Defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has said that he expects his great rival for this year's yellow jersey, Tadej Pogačar, to attack from the start of the race as it kicks off in the Basque Country this weekend.
The two-time champion might have said on Thursday that he is "not 100% sure of his condition" heading into the race following a lengthy spell of rehabilitation on his fractured wrist, but Vingegaard certainly isn't taking the Slovenian for granted.
Speaking at the pre-race press conference in Bilbao, the Dane said he's ready for the attacking to begin on day one, Saturday's hilly stage around the city.
"Actually, yes. I would expect him to attack, a bit like last year," Vingegaard said. "I just have to be ready for it and we just have to also do our best and see what we can do.
Having stunningly beaten Pogačar by 2:43 at the Tour last summer, he's been installed at the top GC favourite by his main rival – a spot of mind games in the lead-up to their next battle set to unfold over the coming three weeks.
But both he and his key Jumbo-Visma lieutenant Wout van Aert dismissed the 'favourite' tag as an attempted ploy, with Vingegaard saying he has only focussed on his own form ahead of the Tour.
"It depends on who is in the best shape in the end. I don't think it matters to say who is the big favourite – I can also say that he is the big favourite," he said.
"I only think about myself and preparing myself as good as possible. I think about what I can do to improve. In the last two months I've only been thinking about the training and being fully optimal for the Tour de France. As I said before, I think I am where I want to be and I'm happy with my shape."
Pogačar has somewhat surprisingly been named as co-captain of UAE Team Emirates alongside teammate Adam Yates. It's a situation similar to Jumbo-Visma's last July, but Van Aert didn't seem to particularly believe in their rival team's setup for the Tour.
"It only changes if Yates shows that he's on the level of the other two," Van Aert said. "In that case, he'd be another competitor. If he's not as good, then it doesn't show anything. I think it's a mind game, like your colleague said."
As ever, Vingegaard gave little away about specifics over his form, the route, and the dynamic he expects to unfold. The 26-year-old is keeping his cards close to his chest before the racing begins.
"On one hand you can say that you're the hunted but I'm also still hunting the victory. In that case it's not that different from last year," he said, before declining to single out any stage as the biggest test of the Tour.
"I think actually it's hard to tell which is the most difficult because there are a lot of super hard stages. In general, there are a lot of mountains and climbing. I think especially the second and third week will be super, super hard and decisive.
"I had a good period after the Dauphiné. We went on another training camp, and I had a good camp with the team. I feel ready, my shape is good, and I am where I want to be. We'll have to see in three weeks whether it's enough."
Van Aert – 'The green jersey is not a real objective'
Whereas last year Jumbo-Visma successfully balanced their GC ambitions with Wout van Aert's goal of stage wins and the green jersey, there'll be no such two-pronged attack this time around, though green isn't out of the question if the race plays out that way.
There will be chances to go for wins – perhaps even during the opening weekend for Van Aert – but the 2023 Tour de France will see the Dutch squad fully behind Vingegaard's tilt at defending the maillot jaune.
"I'm definitely in a different position than I was last year going into the Tour where we had a clear plan to get as much points as possible," Van Aert said. "Now we'll go for stage results and the green jersey is not a real objective. It's also a completely different stage schedule so the last four days have a lot of points to win for the green jersey.
"So, you never know where you'll end up there and it's still a possibility. For me, the biggest favourites are Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen. I think these two go well over the climbs and there are a lot of tough stages where there'll be a sprint after a long, hard day and I think it's favourable for them."
Adding to his two wins this season – at the E3 Saxo Classic and his recent Belgian time trial title – is certainly on the agenda, though. He didn't claim a victory at the Tour de Suisse, where he racked up three podium spots on the way to the points jersey, but he's hoping to do away with similar near misses in France.
"I wouldn't say I was struggling," Van Aert said of Switzerland. "I won the points classification and I think a lot of riders would be happy with that. But it's true that me and the people around me expect more and expect wins. So, I was happy that the National Championships went really well.
"I think I'm on form at the right time and I hope to be on the top step at the Tour. Until now this year hasn't been easy – I was always close but a lot of times it was just not enough, so hopefully we can turn that around in the next few weeks."
