this category since their formidable battle last year in the Galibier and the Granon, one of the most beautiful mountain stages in the history of the event.
On Saturday, we could find them elbow-to-elbow at the entrance to the most difficult first stage of the last fifty years, according to Thierry Gouvenou, the route planner.
In fact, with its 3,300 meters of vertical drop, the Vivero and Pike hills as justices of the peace, it will already be a meeting place for strong men. General classification riders, but also punchers of the caliber of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout Van Art or Julian Alaphilippe who dream of adorning themselves with yellow entry.
” Jonas is the favorite “, insists Pogacar who applies, interview after interview, to stick the cumbersome label on the frail shoulders of his competitor. ” I could say the same of him », replies Vingegaard, whose ability to resist the pressure of the defending champion will be one of the keys to this Tour.
Where is Pogacar?
But, the main question concerns the state of form of Pogacar. Apart from a victorious appearance at the low-level Slovenian Championships, he hasn’t raced since breaking his wrist at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 23, while Vingegaard shrunk the competition at Dauphiné. But, as the saying goes: there is no substitute for running. Pogacar himself says he does not know what state he will be in. In doubt, the manager of his UAE team, Mauro Giannetti, bombarded the Briton Adam Yates in the position of “co-leader”.
Rafal Majka, loyal sherpa of Pogacar, is however not worried. ” He is young and so gifted that I am sure he will respond. Sometimes a little rest even makes you stronger “, he told AFP.
What seems certain is that Pogacar will have a better armed team at its service than last year, while Vingegaard can still count on the Belgian 4×4 Wout Van Aert but will have to do without Primoz Roglic.
“Pogacar will arrive with zero pressure, that makes him even more dangerous”, slice Mathieu Van der Poel.
(With AFP)