Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič, and Remco Evenepoel — now, add Covid-19 to that list of foes.
Coming into the pre-race press conference yesterday evening, we assumed that we would be made privy to some additional information but was anyone expecting to hear that Pogačar, primed by most to wear the maillot jaune in Nice on 21 July, had just recovered from Covid less than two weeks ago?
“My grandfather passed away and I went to Slovenia to make a closure and see the family,” he said. “It was a bit of travelling but it was really important for me. Then I went back to the training camp [in the French Alps] but got sick and had Covid. That was a bit of a question mark… but I recovered really good from that.”
He then revealed that he tested positive for Coronavirus “around ten days ago”, but it had no impact on his training and form.
He added: “It wasn't too bad, just like a cold. It passed really fast. Especially if your body already had the virus before and I had it once or twice. I stopped for one day and then did some rollers inside. Then when I wasn’t sick anymore, I was riding outside.”
He said https://t.co/7woujQ8yLlpic.twitter.com/MuBvSKmS1W
— #SiempreGino (@NairoInGreen) June 27, 2024
Umm, maybe tell that to Visma-Lease a Bike’s Sepp Kuss and Lidl-Trek’s Tao Geoghegan Hart, with both of them catching the bug and being ruled out of the Tour de France just days before the Grand Départ tomorrow in Florence.
The 25-year-old Slovenian, fresh from winning the Giro d’Italia and aiming to become the first man to do a Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani’s triumph in 1998, would be hoping that his words don’t come back to bite him and that he’s able to stay in top shape against his primary rivals, all three of whom have had to recover from injuries sustained at the horror crash at the Tour of the Basque Country.
While Primož Roglič was fortunate enough to come out of that high-speed crash on one of the descents of the Spanish stage-race without any fractures, 2022 Vuelta a España winner Remco Evenepoel suffered a broken collarbone and a fracture to his right scapula, while two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard suffered a broken collarbone and several broken ribs, as well as a collapsed lung.
Since then, Evenepoel has managed to recover and race at the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing seventh in the general classification, however Vingegaard’s race against time to recover fully has been a tad more difficult, with the Dane’s inclusion in the Visma squad until the last minute.
TadejPogačar and Jonas Vingegaard before stage 15, 2023 Tour de France (A.S.O./Pauline Ballet)
However, Pogačar said that he’s happy to see Vingegaard back and excited to race against him for the top prize. He said: “It’s good to see him at the start. I think he’s ready because otherwise, I don’t think he’d be at the start. It’s something I’m looking forward to, making a great show again.
“I think the relationship between me and Jonas is extraordinary and that we always meet each other in July. It's crazy that we ride ourselves into history as rivals. I respect him a lot.”
Just two days ago, Pogačar — after having a phenomenal season in 2024, winning the Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Volta a Catalunya, and Giro d'Italia in a dominating fashion — issued an ominous sign for the rest of the peloton, claiming that he has never felt so good on the bike and that his “shape is even better than what he expected”.
He said: “I’ve done some good training, and I’ve tested my legs a little bit and to be honest, I have never felt so good on the bike. I’m really looking forward to seeing if I have improved in the race situations from the Giro, but I feel good so I cannot complain!”
> Was Tadej Pogačar’s Giro d’Italia victory boring? And does it matter?
The 2024 Tour has been billed as the first real clash of cycling’s grand tour ‘big four’. But with question marks still hanging over reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard’s fitness, who can stop Tadej Pogačar securing the first Giro-Tour double in 26 years?
🎊 Happy Friday… and a very happy Friday it is. The first stage of the Romford Road cycle track (eastbound from Water Lane to the Atherton Leisure Centre) is finally open! 🚲
Congrats to @NewhamLondon… now please let's crack on with the rest of #RomfordRoad👷 pic.twitter.com/oZ7Girpw59
— Newham Cyclists (@NewhamCyclists) June 28, 2024
Mercian Cycles has been purchased by four local businessmen, just over a month after the iconic British bike manufacturer entered liquidation, laying off all its staff in the process.
Last month, we reported that the legendary Derby-based brand, founded in 1946 and renowned throughout the UK and US for its custom steel frames, had ceased trading, with an agency appointed to assist in the process after Mercian entered voluntary liquidation.
It was later confirmed to road.cc that all employees were laid off on 3 May, after the company’s directors, according to our source, allegedly “just crawled under a rock and let it all happen”, with the source adding that “there was nothing controlled about closing it down”.
However, in a statement published on Mercian’s website(link is external) on Thursday, a group of four Derby-based businessmen, and self-professed “passionate cyclists”, confirmed that they have now purchased the beleaguered brand, while retaining the company’s craftsmen in the process.
I'm sure regular readers of this live blog would be quite well-versed with my disdain towards more blue jerseys in the peloton, with Visma-Lease a Bike and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe the two latest teams to ditch their respective yellow and green colours and going for blue at this Tour de France (in the latter's case, it's less of a temporary change, which is probably even worse in my opinion).
But when for a change, a team does release a blue kit, and it's probably one of the best kits in the last decade or so, they decide to not wear it in the actual race at all... What a shame!
Arkéa-B&B, after receiving UCI WorldTour status two years ago, decided to celebrate the Grand Départ in Italy with an ode to the team's bike manufacturing company Bianchi — releasing a kit so good I couldn't believe my eyes.
𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒆́𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 ! 🇮🇹
Nos coureurs porteront ce soir un maillot collector pour rendre hommage à notre partenaire majeur @BianchiOfficial. 🩵
📽 Lucas Pavy#TDF2024#RideBianchi#RepartoCorsepic.twitter.com/ZbLPkT6a05
— ARKEA-B&B HOTELS (@arkeabbhotels) June 27, 2024
A full, proper throwback kit, although I agree that the big B&B circle in the middle does taint it ever so slightly, but the aura of the pastel, Bianchi baby blue is too strong to be hampered by a sponsor placement.
Unfortunately, the kit was only there for the team presentation, before the riders revert back to the team's red and black come tomorrow...
Wait, apparently this was just for the team presentation and Arkea will be back in red for the race. Is this true?! What a travesty… https://t.co/0suWe9PAyu
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) June 28, 2024
Heal swiftly, my broken heart...
Arkéa breaking hearts twice, once by revealing the best jersey of the last decade, and again when they confirmed they wouldn't even be wearing it 😭💔 pic.twitter.com/rDz57GOMeA
— Katy M, Le Tour Edition (@writebikerepeat) June 28, 2024
If you haven't noticed, there's this little race called the Tour de France starting from tomorrow... So here's a nifty team-by-team Twitter thread analysis for those looking to brush up their knowledge and hype up for the racing to begin tomorrow!
2024 TOUR DE FRANCE - TEAM-BY-TEAM ANALYSIS
The time has arrived, the riders are ready - and tonight I'll bring you the line-ups of all the teams with a very brief introduction and my opinion of them for the 2024 Tour de France.
The thread:
🧵#TDF2024pic.twitter.com/pgVUDvLVfL
— Bence Czigelmajer (@cycloben2) June 27, 2024
And of course, don't forget to check out our ultimate 2024 Tour de France stage-by-stage guide!
UCI president David Lappartient has revealed that world cycling’s governing body is planning to pay whistleblowers and informants who come forward with “credible” information related to the suspected use of hidden motors in the peloton, days after the UCI announced that it will pilot the use of a new unspecified “inspection tool” designed to uncover mechanical fraud at the Tour de France.
Lappartient said that financial incentives for motor doping whistleblowers would prove the UCI is taking the issue – which he claims has the potential to “destroy cycling” – seriously.
He also raised concerns about the methods currently in place to detect the presence of hidden motors within bikes, such as handheld tablets, and the increasingly frequent use of tactical bike swaps during races, while insisting that the UCI is “not afraid” to catch even the sport’s biggest names if they’re found to be using a motor.
Winner of the last two Tours, Jonas Vingegaard would and should have been confident in his abilities of doing a three-peat, but as fate would have it, he was caught in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque in April — by no fault of his own — and suffered multiple fractures and a collapsed lung, throwing not just his Tour prep, but even his selection in the team into complete jeopardy.
However, the 27-year-old Dane has managed to regain his shape and hopefully his form as well, as the defending champion is now ready to take the fight to Tadej Pogačar. But most importantly, he is just happy to start the race tomorrow in Florence.
Vingegaard talked about his precarious situation filled with doubt in the lead-up to the Tour de France. He said: "One day I thought I would make it, the next I didn't... My feeling was very inconsistent, but I want to fight for it. I'm just happy to be here. That's a victory in itself."
"I hope for the best possible result in the classification. But honestly: it was a very nasty crash and from now on everything is a bonus. The hardest part was getting back to my level. I had to take a long break and the injuries had to heal before I could train again. You can cycle outside, but actually training is something else."
Vingegaard is playing it cool for Le Tour 🇫🇷
The Tour de France is the Dane's first race since recovering from a serious crash at Itzulia Basque Country 💪
📸 Getty Images
______________
🇫🇷 #TDF2024pic.twitter.com/ixHbff5QXb— Velon CC (@VelonCC) June 28, 2024
He added: "I've worked a lot and my form is not bad. I've done everything I can to be ready. I have my own goals and then we'll see. I don't know what the effect of the two weeks I spent in a hospital bed will be. Of course, without the crash I would have aimed for the overall victory. But that crash changed everything."
Can't have hair tufts popping out of your helmet and screwing up the aerodynamics, I guess every bit counts, eh?
Buzzing to be at @LeTour!
Here’s @tompidcock’s entry for the most aero haircut of #TDF2024✂️💈
📸 @alexduffillpic.twitter.com/2FTkWMJt8v
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) June 27, 2024
This was pre-buzz Pidcock, if anyone had forgotten already, throwing down the gauntlet to Geraint and Sara Elen Thomas. We're waiting on G's post-haircut pictures to decide who got the better cut. Although, it doesn't look too hard to beat Pidcock right now...
I’m ready son 👍✂️ #TDF2024https://t.co/muLcMCZYGFpic.twitter.com/42dhF5md4W
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) June 26, 2024
Not one, but two riders confirming they've had the Coronavirus in the last few days! What is it, 2021 again?
After Tadej Pogačar revealed that he tested positive for Covid "about 10 days ago", but it didn't affect him too much and was "just like a cold", Lidl-Trek's Mads Pedersen has also said that although he got the virus, his symptoms weren't too severe.
“It hits some people hard and some people it doesn’t, I was not affected a lot,” Pedersen said in a pre-Tour de France conversation with Velo. “I had a few days off the bike, and I needed to rest anyway, and even riding with it was not a problem for me, I was lucky and hopefully I don’t get anything during the Tour.”
He added: “The Tour is more pressure and expectation, but I am used to that now. The team wants me to perform, that’s what I am paid to do. The Tour is the Tour. Every year we are fighting for a stage win or more.
“The speed is still there. We definitely won’t want to be better at climbing and take away the sprint. On the climbing days, it’s easier to get some points on the harder days for the green jersey. The weight is super good. We saw at the Dauphine the climbing was going well. I trained a bit more in the mountains, with a lot of sprinting and motor pacing.”
Just last Friday, the 28-year-old Dane's teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart was ruled out of the Tour de France after he fractured a rib at a crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné as well as contracting Covid.
After returning home to Andorra, the British rider confirmed on Instagram that he was “super sick” with the infection, missing five days of training in the process, adding to the litany of bad luck that has plagued him in recent years and prompting Lidl-Trek’s announcement this morning that he will miss the Tour
Adam Hansen, the president of CPA, the pro peloton riders' association, has shared a picture of the Palazzo Vecchio (not my proudest moment, but I've read enough Dan Brown's pulp fiction to know this in my sleep), Florence's town hall where the pre-race briefing was held‚ and would you look at that! Italy never fails to disappoint.
Rider’s briefing at the @LeTour#TDF2024 what an incredible location.... Italy. pic.twitter.com/1GS8c0NPcZ
— Adam Hansen (@HansenAdam) June 27, 2024