The biggest race in the cycling calendar is fast approaching in the form of the 2023 Tour de France. Steep roads and wild fans await the peloton in the Basque Country for the race’s Grand Départ and the stakes are as high as ever for this year’s edition of the race.
2023 winner Jonas Vingegaard returns to defend his yellow jersey, but two-time winner Tadej Pogačar is hungry to reaffirm his dominance. Mark Cavendish is looking to get his 35th stage win, but there’s a stacked list of fast sprinters who are going to make his life difficult. There’s breakaway specialists who are ready to pounce when the chances arise, and Tour de France debutants who could really make their mark on this race.
So who will come away from the Tour satisfied and who will be left wanting more? These are our predictions of the winners and losers.
Yellow jersey winner
There is no denying that the yellow jersey is the most coveted prize in cycling. Winning the Tour de France is the dream of many professional riders and, for the few who succeed, it changes their lives forever. That very thing happened for Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard last year when he surprised many by beating two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar, dropping him on the brutal Col du Granon in a stage that will go down for the ages. Both riders return to the Tour in 2023 with Vingegaard hoping to defend his title and Pogačar with dreams of getting back to the top step of the podium, but who will get the outcome they are hoping for?
We’re betting on Jonas Vingegaard to win a second consecutive yellow jersey at the 2023 Tour de France. The Danish rider has been in imperious form so far this season, winning the recent Critérium du Dauphiné with apparent ease. Pogačar, on the other hand, has been unable to race since he crashed out of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April – he suffered a broken wrist in the accident and, although he is back in training, will not race before he stands on the start line of the Tour de France in July outside of his National Championships. Pogačar isn’t a rider who should be underestimated and there’s every chance that he will still be dominant despite his lack of racing in the lead up to the Tour, but Vingegaard’s supremacy at the Dauphiné is telling us that the Danish rider will get the top spot. Jumbo-Visma also come to the race with an incredibly strong line-up including the likes of Wout van Aert, Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj…