Tour de France 2023: who can play the spoilsports between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar?

2023-07-01 07:00:00

The Grande Boucle starts this year from the Basque Country with a first stage directly rhythmic. If the favorites are waiting for the Pyrenees but especially the Alps to break away, this Tour de France 2023 has many riders capable of seeking a podium in Paris.

But for the yellow jersey, the announced duel between Jonas Vingegaard, winner last year, and Tadej Pogacar, who triumphed in 2020 and 2021, promises to be intense.

Vingegaard, quiet strength

For the Dane, the pressure will be increased tenfold with his title to keep and a new status to digest. He will not be able to count on a heavy lieutenant, namely Primoz Roglic, who will not participate in this Tour after his victory at the Giro a few weeks ago. But the Jumbo-Visma will once again be well equipped to allow its young leader to go for a double, with in particular Wout van Aert, Sepp Kuss and the Frenchman Christophe Laporte. Vingegaard already has some successes to his name this year with the Dauphiné, the Tour of the Basque Country and the Gran Camiño.

The Dane was in any case calm as the Tour approached after his success in the Critérium du Dauphiné. “You have to ask my opponents if they take that as a message or not. I focus on myself, on trying to be at the highest level possible at the start. Trust ? Winning a Tour always gives you extra confidence, but I already believed a lot in myself last year at the same time, and it still does, “he confided to The Team.

Pogacar, a wrist to watch

The Slovenian started 2023 with a bang: victories at Paris-Nice, the Tour of Flanders, the Tour of Andalusia, the Amstel Gold Race and the Flèche wallone. A frantic pace for a rider looking for revenge after his second place in the 2022 Tour. But in his planning, he was abruptly interrupted with a broken left wrist during Liège-Bastonne-Liège on April 23.

A real time trial then began for the 24-year-old rider, who did everything possible to return as soon as possible. “Initially I was supposed to observe six weeks of rest without cycling, but I pestered everyone to resume earlier, being very careful of course […] I hope to be 100% on the Tour, maybe not in the wrist, but in the legs. You don’t need your wrist to pedal. The motivation seems intact for Pogacar, in search of a third success in France. He could thus join Louison Bobet, Greg LeMond and Philippe Thys on the list.

Carapaz, Mas, O’Connor… the pretenders’ ball

Behind the long-awaited duel, other riders hope to find a place at the top during this 110th edition of the Tour de France. We are thinking in particular of Richard Carapaz, the Ecuadorian, who finished in third place in 2021. The South American appreciates long races and his reliable performance on the Giro (winner in 2019) and the Vuelat (second in 2020) prove it.

The Australians also have their say with Ben O’Connor, surprising fourth two years ago. The AG2R rider wants to bounce back after his disappointing Tour in 2022. His compatriot Jai Hindley will discover the roads of the Grande Boucle for the first time. The one who triumphed at the Giro last year will have to work hard, after a more than mixed start to the season.

At the team level, Movistar will be one to watch closely. With in particular an Enric Mas as leader who is aiming for a first podium on the Tour after his first unsuccessful attempts. The Spaniard will be particularly keen to erase his disappointment from last year, he who had to give up after a positive test for Covid. In the same formation, we will closely watch the performances of Matteo Jorgenson. The American is one of cycling’s rising stars and will want to confirm his rise in the wake of his leader.

And the French in all this?

For the Blues, the FDJ formation risks agitating the peloton with a David Gaudu still well placed. The leader of the team led by Marc Madiot had a mixed start to the season with a second place in Paris-Nice but a disappointing performance in the Dauphiné. He will however be well supported with Thibaut Pinot who will live his last Tour, before retiring, and the very recent French champion Valentin Madouas, who delivered a magnificent number in Cassel.

READ ALSOLance Armstrong, until the end of denialFinally three other French riders still hope to do well in this Tour with the experienced Romain Bardet, who has already won six top 10s in his career. At 32, he is aiming for a podium again. “I’m going to keep the same approach as last year, taking the race day by day and not hesitating to fully commit to certain stages, and even quite early in the race. I want to experience an intense Tour and be a real actor. “Guillaume Martin, for his part, intends to do well, he who has not stopped progressing with an eighth place last year. Finally, Julian Alaphilippe is back after his serious injury in 2022. The puncheur will be keen to animate the event, and to seek some stage victories.