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Saturday, June 29, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame! - William Butler Yeats
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2021: The Little Cannibal Dominates is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- June 29 - July 21: Tour de France
Upcoming racing:
- July 27 - August 11: Olympic cycling
Latest completed racing:
- June 9 - 26: Many National Championships
- June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
- June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
- June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
- June 2 - 9: Critérium du Dauphiné
- June 5 - 9: ZLM Tour
- June 7: GP Canton Aargau
- June 2: Brussels Cycling Classic
Tour de France 2024 - Preview info with one day to go
The Tour organization posted this comprehensive update:
• The scene is set for the first ever Grand Départ in Italy. The peloton will meet at the start in the centre of Florence at 12 midday on Saturday for a 206 km first stage, the finish of which will take place on the shores of the Adriatic in the seaside resort of Rimini
• The 2020 and 2021 Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar arrives at the Tour on top form after his Giro triumph, but he has recently recovered from Covid. Pogacar’s rival Vingegaard has battled back from the injuries he sustained in the heavy crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April and the defending champion says he will have to feel his way into the race
• Likewise Primoz Roglic has overcome his injuries from the Itzulia Basque Country crash and he is ready to ride at the Tour for the first since joining Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, having recently won the Criterium du Dauphine
• There are a number of interesting statistical curiosities ahead of the 111th Tour de France, including the fact that the 45 debutants on the start list will raise the all-time Tour entrants’ number to exactly 5400 riders in total since the first edition in 1903
TADEJ POGACAR: “YOU NEVER KNOW IF YOU’RE READY FOR A THREE-WEEK RACE”
The big challenge for Tadej Pogacar at the 2024 Tour is clear, with the UAE Team Emirates star striving to win a Giro-Tour de France double, which has not been achieved since Marco Pantani did it 1998. The winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tours de France was dominant at the Giro in May and whilst he is generally positive about his preparations and his form, he yesterday announced two pieces of news which shed a slightly different light on his progress over the last few weeks, He stated, “Everything happened very quickly, and I had to interrupt my training to return to Slovenia because my grandfather died. When I got back I contracted Covid. I only had one “K-O” day, then I quickly resumed training on the home trainer and got back on the bike as soon as I was no longer contagious.” Following this admission, Pogacar reassured his fans about his condition, although he remains cautious about overstating his chances of victory: “Physically I feel ready to win, though you never know if you're totally ready for a three-week race,” he said. “You also have to manage your mind and be lucky. The double is a big challenge, it’s already difficult to win a Grand Tour. But I like taking on challenges.” Among the other unknowns ahead of the Tour, ‘Pogi’ also spoke about the prospect of another chapter in his rivalry with Jonas Vingegaard, commenting, “This relationship with Jonas is extraordinary. We only see each other once a year… in July! I think he will be back to his best level, he wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t ready.” Let battle commence.
at Tadej Pogacar at the teams presentation ceremony in Florence. Sirotti photo
JONAS VINGEGAARD: “BEING AT THE START IS ALREADY A VICTORY”
Double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard comes into his fourth Grande Boucle having gone through a period of major physical recuperation, following his heavy crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April. The Dane understandably expressed measured ambitions during his pre-race press conference, commenting: “I’m very happy to be at the start, it is already a victory. It was a real challenge to regain the level I have now. I experienced the hardest moment of my career, so I really fought to come back.” Another difficulty for the Visma-Lease a Bike leader to deal with has been the withdrawal of American rider Sepp Kuss due to a recent bout of Covid. Kuss participated in the team's previous victorious campaigns and will be missed by Vingegaard and his colleagues. All things considered, Vingegaard believes he will need to wait somewhat to judge his potential this year. He noted, “It is likely that I will gain power throughout the race. If, for example, I have to fight to stay at the front in the first days, I will then be able to get back into the rhythm with the best. I don't know if I can win, I don't feel in bad shape but the crash was really terrible. I have hope, that’s for sure, but we’ll see.”
Jonas Vingegaard at the teams presentation ceremony. Sirotti photo
PRIMOZ ROGLIC: “IT’S GOING TO BE CRAZY”
Fans of the Tour de France were first treated to a glimpse of Primoz Roglic’s awesome prowess in 2017, when he won his first stage in Serre-Chevalier. Seven years on and Roglic is ready to compete in his first Tour de France with his new team, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. He is regarded as a serious candidate for the Yellow Jersey, even at the age of 34 and following the four years of the remarkable Pogacar and Vingegaard success story. Ahead of his sixth Tour de France Roglic says, “I feel young and I'm happy to be here, my aim is to seize every opportunity. I don’t know if this is my last Tour or if I will do ten more, but in any case I intend to play my cards to win.” When asked about possible scenarios, the winner of the recent Criterium du Dauphine described the twists and turns that could very quickly unfold in the race. “Of course, the Tour lasts three weeks and it is only at the end of the 21st stage that we know who is the best rider,” he commented. “But you have to be there from day one, stay focused and do your best. This year we go into the mountains very early with the Galibier from the fourth stage, then hit the gravel at the end of the first week… it’s going to be crazy.” With potential opportunities arriving quickly, Roglic has singled out the San Luca climb, towards the finale of the second stage, which has previously served as a springboard for his three victories in the Giro dell'Emilia (2019, ’21 and ‘23). He explained, “It’s a very short and steep hill, I like it. But nothing is ever the same on the Tour de France.” At the 2023 Giro dell'Emilia Roglic beat his compatriot Tadej Pogacar to the finish line by a second. The story continues…
RIDER STATISTICS: KEY DATA ON THIS YEAR’S START LIST
· 27 countries are represented at the 111th edition of the Tour de France, which is the same as last year. France has the highest number of riders in the race at 32 (again, same as last year), followed by Belgium at 28, the largest number for the country since 1989 (36).
· The oldest rider at the start is Jakob Fuglsang at 39 years and 99 days. The youngest rider is Johannes Kulset at 20 years and 76 days.
· The rider with most participations is Mark Cavendish, at his 15th Tour, whilst the all-time record is held by Sylvain Chavanel with 18. When Cavendish rode in his first Tour in 2007 this year’s youngest rider Kulset was just three years old.
· There are 39 riders contesting the White Jersey this year, the oldest of whom is Javier Romo of Movistar at 25 years and 175 days of age.
· There are 45 debutants on the startlist, taking the total of Tour entrants throughout history to exactly 5400 riders. This year’s debutants list includes the likes of Pascal Ackermann, Joao Almeida, Juan Ayuso, Remco Evenepoel, Derek Gee and Ben Healy.
· Behind 34-time Tour stage winner Cavendish in terms of riders with most stage wins at this year’s Tour are Tadej Pogacar (11 wins), Wout van Aert (9), Jasper Philipsen (6) and Dylan Groenewegen (5).
· There are nine national road race champions in this year’s race and eight national time trial champions on the startlist, including South Africa’s Ryan Gibbons who holds the national titles in both disciplines.
2024 TOUR DE FRANCE TEAMS IN NUMBERS
· The race will feature exactly the same teams as the 2023 Tour de France. So there are no newcomers from a team perspective, but there will be three ‘veteran’ teams: The Movistar Team are ready for their 42nd consecutive participation (previously participating as Reynolds, Banesto, Illes Balears and Caisse d 'Epargne); Visma-Lease a Bike, with 41 consecutive appearances (Kwantum, Superconfex, Buckler, Wordperfect, Novell, Rabobank, Belkin, LottoNL and Jumbo); and Lotto-dstny, with 35 non-consecutive participations (there were two years between their first three participations and the subsequent 32).
· Lotto-dstny are also the team whose 2024 rider line-up has the lowest average age: at only 26 years and 124 days, the youngest member of their team curiously being their leader Arnaud de Lie, who will be 22 years and 105 days old when the Grand Départ takes place this Saturday in Florence. At the other end of the scale are Jayco-AlUla, whose riders’ are aged 32 years and 309 days on average.
· Seven of the eight men who participated in 2023 for Jayco-AlUla are with the team again this year: with the only change being Michael Matthews coming in to replace Lawson Craddock. It’s the same story at Bahrain Victorious, where Santiago Buitrago comes in for Mikel Landa. Soudal-Quick Step, on the other hand, have made big changes, with the only rider to stay on the team from last year being Yves Lampaert.
· Five teams in the peloton have previously secured Tour de France GC wins: Movistar Team and Ineos Grenadiers, with seven victories each; plus UAE Team Emirates, Visma-Lease a Bike and Astana Qazaqstan with two wins each. Meanwhile, there are 11 teams that have not put a rider on the final podium; among them, Primoz Roglic's Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe; the Soudal-Quick Step team of Remco Evenepoel; and Simon Yates' Jayco-AlUla.
· On the stage victory count, Visma-Lease a Bike are the leaders with 71 stage wins, whilst it’s 51 for Soudal-Quick Step and 40 for Lotto-dstny. In contrast, still looking for their first Tour bouquet are Uno-X, who debuted in 2023; Intermarche-Wanty, who are preparing for their seventh Tour participation and Arkea-B&B Hotels, who are starting their 11th consecutive Tour.
· The five French teams are in the majority, namely Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, Groupama-FDJ, Cofidis, Arkea-B&B Hotels and TotalEnergies, followed by four from Belgium (Soudal-Quick Step, Lotto-dstny, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Intermarche-Wanty). Lotto-dstny (with seven Belgians and one Australian) and TotalEnergies (with seven Frenchmen and one Belgian) are the teams with the least diversity of nationality in their line-ups. Quite the opposite is the case at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe: with all eight of their riders being of different nationalities.
Arnaud De Lie 1 day before Le Grand Départ: "I think the mass sprints here will be next level"
De Lie’s Team Lotto Dstny posted this pre-Tour update:
The Belgian tricolor shines on his shoulders, Arnaud De Lie (22) is now completely ready for Le Grand Départ in Florence. His very first. "This will be a three-week learning experience, I'm very curious about this circus."
"The difference between a mass sprint at the Belgian championship and a mass sprint in the Tour de France? Phew, I think it's going to be next level here," says Arnaud De Lie. "At the BK I was able to beat Jasper Philipsen. If I can do it again here, you can be sure that I'm close to winning. Because Jasper will be even more on edge here. Every sprinter here is at their very best at the start."
What a view! Lotto Dstny is presented with Brunelleschi's cathedral dome in the background.
The freshly minted Belgian champion is about to embark on his very first Tour de France. Yesterday, he got to show off his brand-new Belgian jersey for the first time during the team presentation in Florence. "I'm very curious about the whole circus. You can already feel that this is different from all other races. I mainly want to gain experience here. This is not only my first Tour but also my first race that will last three weeks. It will be important to have good legs at just the right moment—for a sprinter stage, for example. I want to learn just about that. In the Tour de Suisse, I got a taste of the mountains, but now I'm heading into the real high mountains for the first time. And then you know as a sprinter that you're going to suffer. In Switzerland, I climbed quite well. Of course, I wasn't in the first group, but still in the second or third each time. So it will come down to conserving as much energy as possible to be able to peak at the right moment."
The Tour ends this year in Nice and not on the iconic Champs-Élysées. That's not exactly the dream scenario for the sprinters in the pack, who traditionally dream of winning in Paris on the final day of the Tour. "I'm not really thinking about that. The last week is particularly tough, and I mainly want to do everything I can to finish my first Tour de France. If I stop after two weeks, I also lose a chance to gain the experience of the complete race. If you want to make progress, you sometimes have to bite the bullet. So let it be a goal to finish in Nice. It's also why I'm not focused on the green jersey. I know there are a few stages where I can certainly make my mark. But what are the chances? Of course, you can dream, but you also have to be realistic and keep your feet on the ground. Literally everything has to go right to win here."
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The team posted this:
By his own admission, 2024 has been a year of highs and lows for Oscar Onley but the Scottish climber is ready to make his Tour de France debut on Saturday as he targets a stage win in the biggest race in the men’s calendar.
The Team dsm-firmenich PostNL climber has already had a breakthrough season, winning the Queen stage of the Tour Down Under, and recently finishing a highly creditable eighth overall at the Tour de Suisse. There have been setbacks too, with two broken collarbones disrupting his campaign but the Tour debutant has remained upbeat, and with the support of the team he’s looking to make history for himself, and Team dsm-firmenich PostNL.
Oscar Onley wins 2024 Tour Down Under stage five. Sirotti photo
In fact, Onley could also make history for his nation. He might not be the only Scottish rider to start the Tour in the last couple of decades but he’s certainly the first natural Scottish climber since Philippa York made her debut in the race as Robert Millar back in 1983.
That year Millar won a stage, and would go on to win two more during a glittering Tour career that also included a King of the Mountains title and a fourth overall in Paris. By coincidence, Millar’s first stage win came on the road between Pau and Bagnères-de-Luchon, and this year’s race has both a stage and finish in Pau, and also crosses Bagnères-de-Luchon on stage 15. The omens of an Onley success story are already stacking up.
“As a fellow Scot my main advice for Oscar is don’t get sunburnt but really he’s in a unique position as the only Scottish rider in the race,” Philippa York told us ahead of the Tour.
“On a support level, normally there will be a Scottish fan at the start or finish of every stage, so that will be a nice aspect for Oscar that should make him feel a bit special. He’ll also have a lot more support than in previous eras because of social media. Everyone can follow him online and I think more fans will engage with Oscar because they know more about him and his life,” she added.
“A bit like Oscar, I turned up in 1983 for my first Tour as a part of a team, but I was the climbing aid to the team leader. I wasn’t second in the team but I was looked after on the climbing stages. I think that Oscar will be in a similar position in that he’ll get chances. He might stay with someone like Romain Bardet for as long as possible in the breaks but he might find himself in a really good position because when he’s on form he looks like a really talented climber.”
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Here's the team's post:
Our 5 favorite storylines for the 2024 Tour de France
Get ready for one of the most unique editions of La Grand Boucle that we've ever seen
Between the Tour de France and the Olympics, France will be the center of the cycling universe for six straight weeks. And while the Tour is modifying its traditional schedule to accommodate the games, it is hardly taking a back seat. This year’s edition will begin in the streets of Florence, Italy, and fly past the famed wine windows into the maw of a Stage 4 mountain battle in the Alps. It only lays on the accelerator from there, all the way through the final meters of racing on Stage 21.
Lidl-Trek is bringing a crack squad that will put them in contention to win every single day. Mads Pedersen will lead the team’s sprint ambitions coming off a strong classics campaign and a stage win at the Critérium du Dauphiné earlier this month. Giulio Ciccone, last year’s King of the Mountains, is back to hunt mountain stage wins and more polka-dotted glory. Surrounding them is one of the deepest teams in the WorldTour. This squad has made teamwork its trademark all season.
The action starts fast this Saturday with a 206-kilometer lung buster through the Tuscan hillside. Here are the storylines and riders you need to know to get ready.
Trek's brand new Madone is ready for the spotlight
The Madone Gen 8 merges the lightweight Émonda with the proven speed of the Gen 7 Madone’s IsoFlow design. The result is a bike that can do it all. It’s no secret that Lidl-Trek has already been racing on the new bike. In fact, Pedersen won the bike’s first ever WorldTour race, sprinting past Sam Bennett on Stage 1 of the Dauphiné.
This thing is fast, whether it’s taking on vicious climbs or battling through crosswinds. And now after a few high-profile tune-up races, it’s ready to be shown off on the world’s biggest stage.
Mads Pedersen wins stage one of the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné. Sirotti photo
Mads Pedersen and his leadout are firing on all cylinders
Pedersen and Lidl-Trek gave us a tease of their Tour potential on Stage 1 of the Dauphiné, executing a textbook leadout on the race’s only true sprint finish, putting Pedersen in the yellow jersey.
The result confirmed the speed that Pedersen showed off in the spring, when he won Gent-Wevelgem ahead of Mathieu van der Poel and took third at Paris-Roubaix after a courageous chase.
Pedersen will bring his Dauphiné leadout with him largely intact. Carlos Verona, Toms Skujins, and Ryan Gibbons are back. Pedersen’s final leadout man from the Dauphiné, Alex Kirsch, will miss the Tour due to injury, but Lidl-Trek will have veteran mega-engine Tim “The Tractor” Declercq, as well as Jasper Stuyven, who was added to the roster in place of an ailing Tao Geoghegan Hart, and recently aided Jonathan Milan’s ciclamino jersey-winning campaign at the Giro d’Italia.
Pedersen has stage wins in all three Grand Tours, as well as a green jersey as the overall points winner of the Vuelta a España. The green jersey at the Tour is one of the most coveted prizes in cycling, but Pedersen has the legs, determination, and support to put up a serious fight.
Giulio Ciccone is back to hunt stages and defend the polka-dot jersey
Ciccone was forced to sit out the Giro d’Italia so that he could fully recover from early season surgery. The decision was an emotional blow, but there is a silver lining. The Italian climbing maestro will now have a chance to hunt stage wins and defend his King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour de France, and he appears to be rounding into form.
Ciccone was a fixture on the Dauphiné’s major climbs, finishing Top 5 on four of the race’s eight stages, including second on an Hors-Catégorie mountain top finish on Stage 6, in which he dueled eventual overall winner Primož Roglič in a sprint. With seven mountain stages in this year’s Tour, four of which finish on HC or Category 1 climbs, Cicco will have plenty of opportunities to flash his skills at high altitude.
Expect to see Julien Bernard by his side. Bernard is coming off a second place finish at French nationals, and has been a savvy climbing lieutenant with Trek for nine years. On the right day, he also has the ability to go solo in the mountains. Together, Ciccone and Bernard can light up steep gradients with the best riders in the world.
A very Nice finish
The Olympics will affect this year’s Tour in a number of ways, but most visibly will be the last stage of the Tour, when instead of a sprint on the fabled Champs-Élysées in Paris, the race will finish with a 33.7-kilometer time trial in Nice.
For years, Stage 21 of the Tour has been a largely ceremonial affair, with riders keeping the pace light until the very end, when leadouts organized for one last bunch sprint. This year, however, the final stage has the potential to decide the yellow jersey. The stage is lengthy, and features a Category 2 climb on its route along the rocky French Riviera.
Riders won’t be able to appreciate the scenery much in the throes of their heart-stopping efforts, but at least we can. The Promenade des Anglais, where the time trial finishes, is no less spectacular than the Champs-Élysées. Just swap the Eiffel Tour for some unadulterated sunshine and you’ll hardly know the difference.
An unpredictable race
The Tour de France’s yellow jersey battle is always compelling just on its face: a race for time across three weeks and thousands of kilometers, through mountains and crosswinds and extreme weather (oh my). But this year, the pressure has been dialed up due to a particularly strong group of contenders and a quick turnaround from the Giro, which finished just a little more than one month ago.
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Normally, the Tour might start in July, but organizers wanted to make sure La Grande Boucle was wrapped up well ahead of the Olympics’ July 26 start date. That’s particularly difficult news for one man, Tadej Pogacar, who might be the overwhelming favorite to win if not for the fact that he just emptied his tanks to secure a Giro d’Italia victory. The Giro-Tour double is notoriously difficult to pull off, especially on less rest than usual.
So who else could win it? Lots of people, though each with their own questions. Jonas Vingegaard is the defending champion, but he’s been battling injuries all year, and one of his top domestiques, Sepp Kuss, was recently forced to pull out of the race. Roglič just won the Dauphiné, but he has fallen short at the Tour before, even as the outright favorite. Remco Evenepoel is a World Champion and a Vuelta GC winner who is making his Tour debut, but he has also wrestled with his form this year in the wake of crashes.
Unfortunately for Lidl-Trek, Geoghegan Hart’s physical misfortune leaves the team without a clear GC contender. But the squad will be contributing plenty to the chaos, with the firepower to influence the proceedings at the pointy end of every stage.
We’re in for a feast of great bike racing over the next month and a half. The depth of riders and stories in road cycling is at a level we’ve rarely seen. There’s nothing to do except dig in. Bon appétit.
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