Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard will likely be bidding to turn into the 14th man to defend their crown on the Tour de France this 12 months. He jumped to the highest of the Common Classification after stage 11 of the Grand Tour occasion final 12 months and he by no means seemed again.
Here’s a have a look at the largest challenges to Vingegaard this 12 months, in what may very well be probably the greatest renewals of the Tour de France in historical past.
Tadej Pogacar
As a two-time Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar is aware of all about defending the Tour De France. He prevailed in 2020 and 2021, and he additionally completed second behind Vingegaard in 2022, in one other sturdy efficiency from the UAE Workforce Emirates rider.
Vamos!💥
One other high job by all @TeamEmiratesUAE 👏🏼🙏
Tomorrow we go once more right here in Spain 🇪🇸 #WeAreUAE #VueltaAndalucia pic.twitter.com/hTGAn5kP4K
— Tadej Pogačar (@TamauPogi) February 15, 2023
Pogacar made the sports activities information earlier this 12 months when he gained the 2023 Vuelta a Andalucia. Because of that victory in Spain, he’s now the evens favorite to deliver up his hat-trick within the Tour de France later within the season.
With out the stress of being the defending champion, Pogacar could possibly carry out higher this 12 months. There was speak in regards to the Slovenian chasing all 5 Monuments (Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and II Lombardia) this season, however the Grand Tour will likely be his precedence, and that is the place he will likely be bidding to peak at in 2023.
Enric Mas
Ought to he seem within the Grand Tour occasion in July, this will likely be Enric Mas’s fourth try at profitable the Tour de France. He completed fifth in 2020, whereas in 2021, it was one other respectable effort, as he ended the race in sixth place.
The three-time Vuelta a Espana runner-up has been knocking on the door in main occasions as a consequence of his consistency. The Movistar chief needed to pull out of the Tour mid-race in 2022 as a consequence of sickness, so he will likely be eager to get the chance to indicate what he’s able to this 12 months.
Mas is a rider who may be very able to making floor on the sphere within the mountain phases of the Tour. These are essential phases of the race, and will Mas excel in them in 2023, it can give him a terrific likelihood of a maiden Grand Tour victory.
Jai Hindley
Jai Hindley creates historical past, wins the Giro d’Italia https://t.co/FX5C4Bcs5C
— ABC Information (@abcnews) Could 29, 2022
Australian Jai Hindley confirmed he was a rider for the massive events when he gained the 2022 Giro d’Italia. He went one place higher than his second-place end in that Grand Tour in 2020.
The 26-year-old has but to look within the Tour de France, however he seems set to make his debut in 2023. His group has opted towards him competing within the Giro d’Italia, as this 12 months’s competitors has a number of time trials which is not going to swimsuit him.
With a lot of hill climbs on this 12 months’s Tour de France, Hindley will likely be hoping to indicate what he’s able to. If victorious on his debut, it will be an enormous second for Australia, as he can be simply the second rider from the nation to win the Grand Tour after Cadel Evans in 2011.
The 2023 Tour de France takes place between 1-23 July. It begins in Bilbao, Spain and it’ll finish on the Champs-Elysees for the normal remaining stage in Paris.
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