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By Vincent Daheron
BARCELONA, Spain, July 2 (Reuters) – Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar is looking forward to continuing his “spectacular” rivalry with Jonas Vingegaard when they meet again as the main contenders in the Tour de France which begins on Saturday in Barcelona.
“The competition between me and Jonas for the last few years was spectacular,” Pogacar told a press conference on Thursday.
“I think it will continue for a few more years, I hope. We push each other to new heights every year. So we will see how far we go this year.”
The two men are the finest Grand Tour riders of their generation and without a doubt among the best in the sport’s history.
Pogacar is chasing a record-equalling fifth Tour title, while Dane Vingegaard is bidding for a third victory following his triumphs in 2022 and 2023.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Pogacar, however, does not consider Vingegaard his only opponent.
“I do not think that he is the only one who can come close. I think there are quite a few guys here who can aim for the victory,” he said.
France’s Paul Seixas, Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel and Germany’s Florian Lipowitz are three podium contenders for the three-week race.
Pogacar, who has won the last two editions, is inevitably the race favourite after his dominant start to the season.
The world champion has modified his build-up towards the Tour, with only 16 days of racing. His wins this season include a maiden Milan-San Remo title, a third Tour of Flanders, a fourth Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Strade Bianche and, more recently, the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse.
“Pretty good,” Pogacar replied when asked about his current form. “Only 16 days of racing but the training kilometres are also counting. There has been a lot, so I think we are ready.”
The four-time Tour de France winner will be supported by a formidable team including Mexico’s Isaac del Toro, winner of the recent Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, and Britain’s Adam Yates, a third-place finisher in 2023.
“I think we have had a great team all these years. This year, I think it is about the same as last year,” Pogacar said.
“It will not be an easy race but we have a lot of tactics.”
(Reporting by Vincent Daheron in Barcelona; editing by Clare Fallon)
