Luke Rowe said Pog is going to win the TdF (on the recent Geraint Thomas podcast).
He said Pog has been training on the bike for a while now (emphasis on that part) & believes the break from the road bike for a few weeks will actually be beneficial for his form.
So we could be in for some fun here. I think everyone (neutrals especially) should want a very strong Pogačar to fight Vingegaard & Jumbo, just for the sake of entertainment value.
I was very surprised that Pogacar had no chance against Vingegaard in 2022 Tour. Pog was clearly beaten, and had no chance.
Now I think Vingegaard certainly will be even stronger than Vingegaard was in 2022.
Pog also still improves year after year, but his prep wasn’t perfect. Plus, he was clearly weaker than Vinge in 2022.
Jumbo‘s team might be as strong as UAE is, so no differences between the teams.
So in all, I think Vingegaard might win again, beating Pog. Maybe beating him even more clearly than in last year. It‘s now also one year more that Vingegaard spent since his achilles tendon inflammation.
This 2023 Tour will be a TdF of the mountains, and Pog had zero chance at Granon and at Hautacam, against Vingegaard. Vingegaard IMHO is the big, big favourite…