the essential
The 111th edition of the world’s greatest cycling event should witness a new duel at the top between its last two winners. But serious outsiders could play spoilsport.
Who will succeed Jonas Vingegaard? The two-time reigning Tour de France winner returns this year to try to claim another overall victory. But the Dane arrives weakened after a violent crash during the Tour of the Basque Country on April 4 that left him with a pneumothorax and a fractured left collarbone. He will have to face serious opponents including his most loyal enemy, Tadej Pogacar.
Le duel Pogacar – Vingegaard
This will be the fourth of its kind. Before the start of the 2024 edition, both riders are two titles apart. But the trend is no longer in favor of Jonas Vingegaard, the two-time reigning winner (2022-2023).
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The Dane is moving forward with few certainties, he who is coming back from the hell of a serious injury. In addition, his team Visma-Lease a bike has experienced disappointment after disappointment after van Baarle and Kruijswijk abandoned the Critérium du Dauphiné. Then the Dutch team experienced the heavy falls of its stars, Vingegaard and Wout Van Aert, who were nevertheless present at the start in Florence this Saturday, June 29. But the Dane has learned more bad news with the absence of his most faithful lieutenant, Sepp Kuss, for the Tour. The American had been supporting the young cyclist for several years in the mountain stages, pushing him to the limit and taking him to the summits with a hellish pace, killing Tadej Pogacar’s hopes.
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The Slovenian arrives confident as ever and ready to do anything to achieve a historic Giro-Tour de France double. The 25-year-old cyclist is hungry for victories and has big ambitions for this new edition of the Grande Boucle. His goal ? Win the most demanding race in the world for the third time after devouring the Giro at the start of 2024 by winning six stage victories, a sequence not seen since Pantani in 1998.
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Pogacar is the big favorite for this 2024 Tour de France. His UAE Team Emirates team is an impressive armada, a dream team ready to crush everything in its path with essential elements to transcend the Slovenian in the mountains like Adam Yates or Marc Soler.
The outsiders, Evenepoel and Roglic in embassy
The battle for the general classification will not be reduced to these two troublemakers. This year, excellent cyclists will be riding the roads of France and could create a surprise.
At the forefront of these outsiders, Remco Evenepoel, the 24-year-old Belgian prodigy will have a lot of weight to carry on his shoulders. The Soudal Quick-Step rider will have to show his ability to chain three weeks of competition, he who impresses more in one-day races like the world championships (2022, 2023) and the classics (Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Classic San Sebastian). The Belgian has already won the Tour of Spain in 2022, a performance that he must repeat in July to be able to try to electrify the Pogacar-Vingegaard duel.
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The other disruptive element could also come from Slovenia. Primoz Roglic is heading into this 2024 Tour de France with a lot of certainty. The recent winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné will be the leader of his Red Bull – Bora-Hansgrohe team. With his experience, the 34-year-old cyclist has the ability to follow the wheels of Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel. And why not be the surprise of this year.
