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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Primoz Roglic ought to come across a way to end his Slovenian rival Tadej Pogacar from profitable the Tour de France for the 3rd straight time.
Though Pogacar remains the firm race preferred, Roglic eyes a hat trick of French wins this year when the three-7 days race commences in Denmark on Friday. It finishes in Paris on July 24.
Roglic gained the Criterium du Dauphine phase race this month to incorporate to his dramatic victory at the Paris-Awesome in March.
Roglic was brilliantly aided at the Dauphine by his Jumbo-Visma teammate Jonas Vingegaard, a climbing ace who is also brief. Vingegaard was visibly moved when Danish followers chanted his title at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen on Wednesday. They will cheer him all over again in Friday’s opening time demo close to Denmark’s funds town.
“As extensive as we work together, we feel we can defeat (Pogacar),” Roglic mentioned. “We are a robust workforce and we have a whole lot of traits.”
Jumbo-Visma has Vingegaard, final year’s Tour runner-up, as a co-chief in circumstance Roglic fades, whilst Pogacar remains the outright No. 1 on the UAE Workforce Emirates lineup.
“It’s a significant variance getting two in contrast to 1. A good deal can occur in the Tour, you can find so considerably worry,” Vingegaard claimed. “We definitely want to go with two leaders and we think we can challenge Pogacar.”
They bonded at the Dauphine by sharing beers following phases on the resort balcony.
“Jonas is super potent, we’re solid individually, and so the entire group is powerful,” Roglic insisted. “We’re tremendous very good buddies.”
Roglic has won the past three Spanish Vueltas, but is greatly remembered for his soul-crushing defeat to Pogacar on the 2020 Tour.
Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk and American Sepp Kuss will pull in the mountains to aid Roglic. In the meantime, teammate Wout van Aert eyes the green jersey for finest sprinter. But the one particular-day classics expert and previous cyclo-cross entire world winner is nursing a sore kneecap.
“Everything related to pedalling is not definitely great,” reported Van Aert, who gained a prestigious phase up the overwhelming Mont Ventoux on very last year’s race.
One more threat is Australian rider Ben O’Connor, who concluded fourth in 2021 and is not hiding his ambitions.
“Last year was a breakthrough, now it’s apparent which direction I’m aiming for,” the AG2R Citroen rider stated.
ROUTE
The race attributes the return of Paris-Roubaix’s cobblestones and 6 mountain stages with 5 summit finishes, which includes the famed Alpe d’Huez ascent with its 21 hairpins.
Prior to reaching the heights, the peloton discovers Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid for the duration of Friday’s 13-kilometer (8-mile) clock race.
“I’m tremendous happy to be listed here,” Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang said. “Proud to display my teammates and other riders what excellent people today are below in Denmark.”
The 2nd stage is for sprinters, 202 kilometers (125 miles) from the port town of Roskilde to Nyborg in central Denmark.
It could be windy, like Stage 3, which begins from Vejle on the Jutland Peninsula and finishes in Sonderborg in southern Denmark just after 182 kilometers (113 miles) of flats.
Following a journey day, riders deal with on Tuesday 5 modest climbs on the route from the French coastal city of Dunkerque to Calais.
Treacherous cobbles observe on Stage 5 and then a mountaintop complete at the Planche des Belles Filles awaits on Phase 7. Pogacar grabbed the yellow jersey there in 2020 by crushing Roglic in a extraordinary time trial on the eve of the end.
The Pyrenees have overwhelming climbs to Peyragudes ski vacation resort and Hautacam.
The penultimate stage is an remarkable 41-kilometer (25-mile) time demo to the clifftop village of Rocamadour in south-central France.
The women’s Tour commences from the Eiffel Tower on July 24 and has eight levels, such as a prestigious end at Planche des Belles Filles.
Annemiek van Vleuten of the Movistar group will be among the the contenders. She has three environment championships and an Olympic gold medal in time trial, together with lots of just one-working day titles.
COVID MENACE
COVID-19 induced chaos at the Tour de Suisse two months back with a few groups and about 30 riders pulling out.
Among them was British rider Adam Yates, the Ineos Grenadiers workforce chief. He is racing here but continue to regaining his strength.
“I had a appropriate fever and chills,” he mentioned.
Riders and personnel experienced to demonstrate a unfavorable antigen check two days ahead of the commence and ought to get an antigen examination on rest days.
In a tricky blow for Pogacar’s team, Matteo Trentin — who has gained at minimum 1 phase on every single of the 3 Grand Tours — examined optimistic. He was replaced by Marc Hirschi.
Jumbo-Visma supervisor Merijn Zeeman also analyzed favourable on Wednesday and is isolating in advance of signing up for up. However, two or a lot more good checks no extended lead to automatic group exclusion.
“Teams will be much less stressed,” 2018 Tour champion Geraint Thomas explained. “Picture acquiring the (yellow) jersey, two go good, and you all have to go house.”
The QuickStep-AlphaVinyl team replaced Tim Declercq right after he examined positive. French champion Florian Senechal took his slot in excess of Mark Cavendish.
Even though Fabio Jakobsen by now experienced the sprinting slot, it seemed a snub for Cavendish, who won four phases and the eco-friendly jersey very last year. He necessary a person a lot more gain to move past Eddy Merckx and established an all-time report of 35 Tour stage wins.
QuickStep will also be without two-time entire world champion Julian Alaphilippe, but that is due to the fact he has not completely recovered in the two months given that his horrific crash at Liege-Bastogne-Liege
In the meantime, the Bahrain Victorious group was raided by law enforcement for the next time this week on Thursday.
The staff claimed lodge rooms and vehicles of riders and employees in suburban Copenhagen were searched by Danish officers, and they totally cooperated. After two several hours no things have been seized.
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