The Danish and the Slovenian are emerging as the top candidates to compete for the yellow jersey of the ‘grand boucle’. The Jumbo-Visma rider, last winner, arrives after winning the Critérium du Dauphine, the main preparation circuit for the Tour de France. For his part, the man from UAE Emirates will seek revenge for the previous year and will go for his third conquest after recovering from a broken wrist. As for the absences, those of Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel and Chris Froom stand out.
The 21 stages of the 2023 Tour de France promise to be a new chapter in the sports rivalry that involves Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, the two riders who will lead the field of candidates, at least in the predictions prior to the start of the competition.
If there are no external or physical problems, the main members of the Jumbo-Visma and UAE Emirates teams, respectively, will line up to repeat the exciting dispute for the yellow jersey in the ‘grand boucle’, just like in 2022.
However, for this year the context is different, at least for Vingegaard. “I feel less pressure because I already won the Tour, so even if I don’t win it I can never be proud of my career,” the 26-year-old Dane warned earlier this month, before starting the Critérium du Dauphine.
In fact, he will arrive on the first day of the Tour in Bilbao showing off the victory of the competition that precedes the grand tour – there he won in two stages – and which is considered the preliminary par excellence for cyclists.
With more than two minutes of advantage in the general classification, he finished ahead of the British Adam Yates, from the UAE Emirates, who is on the list of expectant riders to close the podium on July 23 on the Parisian Champs-Élysées.
So far this season, Vingegaard has won the O Gran Camiño in Spain in February, winning three of the four stages; and in the Tour of the Basque Country, held in April, where he won another three days.
Compared to the last edition, Jumbo-Visma appointed almost the same seven domestiques, highlighting the presence of the Belgian Wout van Aert. The others who repeat are Sepp Kuss, Nathan van Hooydonck, Cristophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot. The roster is completed by Dylan van Baarle (in 2022 he competed for the INEOS Grenadiers) and Wilco Kelderman.
Pogacar, optimistic despite physical difficulties
The number one in the world ranking, winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France and runner-up in 2022, will arrive in Bilbao with only 21 days of competition after the mandatory break due to the fracture of his wrist suffered in April during Liege-Bastogna.
The 24-year-old Slovenian has been sidelined for weeks recovering from his injury and although he was unable to compete until his reappearance in the Sierra Nevada in early June, he remains intent on fighting for the yellow jersey.
“I think I will be 100% in the Tour de France. Perhaps the doll will not be perfect, but the legs will be, ”she told the media before reappearing in Spain.
True to his optimistic style, Pogacar downplayed his injury and highlighted positive aspects. “Sometimes an accident of this type can come in handy, especially in these long seasons. These are weeks in which you give rest to the body and mind, ”he highlighted.
Before the Tour de France, Pogacar only participated in two Slovenian championships, one road and one time trial, where he won.
Facing the start of the grand tour and thinking about the dispute against Vingegaard, the UAE Emirates rider has the only precedent against the Dane this season in his favour. It was in Paris-Nice, where he became champion and left the Jumbo-Visma in third place.
Prior to his injury, Pogacar had won the Jaén Paraíso Interior Classic, the Vuelta de Andalucía -winning three stages-, the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race and the Flecha Wallonne.
The third place, an open stage
To get on the third step this year there is an extensive list of candidates. In 2022 it was for the British Geraint Thomas, from Ineos Grenadiers.
This year there are many runners who arrive in good shape and have expectations of getting on the podium. This is the case of the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, who has grown in recent weeks and will seek to reach third place in the Tour de France again.
Other names include Australian Jai Hendley, winner of the 2022 Giro d’Italia and a great performer in the recent Critérium du Dauphiné; in that competition his compatriot, Ben O’Connor, finished third and intends to repeat his remarkable participation in 2021, where he finished fourth.
In addition, the British Simon and Adam Yates, the Spanish Carlos Rodríguez, Mikel Landa, Enric Más, the Colombian Egan Bernal and the Italian Giulio Ciccone are enlisting.
Roglic, Evenepoel and Froom absent
There are three resonant names that will not be in the 2023 Tour de France. The first of them is Primoz Roglic, brand new winner of the Giro d’Italia, he will not compete in the only grand tour that he has yet to conquer.
The reasons, as he himself has stated, are due to the fact that he intends to rest to better prepare for the Vuelta de España. “Now is the time to recover and focus on my new goals. I am very disappointed to have to leave the Tour, but I have to accept it,” said the 33-year-old.
For his part, Remco Evenepoel – brand new road champion in Belgium and who had to abandon the Giro d’Italia for testing positive for Covid – said that “it would not be very smart” to go to the Tour de France.
From his team they explained that they will continue with the planning outlined at the beginning of the season.
The case of Chris Froome, champion four times in Paris, is different. Due to the tactical decision of his team, Israel-Premier Tech, he will not compete in the grand tour. The Englishman said that he “respects” the decision, but that he is disappointed because this tournament is important to him.
“Physically I was prepared, but unfortunately I was not able to show my skills in the races that were assigned to me due to problems with the bike,” he said.
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