Pogačar draws first blood in Tour de France psychological battle

Slovenian goes one up against Grand Tour rival Vingegaard as long war of nerves gets under way

-  Adam Becket

It’s often said that the whole cycling season does not revolve around the Tour de France, but for the two riders who are the favourites to pull on the yellow jersey at the end of its three weeks, it might as well do.

Therefore, as special as it is in its own right, for the main Tour contenders, ParisNice becomes just a stepping stone on the way to the biggest goal of them all.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the man who was vanquished by Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) at last year’s Tour, repaid the favour over eight days in France last week, winning three stages and convincingly wrapping up the overall.

One swallow does not make a spring, as both Pogačar and Vingegaard were at pains to explain before and after the race, but for one to lose to the other so early in the season must be a psychological blow. “There are many favourites for the Tour de France,” the former explained in his postrace press conference. “There is still a long way to go, many races in between. We will see.

“Last year was pretty much the same in the Tirreno-Adriatico, so it’s nothing special, it’s just a race. This time I was better than him [Vingegaard], and we will see in the next races if he can perform and improve.”