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The 2023 Tour de France officially got underway on Saturday and the biggest cycling race of the year full of story lines.
Last year’s race was one for the history books with Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard taking his first Tour de France victory over two-time defending champion, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar.
Both main protagonists return this year and headline a number of reasons that this year’s version of Le Tour could yet again be an all-timer.
1) Jonas Vingegaard vs. Tadej Pogacar, Round 2
Pogacar burst onto the scene at 2020 Tour de France as a 22-year-old when he shocked countryman Primoz Roglic in the second-to-last stage of the tour to take yellow and his first Tour de France victory.
In 2021, expectations were that Pogacar and Roglic would once again duel for yellow. But Roglic suffered an early crash and was forced to abandon the tour.
Never fear.
Vingegaard, then just 24, burst onto the scene in his first time riding the tour. He finished more than five minutes behind a dominant Pogacar, who won his second TDF. But that was good enough to take second place and establish him as a threat.
Last year, Dutch team Jumbo-Visma brought both Roglic and Pogacar to France. The duo worked together to put pressure on and eventually crack the seemingly uncrackable Pogacar.
Roglic once again was forced to abandon the tour due to injuries. But his work helped lead to Vingegaard to yellow and an eventual Tour de France victory.
This year, Vingegaard will not have Roglic alongside of him after his teammate won the Giro d’Italia in May. So it appears to Vingegaard vs. Pogacar, mano and mano, with both Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates backing their stars.
Though secondary leaders Wilco Kelderman (Jumbo-Visma) and Adam Yates (UAE) could have something to say about that.
2. But What About The Americans?
An American has not won the Tour de France since 2006 when Floyd Landis, who then had his victory stripped due to doping, took the yellow jersey in Paris.
And, frankly, no one has been particularly close.
A pair of fifth place finishes by Teejay van Garderen in 2012 and 2014 were the most recent top-five finishes by Americans.
While an American won’t win this year, and likely won’t contend for yellow, there’s still plenty to be excited about.
There are six Americans in this year’s tour. They are as follows:
Sepp Kuss – Jumbo Visma
Matteo Jorgenson – Movistar
Neilson Powless – EF Education-EasyPost
Quinn Simmons – Lidl-Trek
Kevin Vermaerke – DSM
Lawson Craddock – Jayco-AlUla
They all come in with varying goals. Kuss is one of the world’s elite climbers and is considered one of the world’s best domestiques (helpers). He’ll be tasked with guiding Vingegaard, his teammate, through the mounts. Kuss won a stage of the tour in 2021.
Powless is a versatile 26-year-old who nearly won a stage a year ago and finished 12th overall. This year, he’ll hope to win his first Tour de France stage and appears set to vie for the race’s “King of the Mountains” jersey.
Jorgenson is a 24-year-old who appears to be coming into his own as an all-around rider. He won the week-long Tour of Oman this season and finished eighth in the historic Paris-Nice race. He also recently took second in the Tour of Romandie. Like Powless, he’s aiming to win his Tour de France stage and is rumored to move to Jumbo-Visma in 2024.
Simmons, 22, won the junior world road race championship in 2019 and is a versatile rider. He’s best on flat and slightly rolling terrain and could well win a stage. He one the USA one-day road race championship just last week.
Vermaerke is also just 22 and is an impressive climber. Like Kuss, he’s expected to look after his team leader, Romain Bardet.
Similarly, the 31-year-old Craddock will work for Jayco-AlUla leader Simon Yates.
3. What Role Will Wout van Aert Play?
Wout van Aert may very well be the best cyclist in the world. He can climb. He can sprint. He’s good at time trials. But he’s not a contender to win the Tour de France. At around 170 pounds, van Aert (who is also on Jumbo-Visma) is too heavy to consistently hang with stars like Pogacar and Vingegaard in the mountains.
Last year, however, van Aert won the tour’s green jersey, given to the rider who places first in the points competition. He also served as massively important domestique for Vingegaard.
This year, van Aert says he’s putting aside his own ambitions to solely focus on helping Vingegaard win again. But will he be able to resist the urge to chase the green jersey? If so, what role will he play?
van Aert hasn’t shown the same ability in recent weeks that he had in the 2022 season. If he’s not at the same level and with Roglic gone, how will that affect the race for the yellow jersey?
UPDATE: Adam Yates of Team UAE won stage 1 of the Tour de France on Saturday, taking a 18-second lead over Pogacar and 22 seconds over Vingegaard.
Frenchman Victor Lafay of Cofidis gave the French team its first Tour de France stage win in 15 years on Sunday. Pogacar is now just six seconds behind Yates, while Vingegaard is 17 seconds back.