News
Prediction
Fixtures
Five important topics to discuss before the 2024 cycling season
The 2024 men’s cycling season kicks off with the Tour Down Under, marking the beginning of a year filled with exciting events such as the potentially spectacular Tour de France and the Paris Olympics. Here’s a preview of what to anticipate in 2024:
Chasing Olympic Gold
Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel emerge as the top contenders to follow in the footsteps of Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz as the Olympic champion. The 273km road race in Paris promises to showcase the city’s major landmarks, with the climb to Montmartre potentially determining the winner.
Van der Poel is also the frontrunner for the classics and monuments, building on his impressive 2023 achievements that included a world title and victory in Paris-Roubaix. However, the 28-year-old Dutchman needs to keep his composure after a controversial incident of spitting at fans during a cyclo-cross event in December.
Vingegaard’s Advantage?
The Tour de France rivalry between two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and former two-time winner Tadej Pogacar takes center stage again. Pogacar, a fan favorite and versatile Slovenian cyclist, remains a strong contender. However, the Tour route seems tailor-made for Vingegaard, with significant climbing challenges and crucial moments concentrated in the final week, highlighting his natural patience.
The Tour will kick off in Florence and conclude in Nice on July 21st, featuring a challenging route over the Corniche cliffs and ending along the iconic Promenade des Anglais.
Pogacar’s Ambitious Double
Ahead of the Tour de France, Pogacar is set to compete in the Giro d’Italia starting on May 4th in Turin. The Tour, beginning just over a month later in Florence with four stages in Italy, precedes the Olympic Games in Paris on July 26th. Pogacar aims for a rare Tour-Giro double, a feat not achieved since Marco Pantani in 1998.
Watch Out for the Competition
Evenepoel and Giro champion Primoz Roglic are poised to challenge Vingegaard and Pogacar’s dominance in the Tour de France. Evenepoel, making his Tour debut, targets a modest top-five finish but could contend for victory if he stays within two minutes of the lead by stage 21. Roglic, who experienced a memorable collapse in the 2020 Tour, adds another layer of competition, prompting Vingegaard to strategize for his presence.
Cavendish in the fast lane
The seasoned sprinter, Mark Cavendish is gearing up for another attempt at the Tour de France stage wins record, despite acknowledging the upcoming route as “so, so hard.”
The Astana team has centered its reconstruction around Cavendish, the veteran fast-finisher who will be 39 years old when he lines up at the starting line in Florence.
Although Cavendish fell short of breaking the record in 2023, he still achieved an impressive top speed of 73km/h. To secure sole ownership of the record, he only needs one more stage win on the Tour, currently sharing the record of 35 victories with Eddy Merckx.
