The 111th edition of the Tour de France, which begins on June 29 in Florence, Italy, and ends on July 21 in Nice, will be the quest of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who dreams of doubling his lead after winning the Giro d’Italia last May.
Published on: 06/28/2024 – 10:36
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Will Tadej Pogacar win his bet: to win the Tour of Italy and the Tour de France in the same year, when the two races take place a few weeks apart? No one since Italian Marco Pantani in 1998 has achieved this feat.
“My form is even better than expected »
After having flew over the Giro With a lead of almost ten minutes and six stages to his name, the Slovenian sets the tone before the start of the Grande Boucle in Florence. “I have never felt so good on a bike”he said. And added: “I feel like I’ve taken a step forward since the Giro and my form is even better than expected.. » Tadej Pogacar nevertheless revealed on Thursday June 27 that he had contracted Covid ten days ago, while assuring that he had recovered.
Winner of the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021, second in the last two years behind the Dane Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogaca, 25, approached the 2023 Tour de France after preparation disrupted by a broken wrist.
This year, the leader of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) team arrives in good shape and without having experienced any problems, while his direct competitors, Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, have had a difficult spring with a spectacular fall at the Tour of the Basque Country at the beginning of April. “Jonas was really hurt (multiple fractures and pneumothorax, editor’s note) but I think it will be fine. If he is mentally strong and has recovered well, he will be at his best. We saw that Remco and Primoz were already in good shape at the Dauphiné and I think they will be at their best. But you never know »says Pogacar, winner of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic and the Tour of Catalonia this spring.
Pogacar with seven luxury teammates
The UAE team arrives at the Tour de France with seven riders designated to support the Slovenian when they could all have been leaders in many other teams. Nils Politt, Tim Wellens, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Juan Ayuso, Joao Almeida and Adam Yates will therefore be luxury teammates for this quest for the Yellow Jersey, which is so competitive every year.
And to put all the odds on his side, Pogacar has a group that is 100% renewed compared to the squad that accompanied him on the Giro. Physical freshness above all, with 3,498 km on the program, and three weeks of torture.
The Tour de Suisse, the last major preparation race, provided an illustration of the UAE’s firepower. Yates and Almeida made it one and two in the general classification after finishing the last four stages in the first two places to share two victories each. The competition has been warned, Pogacar has no intention of passing up his turn.
“We have a team of rock stars, that’s true, but everyone knows that Tadej is the leader.”says manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez, who recalls that the selection had been announced in December, giving everyone time to integrate their role.
