Tour de France. João Almeida is Pogacar's weapon in the battle with Vingegaard

The city of Lille hosted the start of the 112th edition of the Tour de France with a clear favourite for the final triumph, who is looking to repeat his recent achievements: Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, from UAE Emirates, João Almeida's team.

The greatest expectations fall on the Slovenian, due to the great superiority demonstrated throughout the season, in the classics, having won the Criterion Dauphiné without any difficulties compared to his rival Jonas Vingegaard.

This dominance was also visible after the Danish cyclist's fall during Paris-Nice, which left him out of the competition for some time, with the only highlight of the season being the victory achieved in the Volta ao Algarve, held in February.

It is thus a two-way battle that can be expected from this Tour de France, which started on Saturday and will last until July 27, with the usual finish line in Paris, despite Tadej Pogacar's very possible fourth title in the Tour being the main ingredient of the edition.

“I think the last four years have been very intense between me and Vingegaard. I think this year will be more or less similar, but you never know with the new riders that are coming up,” Pogacar stressed before the start of the race.

Tadej Pogacar has won the Tour de France three times (2020, 2021 and 2024), while the Dane from Visma-Lease a Bike won the event in 2022 and 2023, in a rivalry that has marked international cycling in recent seasons.

“I think I can safely say that I am stronger than ever. Having a rival like Tadej forces you to get the best out of yourself. We know that we have to train every day to compete with him,” said Jonas Vingegaard.

“Being part of history”

Supporting Tadej Pogacar will be Portuguese João Almeida, with the cyclist from A-dos-Francos heading into the race with no expectations of results and with the sole objective of helping his team leader as much as possible towards the fourth title of his career.

“It’s an honour to be part of the Tour team and to be the last man standing for Pogacar. We’re not just talking about the best cyclist of the moment, but perhaps of all time. And being part of that story, personally, gives me extra motivation,” he said.

The only cyclist in history to win the Tours of Switzerland, Romandie and the Netherlands in the same season, João Almeida made his debut in the Tour de France last year with a fourth place, very close to a podium that only Joaquim Agostinho has achieved.

Pogacar's support takes him out of the race for victory, but it doesn't keep him off the podium, quite the opposite, as he arrives in great shape, superior to many team leaders who are below Vingegaard and, above all, the Slovenian favourite.

This ambition is present, but it is not the essential objective, being accompanied in the race by the Portuguese record holder in Grand Tours, Nelson Oliveira, who started his 22nd three-week competition, nine of which in the race on French soil.

The experienced 36-year-old rider will have a secondary role in Movistar, led by Spaniard Enric Mas, with only a more concrete objective of getting into the breakaway and fighting for a stage win, without any specific intentions in the overall standings.

Dutch in yellow, favourites follow closely

In the first three stages, Belgian Jasper Philipsen was the first to wear the yellow jersey, winning at the start, but a fall in the third stage forced him to retire. Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel won the second stage and is currently the yellow jersey, closely followed by Pogacar and Vingegaard.

Fellow Belgian Tim Merlier won the third stage in a sprint, with no changes to his overall standings, with the Slovenian four seconds behind and the Dane six. João Almeida is in 15th place, 49 seconds behind.

A margin that can be explained by the 39 seconds lost in the opening stage, alongside the Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), included in a second line of favourites for victory.

Nelson Oliveira occupies 108th place after three stages, as a result of a delay of almost eight minutes (07.49 minutes) in relation to the front group in the second stage, which places the cyclist from Anadia a total of 08.38 minutes behind in the general classification.

Unprecedented climb to Montmartre

The Tour de France route features some new features that promise to shake up the course of the Grande Boucle, starting with an unprecedented climb to Montmartre ending, in the final stage, replicating the route of the Paris2024 Olympic Games.

This change could be treacherous in a stage that is usually about consecrating the winner, who will have to overcome a demanding week in the Alps and the five hilltop finishes that the organization has designed, preceding this arrival in Paris.

The first few days were also marked by the theft of 11 bicycles belonging to the Cofidis team, the night before the second stage, which caused losses of around 143 thousand euros, as each bicycle has an estimated cost of around 13 thousand.

It all happened at dawn, with the target being the team's truck, parked in front of the hotel where they were staying, in Bondue, near Lille.