The wait is about to end, the Tour de France 2024 will start from Florence on Saturday 29 June. Everything is ready for the historic first time of Grand Departure of the Grande Boucle from Italy, with three stages that promise entertainment and sparks. On the third day, the one starting from Piacenza and arriving in Turin, there should be the first opportunity to see the sprinters in action. An excellent starting field in search of the Green Jersey, with Jasper Philipsen as a point of reference.
The Belgian from Alpecin – Deceuninck won the points classification last year by an incredible margin, and he is undoubtedly the favorite to repeat the success, doing a bit like what Jonathan Milan did at the Giro d’Italia. The blue from Lidl-Trek, however, will not be at the start of the Tour, and therefore once again we will have to wait to see the duel between the two strongest sprinters in the world. Philipsen is having a magical season: four victories (with the pearl of Milan-Sanremo above all) and a precious second place like the one at Paris-Roubaix, with the Belgian placing his sights firmly on this Grande Boucle.
The spectacle in the sprint will be guaranteedalthough Jasper may be doing a little of what he did in his best years Mark Cavendish. And there is great anticipation for the Briton, who has decided to continue another season just to return to the Tour and obtain stage victory number 35, which would put him ahead of Eddy Merkxx among the multiple winners. Belgium which promises to be a great protagonist of the sprints with Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) who arrives a little hidden but who can prove to be an inconvenient customer for anyone.
However, Philipsen’s main opponent for the Green Jersey should belike last year, Mads Pedersen. The Dane from Lidl-Trek has had a simply wonderful spring, and can count on a squad that, as we saw at the Giro, perfectly knows how to get its captains into perfect launching positions. Another super champion to keep an eye on is Matthieu Van der PoelJasper’s teammate and who will presumably race for different stages. Another absolute champion is Wout Van Aertwith the Belgian who in turn will be a great protagonist.
There are many names of those who will probably break into the top 10, for a truly high average quality: Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla), Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) to name a few. Then watch out for 24-year-old Marijn van den Berg (EF Education – EasyPost), while in Italy the dish cries a lot. He’s not exactly a sprint specialist, but you have to keep an eye out Luca Mozzato (Arkéa – B&B Hotels), while Davide Ballerini and Michele Gazzoli will serve Cavendish in the Kazakh team.
