Tourtalk

Eight key talking points ahead of a much-anticipated race

- John Whitney

01 The long and winding road

Will the ultimate showdown happen?

All the chatter at the back end of 2023 was about the prospect of the so-called 'Big Four' of stage racing squaring off against each other at this year's Tour de France. In this scenario, each of Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel would arrive at the Grand Départ in fine fettle and we'd see a battle for the ages play out on a level playing field. We know from experience, however, that it rarely works out like this. While it was most unlikely that a single crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April would skittle three of them in one fell swoop, the road to July is a long one, riddled with trapdoors and booby traps as riders train and race their way to peaking at the Tour. Only Vingegaard, with a punctured lung, suffered injuries that seriously threatened his Tour defence, but this was a timely reminder that professional cycling is too much of a tightrope walk to always get the caveat-free showdowns we crave.

02 Nice timing

The relocated finish offers a tantalising finale to the Tour