Ineos Grenadiers’ strong squad for the 111th Tour de France have set out their intentions, with Carlos Rodriguez and 2019 Tour winner Egan Bernal as co-leaders
The Decathlon-AG2R team are going for glory on all fronts, with Felix Gall as their leader and Sam Bennett targeting sprint finishes
Stage 1 of the Tour from Florence to Rimini via San Marino could offer a plethora of riders the opportunity to claim the first Yellow Jersey of this year’s Grande Boucle
2023 green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen will face fierce competition in this year’s points classification.
INEOS GRENADIERS GEAR UP FOR THE TOUR
Winner of seven Tours de France between 2012 and 2019 with Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal, the Ineos Grenadiers team (formerly Team Sky) arrive at this year’s Grande Boucle with a different approach to previous editions. “We are one of the biggest teams in the race, but Pogi (Pogacar) is a bigger favourite than us, along with Visma,” says Thomas himself. “We are not going to ride like Sky, with one train at the front.” Tom Pidcock confirms, “We want to race aggressively. It was nice to see how the team raced at the Giro, and that’s what we want to do here.” Both the Welshman and the Englishman will look for stage victories with their aims for the general classification on the back burner, after a designation of roles was consolidated in a ‘cards on the table’ meeting: “We sat on the bus to listen to each other and find out what each of us wants from this race,” Thomas revealed. “The good thing is that our objectives are well aligned.” Thus, the role of fighting for the general classification will go to Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez, winner of a stage and fifth overall last year, and Colombian star Egan Bernal, who already has a yellow jersey at home from 2019 and this campaign appears to be fully recovered from the serious crash that interrupted his career in January 2022. Bernal says, “Last year I came back to the Tour de France and managed to finish. Obviously, I suffered a lot. I hope it will be different this year. I feel much better and I am excited to see how far I can go.” Rodriguez, for his part, arrives at the race in the best physical shape of his life, saying, “The feeling in training and racing is better than last year and the years before.” But, true to his personality, he was cautious: “It’s difficult to set a goal now, because the final result does not depend only on me but also on how others are doing. If I feel good and we’re at the front, fighting, I will go home happy.”
DECATHLON… GUNNING ON ALL FRONTS
The Decathlon-AG2R team go into the Tour announcing some happy news for one of their most in-form riders, Bruno Armirail, who was slightly late in joining his teammates in Florence having just welcomed his first child into the world. Armirail would love nothing more than to celebrate his recent fatherhood with a stage victory, but the French squad have no shortage of candidates for bouquets as they have shown throughout the season so far. Very recently, Paul Lapeira showed his strength by winning the French national championship. “I'm still on cloud nine,” admits the 24-year-old who will ride the Tour in the prestigious French champion’s jersey, and should be a regular volunteer for breakaway efforts, just like Nans Peters who won a stage in Loudenvielle in 2020 and Dorian Godon who triumphed a few weeks ago on the roads of Romandie. Sam Bennett will aim for sprint finishes, but the ambitions of team boss Vincent Lavenu do not stop there. He says, “We are aiming for a Top 5 in the general classification”. To find a place just behind the four big favourites, Lavenu is counting on Felix Gall, who was eighth last year. The Austrian rider is ready for the challenge, saying: “In 2023 I had mainly prepared myself to perform well at the Tour de Suisse. This time I will have a different role. I’ve worked hard to be the leader and get a good placing overall. I know I can do it.”
THE FIRST YELLOW JERSEY BATTLE: A SPRINT OR A BREAKAWAY?
The first Yellow Jersey of the 2024 Tour de France will be contested on Saturday with the Stage 1 finish on the seafront of Rimini. Before reaching the shores of the Adriatic, however, the peloton will do battle over 206 kilometres as they race through Tuscany then Emilia-Romagna. In addition to the significant mileage, the sequence of seven classified climbs provides an early test for the riders, with the pace likely to be intense on the first day of the 111th Tour. On the San Marino climb, the summit of which is 26 km from the finish, the action in the peloton could well become explosive. Who will then be able to descend towards the Adriatic most aggressively for the win? One highly qualified analyst, Remco Evenepoel, gave his thoughts on the possibility of seeing a group of sprinters capable of first conquering the climbs, to set up an exciting finale. The 2022 World Champion said: “In this case, there will be favourites like Mathieu Van der Poel or Wout van Aert, but I think Mads Pedersen could be the strongest.” There will of course be other likely contenders for the first bouquet. Arnaud De Lie will be confident before his first Tour, after winning the very tough Belgian championship. Magnus Cort notably showed what he was capable of at the Critérium du Dauphiné, whilst Biniam Girmay demonstrated his strength at the Circuit Franco-Belge at the end of May. The positioning of the San Marino climb on the parcours also opens up the prospect of a solo attack. This may present a chance to shine for another in-form and highly motivated rider such as Tuscan native Alberto Bettiol, who will proudly wear his Italian national champion’s jersey on Saturday. For pre-race GC favourite Tadej Pogacar his form in the lead up to the Tour has been sensational and he may opt to strike hard at the earliest opportunity.
PHILIPSEN, STILL THE SPRINT MASTER?
The competition for the green jersey at this year’s Tour de France looks set to be a fierce contest, with the sprinters getting several opportunities for stage wins over the forthcoming three weeks. The first of those might come in Turin on Stage 3, where 2023 sprint maestro Jasper Philipsen will look to make an early statement. Belgian riders have been dominant in the points classification since it was inaugurated in 1953 and have won it on 21 occasions, starting from Stan Ockers success in 1955 and most recently last year courtesy of Philipsen, who won four stages in 2023. The Alpecin - Deceuninck sprinter can begin the defence of his green jersey with confidence, after winning Milan-Sanremo at the start of the season, but he is not guaranteed to dominate as he did last year. The major competition could come from his compatriots, who have never been so numerous at the start in 35 years, with 28 Belgian representatives in total expected in Florence. Among them is Arnaud De Lie who recently beat Philipsen for the Belgian national champion’s jersey and could become a rival for the green jersey. A return to prominence for Wout van Aert, winner of the 2022 green jersey, should not be ruled out. Likewise, Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen could also challenge for victories, as may Eritrean powerhouse Biniam Girmay and powerful Frenchman Arnaud Démare, who returns to the Tour after three years of absence. 2020 green jersey winner Sam Bennett also returns to the Tour this year and is another man to watch. The highly decorated Mark Cavendish, who secured the green jersey in 2011 and 2021, is on a mission to clinch a 35th Tour stage victory, which would make him the outright most prolific winner in the history of the race, ahead of the man he currently shares that honour with, the great Eddy Merckx.
NEW COLOURS ON DISPLAY IN FLORENCE
The team presentation on Thursday afternoon in Piazzale Michelangelo serves not only to highlight the magnificent views over Florence and officially introduce the fans to this year’s Tour de France riders, it will also provide a chance to see some new-look team kits for the 2024 Grande Boucle. On the occasion of this Grand Départ, Visma-Lease a Bike will wear a kit with a 'Renaissance' theme, in which Florentine motifs merge with different shades of blue and the team's characteristic yellow tones. Equally striking is the renewal of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s kit, featuring the new main sponsor and a dark grey colour, replacing the traditional green they have worn for several years. Another grey look, in this case with a denim feel, is that sported by Alpecin-Deceuninck, replacing a very similar design in blue tones. Cofidis maintain their usual red colours with renewed lines in their jersey design. Opting for a significant change from their previous aesthetic are the Jayco-AlUla, who switch from a kit dominated by white and blue colours to a dark green jersey with an orange chest and shoulders, also featuring motifs that reference Arabic architecture. Meanwhile, teams such as EF Education-EasyPost, Intermarche-Wanty and Soudal-Quick Step mark the start of the 111th Tour de France by introducing new sponsors to their team outfits.
