This is the yr when Tadej Pogacar made a large comeback – if that’s the precise phrase to make use of for a particular person born in 1998 with two Tour titles underneath his belt. Having received the 2024 Giro and Tour, Tadej has been within the highlight for the final two weeks. Everybody was questioning whether or not this Slovenian Sportsman of the Year 2023 would participate within the Vuelta race.
The second finest within the focus was Jonas Vingegaard, the yr-after-yr Tour de France winner in 2022 and 2023. Even biking pundits and on-line betting platforms, from conventional web sites to offshore sportsbooks, began providing their odds relating to their look and potential positions, in addition to free signal-up and additional bonuses for newcomers.
The reply supplied by each these outstanding athletes is: No. Neither Tadej nor Jonas will participate on this yr’s Vuelta. Having received his third Tour de France this yr, Pogačar has determined to not cycle by Spain and Portugal. In addition to bodily exhaustion, he has additionally expressed his want to make room for different teammates from his UAE Team Emirates. Apart from that, Tadej needs to completely put together for the Road World Championships, held this September in Zurich. Although he received three particular person levels on the Vuelta in 2019, he nonetheless hasn’t received the final classification, i.e., the general standings Given his age, there can be quite a few alternatives for this miraculous bike owner to beat the Vuelta within the time forward.
Jonas Vingegaard, alternatively, has addressed utter exhaustion as the primary purpose for skipping this yr’s Vuelta. Clearly disenchanted after the Tour de France and affected by a string of consecutive accidents within the first half of the yr, Vingegaard needs to offer his physique a while to relaxation and get well. The similar goes for his participation within the ongoing Summer Olympics in Paris. There’s a likelihood he’ll seem on the Road World Championships and compete towards Pogačar. If these two legends seem wheel to wheel within the streets of Zurich, biking followers and spectators can be delighted.
In the meantime, biking lovers have two actual treats earlier than them: biking competitions within the Olympics and the Vuelta. The excellent news is that Pogačar’s compatriot Primož Roglič, who received the gold medal on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has confirmed his participation within the Vuelta. Having already received this title 3 times, he completely is aware of the ins and outs of the Spanish-Portuguese biking tracks.
Also, final yr’s winner Sepp Kuss can be there to attempt and defend his title. Mikel Landa is one other effectively-recognized biking identify who has already confirmed he’ll participate within the 2024 Vuelta.
Even although Pogačar and Vingegaard can be vastly missed, it’s anticipated that a number of extra profitable cyclists will seem at this race as soon as they get well from the Olympics, finishing a distinguished beginning lineup.
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