Not since Marco Pantani in 1998 has a rider won both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year, but Tadej Pogacar is an overwhelming favourite to pull off that feat.
The Slovenian won the Giro by some 10 minutes, while his closest rival, Jonas Vingegaard, suffered a horror crash in April which left him with a punctured lung and fractured ribs.
Pogacar was hit by a bout of Covid recently, but any sense that the illness or last month’s Giro rigours might curtail him in France have been dismissed by a rider who - ominously for his rivals - said he was in the form of his life.
On the eve of Saturday’s race start, he said: “I’ve made a step forward since the Giro and my shape is even better than what I expected. I’ve tested my legs a little bit and, to be honest, I have never felt so good on the bike.”
Vingegaard played down the hopes of fans eyeing an all-time classic duel between the world’s top-two GC riders, saying it was a victory merely to make it to the start line.
But, as Pogacar pointed out, the Dane would not be racing unless he thought he was capable of the win.
Of his own chances, Vingegaard said: “It’s been a long fight and, at many points, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. So, I’m very happy that I’m here.
“Whether it’s for the victory, I guess we’ll see in three weeks. But the first victory is already that I’m here. Everything from now is a bonus.”
Ineos Grenadiers are hoping the sum of their parts can stop the dominance of cycling’s top two. The last winner of the Tour outside that duo was Ineos’ Egan Bernal back in 2019, and the Colombian is approaching his best form since a near career-ending crash back in 2022.
Bernal is one of two protected riders along with Carlos Rodriguez, who exceeded expectations with fifth on debut last year. The pair will be ably supported by another former Tour winner in 38-year-old Geraint Thomas.
And the Welshman said: “Pog is obviously a bigger favourite than us. We’re not going to ride like Team Sky, we’re not going to be one train on the front.
“But we’ve got a strong team as long as we are pulling in the same direction, which I’m confident we will be. Of course, there will be bumps in the road but we’re all clear about what we are coming to try to achieve.”
