Star riders Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar will battle for more than just the lustre of the 2024 Tour de France title when they start the race in Florence on Saturday. Both will be competing to become only the ninth man to brandish a third crown in the event's 111-year history. Only five have gone on to win more.
Pogacar stormed to the title in 2020 and repeated the feat in 2021. Vingegaard has claimed the spoils since.
Were Vingegaard to emerge victorious after the final stage in Nice on 21 July, he would join Louison Bobet, Chris Froome, Miguel Indurain, Eddie Merckx and Jacques Anquetil in the pantheon of riders to have won three on the trot.
Before such laurels, a couple of thousand kilometres need to be negotiated over 21 stages from Florence taking in punishing mountain climbs and the verdant, rolling plains of the French countryside.
Vingegaard must battle too with questions over his fitness after breaking his collar bone and several ribs in a crash during the Tour of the Basque Country in April.
The 27-year-old Dane, who also suffered a collapsed lung in the accident, has been unable to race competitively in the prelude to the world's most prestigious long distance race.
“Of course, we don’t know how far he can go yet," said Merijn Zeeman, the Visma-Lease a Bike sporting director. "We are being cautious. His preparation for the Tour de France has been less than ideal, to say the least.”
Fight
But Vingegaard vowed to overcome his ailments in pursuit of kudos. “We have worked together to get to this moment and, of course, I am very excited to see where I stand. I feel good and very motivated.”
Last year, it was Pogacar who entered the Tour de France recovering from a broken wrist.
A different story 12 months on. The Slovenian is in health so rude it should be X-rated.
He notched up the Giro d'Italia in May and will be seeking to be the first man since Marco Pantoni in 1998 to win that trawl through Italy and the Tour de France.
”It’s already my fifth time coming to the Tour de France and I’m really excited about it," said 25-year-old Pogacar, who will lead a UAE Team Emirates outfit featuring Juan Ayuso, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Nils Politt, Adam Yates, Joao Almeida and Tim Wellens.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together as a group training at altitude and put in a lot of hours in the saddle,” Pogacar added.
"We’re in a really good place as a group. We just can’t wait to get started and hope to fight for the win.”
Vingegaard glitters too in a strong squad too. The Visma-Lease a Bike team includes Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman, Jan Tratnik and Bart Lemmen.
Behind Pogacar and Vingegaard, other contenders include Primoz Roglic and Tour rookie Remco Evenepoel, with the Ineos Grenadiers leader Carlos Rodriguez also in the mix.
For the first time since 1905, the final stage of the race will be held outside Paris.
The traditional sweep around the centre of city and the finish along the Champs-Elysées has been relocated to Nice as Paris Olympics supremos makes the final preparations for the start of the Games on 26 July.
To the change, Tour de France organisers have added jeopardy. The last stage, normally a celebration grin for the already anointed victor, will in 2024 be a 34-kilometre individual time trial between Monaco and Nice.
And perhaps a moment to seal or steal greatness.
