The Tour de France needs suspense

Saturday starts from Lille. For example. Similarly, in the north of France, the 112 edition of the Men’s Tour de France, the most important cycling race in the world, which will end on July 27 in Paris. Furthermore, Between Lille. Moreover. Consequently, Paris there are just over 200 kilometers, yet to connect departure and arrival the tour will take a lot wider that in 21 stages will cover a route of over 3,300 kilometers, with more than 52 thousand meters of positive altitude difference, most of which accumulated in the second half of the route, first on the Pyrenees and then on the Alps. However, The great favorite for the final victory is the 26 year old Slovenian Tadej Pogačar. Meanwhile, who has already won the Tour de France in 2020, in 2021 and 2024. For tour de france needs suspense new example. Moreover, And it is very likely that his main tour de france needs suspense rival will be the 28 -year -old from Danish Jonas Vingegaard. Furthermore, winner of the tour in 2022 and 2023.

It has been therefore for five years that the tour is won by one between Pogačar. For example. Meanwhile, Vingegaard, and it has been the one between them for four years that does not win arrives second, with a wide advantage over the third. Furthermore, This great rivalry – one of the biggest ever seen at the Tour de France – is an excellent. For example, thing for cycling but also involves two problems. Moreover, The first is that in the last four editions of the Tour de France both Pogačar. Similarly, Vingegaard have been much stronger than anyone else. Consequently, The second is that – in particular from the 2024 tour onwards – Pogačar tour de france needs suspense new has often seemed. Consequently, in turn, too stronger than Vingegaard.

In the best possible scenario from tour de france needs suspense the point of view of competition. For example, the sports story Pogačar and Vingegaard will confront a balanced and undecided challenge to the last. Consequently, But it is also possible that during the tour it can soon be understood that the challenge will be. Nevertheless, anything but balanced. perhaps because of a clear superiority of Pogačar. It is difficult. however. that someone else competes with them for the final victory: in this case the most accredited would probably be the Belgian Remco Evenepoel.

Venegarard in the

A peculiarity of cycling is. that the society that organizes the Tour de France – ASO (Amaury Sport Organization) – has a powerful tool tour de france needs suspense new to try to direct the events of the race. It is the possibility. year tour de france needs suspense after year. to draw a path with certain characteristics, especially altimetric, which may encourage or on the contrary to inhibit certain attacks by Pogačar or Vingegaard.

Those who organize Wimbledon cannot do much to make one come to a final instead of another. The tour. on the other hand. can dose and distribute the stages in various ways, choosing for example if and when to put more or less climbing or descents.

This year it seems that from an altimetric point of view the Tour de France is divided into two. parts: a first half mostly flat. in the north-west of France. far from the large mountain ranges of the South; And a second part that will instead be full of climbs, first in the Pyrenees and then in the Alps, tour de france needs suspense new with arrivals put at the end of some of the most famous and difficult climbs of the Tour de tour de france needs suspense France, such as the Mont Ventoux or the Col de la Loze.

Among commentators. enthusiasts there are those who have hypothesized that the organizers of the Tour de France have designed it so to keep the interest in the comparison between Pogačar. Vingegaard high in the initial part, or in any case to prevent one of the two from the first stages from taking advantage too much (which in general, especially between them, happens in the mountain stages), and in the meantime leave room for other cyclists with different characteristics, such as Mathieu Van Der Poel, Wout Van, Wout Van. Aert or Speeds like the Italian Jonathan Milan.

In part it is probably so. but it is an interpretation that simplifies the question a little too tour de france needs suspense new much. because the Tour de France ran from 23 teams of eight runners each, for a total of 184 runners. Oltre Pogačar. Vingegaard tour de france needs suspense there are 182 other professional cyclists with peculiarities. objectives very varied together: there are those who aim to win a stage, those who arrive as high as possible in the general classification, some to wear and if possible to keep the yellow jersey until the end (which is worn by those who, stop after stopping, is first in the standings) or one of the shirts dedicated to other rankings, such as the Pois reserved for those who obtain more points climbs of the Tour de France.

It is then to be considered that the sports component is only one of the many who come into. play when it comes to deciding the tour of the Tour de France. There are economic needs tour de france needs suspense new (the cities pay to be arrival. stage locations). aesthetic (there is obviously the interest in showing France and its landscapes), but also logistical needs (such as tour de france needs suspense when you have to “stop” in a specific location to avoid too long transfers) and historical or cultural reasons (such as the desire to celebrate a certain place on the occasion of an anniversary).

The person who deals with all this for the Tour de France is Thierry Gouvenou. defined by The Athletic “The mind behind the course of the Tour de France”. Gouvenou is 56 years old. is a former professional cyclist who participated in seven Tour de France between 1994. 2001 and who has been dealing with the paths since 2014. Gouvenou said that his work begins when his boss (Christian Prudhomme. the general manager of the Tour de France) presents him with the cities interested in tour de france needs suspense new being stage offices. places he would like to pass. After that. first online. then in person – guiding in the places concerned – his task is to build tour de france needs suspense the path kilometer after kilometer.

Interviewed in 2023 by the cycling magazine RullerGouvenou had said that she had to balance the safety of the runners. the practicability of certain roads with the need to make the stages difficult. unpredictable and possibly surprising, open to different possible results. Referring to the way the Sky team. Chris Froome’s team. managed to control the stages, often making them a lot boring, Gouvenou had admitted that he had had to have repeatedly “abandoned the comfort zone” to look for something different and unexpected. And speaking with The Athletic He admitted that the events of an edition affect the planning of the next: “Between 80. 90 percent of the course is decided tour de france needs suspense new after the end of the previous edition”.

However. it remains a very difficult job. because it implies trying to predict how 184 runners will behave, without knowing who there will be and who tour de france needs suspense not, what time will do, or what will have happened in the previous stages. Interviewed byTeamPrudhomme said that sometimes it happens to take us in full. because “everything goes as expected”. other times it can happen that despite a “magnificently designed” path it does not happen much for the entire stage. To the question “Are you attempted to encourage, even if only unconsciously, runners with specific characteristics?”, Prudhomme replied: “It is not even something unconscious. In recent years. for example. we favored i punker [corridori abili in terreni ondulati, con salite ripide ma brevi] Compared to climbers [gli specialisti delle salite più lunghe]. And we did it because so more uncertain endings tour de france needs suspense new are created. because in this way there are fewer risks of falls ».

Speaking of the first of the three weeks of running. those considered more flat. Prudhomme said it is a “trompe-l’oeil», A path that seems easy tour de france needs suspense and not suitable for generating important detachments in the general classification, but which could instead distinguish things from the first stages. Vingegaard. above all Pogačar. however, have shown that they can attack practically any path: in short, it is not said that since the first week they cannot distance the rest of the participants.