Dominant Pogačar and resurgent Vingegaard set to ignite Tour de France

PARIS — At just 26 years old, Tadej Pogačar is among cycling's greats and also admired as a spectacular rider. The world champion wins on all terrains, and is favorite to win a fourth Tour de France title.

Pogačar lines up Saturday in the northern city of Lille with his confidence sky-high, boosted by a stellar first half of the season punctuated with prestigious wins in both one-day and stage races.

This year, the Slovenian rider won a third Liège–Bastogne–Liège title and other one day-classics. Most recently, he won the Critérium du Dauphiné, a Tour tune-up, with a dominant display in the mountains.

''I'm lucky to have had close to the perfect preparation this year," the UAE Team Emirates leader said. ''Everything has gone really smoothly, especially coming off a great altitude camp with my teammates.''

Pogačar posted back-to-back wins in 2020 and 2021, becoming the youngest double winner of the three-week showcase race. He was also runner-up in 2022 and 2023.

''It's hard to believe it's already my sixth Tour de France," he said. "Time flies."

So does Pogačar.

His appetite for victory is insatiable and he has clearly established himself as the No. 1 rider in the world, drawing comparisons with the greatest of all time, Eddy Merckx. The Belgian great was known as ''The Cannibal'' for his ferocious taste for victory.

The new ''Cannibal''

The 80-year-old Merckx believes Pogačar has already surpassed him.

''It's obvious that he is now above me,'' Merckx told L'Equipe newspaper after Pogačar won the world championship last year. ''Deep down, I already thought as much when I saw what he did on the last Tour de France.''

A fourth Tour win will draw Pogačar level with British rider Chris Froome for the fifth-most wins of all time. Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain have won cycling's biggest race five times.

Vingegaard the main rival

Pogačar's team is formidable. He will be supported by experienced all-rounders and climbers.

His main threat appears to come from two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard, who leads Team Visma-Lease a Bike.

The 28-year-old Danish rider was runner-up at the Critérium and arrives in much better shape than last year, when his preparations were hampered by a crash that left him with a broken collarbone and ribs, and a collapsed lung.

Vingegaard's main concern is whether he can match Pogačar in the highest climbs. It is a key factor, since this year's Tour features six mountain stages, with five summit finishes. The support of teammates Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Simon Yates and Sepp Kuss will be crucial to Vingegaard's chances.

''From day one we will have to be there as a team to optimally assist Jonas,'' said Grischa Niermann, the team's head of racing. "We have an optimal preparation behind us and with that, we think we can get the best possible result.''

Who else might challenge?

Although there are two clear favorites, the length and intensity of the Tour makes it a race of attrition, where bad days and crashes are always a threat, keeping the door open for other contenders.

Record four-time Spanish Vuelta champion Primož Roglič, who dramatically lost the 2020 tour to Pogačar in a time-trial, remains a dangerous outsider. Double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel has recovered from multiple injuries sustained in a big crash last year, but may lack the endurance to hang with Pogačar over the distance. João Almeida, Pogačar's teammate, is capable of leading any other team and could step in if needed. Vingegaard's teammates Jorgenson and Yates could also emerge if their leader struggles.

What about the route?

The Tour will be 100% in France this year with no stages starting from abroad.

A mostly flat first week starts from Lille and stays in cycling-mad northern France for three stages. The peloton will then head south, via Brittany and the mountainous Massif Central region.

Among the highlights of the route are a trio of Pyrenean stages including a time trial to Peyragudes on Stage 13, and a return to Luchon-Superbagnères. The climbing of the Mont Ventoux, the punishing ascent on which British rider Tom Simpson died in 1967, tests tired legs on Stage 16. The Alps could then decide the winner, with an ascent to Col de la Loze — the highest point of the race at 2,304 meters — and the ski resort of La Plagne in the Alps.

The final stage to Paris promises to be spicy.

Tour riders will climb the Montmartre hill three times during the stage — a significant break from tradition that adds a dose of suspense but could prove logistically challenging with heightened security measures required.

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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling