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The 2024 Tour de France was building up to be one of the most historic editions in the race’s 111-year history.
But now, just one day from the start of the race, it’s looking like it could turn into an historic letdown instead.
Let’s start with the basics. The big storyline was the battle for the overall victory between two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and 2020/21 champion Tadej Pogacar.
The two are, by far, the best grand tour riders on the planet and have provided endless entertainment over the last two editions of the race.
But sadly, Vingegaard had a massive crash at the Itzulia Basque Country in April that saw him suffer a collapsed lung and several broken bones.
Vingegaard has not competed since the crash and suspicions are that it’s unlikely he’ll be 100 percent for the Tour.
Major Crash Took Out Several 2024 Tour de France Contenders
But he wasn’t alone. Primoz Roglic finished as the runner-up to Pogacar in the 2020 Tour de France, leading all the way until the penultimate stage. Roglic spent the last handful of seasons as a teammate of Vingegaard, but this year he left for German team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Fans were excited to see Roglic square off with his Slovenian compatriot Pogacar and ex-teammate Vingegaard. But Roglic also crashed in the same incident as Vingegaard and although he recently one the Criterium du Dauphine, he didn’t look anywhere near capable of challenging Pogacar.
Then there’s Remco Evenepoel. The 24-year-old Belgium is a former world champion, the 2022 Vuelta Espana winner and is set to ride in his first career Tour de France.
But Evenepoel too crashed the same incident and finished 2:25 behind Roglic in the recent Criterium du Dauphine.
Vingegaard, Pogacar, Roglic and Evenepoel are considered the four best grand tour riders in the world right now. However, only Pogacar enters the Tour de France healthy and with a normal preparation.
But that’s not the only black cloud hanging over the 2024 Tour de France.
Sepp Kuss, who became the first American to win a grand tour since Christopher Horner in 2013 when he won last year’s Vuelta Espana, had to pull out of the race due to lingering COVID symptoms.
On top of being a threat in his own right, Kuss’s was considered Vingegaard’s most valuable teammate. While fellow Visma teammate Wout Van Aert also enters the race coming off an injury.
Pogacar isn’t shy on help, either. He rides for Team UAE Emirates. Including Pogacar, UAE has four of the top 10 favorites to win the 2024 Tour de France according to betting markets.
Who knows? Maybe Vingegaard is healthier than anybody thinks. Maybe Roglic can roll back the clock, or Evenepoel can do something special.
But one day out, the 2024 Tour de France just looks like one giant tease.