2023-07-01 21:46:31
Missed. This Friday, in a hotel in the center of Bilbao (Spain), we tried to extract from Laurent Jalabert the name of his favorite for this 110th edition of the Tour France 2023. We therefore asked him which bib he would put a ticket on. ten for the general classification. But he did not take the bait: “I will put five euros on Pogacar and five on Vingegaard. »
Jalabert, consultant for France Télévisions and RTL, but also ambassador of the Century 21 Combativity Prize, says he is sincerely unable to identify a trend. This does not prevent him from analyzing for Le Parisien-Today in France the stakes of this more than appetizing match.
The state of form
Tadej Pogacar during the presentation of the teams this Thursday in Bilbao. AFP/Anne-Christine Poujoulat
Pay attention to appearances. On paper, the preparation of the two men seems to follow markedly different trajectories. Jonas Vingegaard, who left to train away from mid-April, arrives with full confidence. Three weeks ago, he took on the competition in the Critérium du Dauphiné. At the same time, Tadej Pogacar was just resuming intensive outdoor sessions. The Slovenian made a titanic start to the season, before breaking his left wrist on April 23 in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He resumed competition last week at the Slovenian championships. Something to be reassured: despite poor competition, he pocketed the two titles (time trial and road race), with a remarkable performance in the time trial.
The opinion of Laurent Jalabert: “The unknown is this injury to Pogacar. It’s a stop in his usual schedule. He did some great numbers in the classics, starting an hour from the end. It drained a lot of energy from him. But I think his injury can be a blessing in disguise. A fall, on the other hand, would be very problematic. His wrist is consolidated. I’ve had this scaphoid injury before. But if it falls on it, it can be a problem. It must pass through the bowls. »
The mental
The two men have only faced each other once since last July’s fireworks. It was in March on Paris-Nice. The Dane then flinched against Tadej Pogacar… and David Gaudu. Unclamped twice, to everyone’s surprise, Vingegaard has had time to show since this episode that there will be a match this summer. He knows he is still expected on his ability to carry all the hopes of the Jumbo-Visma. He was even lent a little depression after his triumph on the Champs-Élysées last summer (a “mental explosion”, he himself commented). For his part, Pogacar still seems just as impervious to pressure.
Laurent Jalabert’s opinion: “Perhaps last year, Vingegaard lacked confidence. It was under construction. There, he must confirm, which is always more complicated. But he has a much higher level of trust. He knows what it is to win. He knew how to show it on the Tour of the Basque Country and the Dauphiné. Paris-Nice is only Paris-Nice and it’s a long way off, but that could have disturbed him. He got shaken. It’s not that you have a complex, but sometimes you can think about it. This feeling, I sometimes had it when I was a runner. »
The level of their team
In addition to being hit by the Covid, UAE had run out of cartridges last summer. This time, Pogacar’s close guard seems much more equipped for the high mountains and the control of the race. Strong reinforcements have arrived, like Matteo Trentin and Adam Yates – the Englishman has even been designated “co-leader”. What to do on an equal footing with the yellow and black armada?
Laurent Jalabert’s opinion: “We are dealing with two dream teams. Last year, Pogacar was quickly isolated. There, normally, it should work better, we are more on one-on-one. Last year, Pogacar had made an illusion at the start before the mountain. He had wanted to mark his opponents psychologically by winning two stages quickly. But maybe he wasn’t as strong as he hoped. Then, in the mountains, he fell into the trap of harassment set up by the Jumbo, like the Granon stage. He has a lot of pride and has made mistakes. I don’t think he will do the same again with the team he has this time. »
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