The Prague Post - Rivals ready to rock as fans flood in for Tour de France opener

EUR -
AED 4.325935
AFN 82.295246
ALL 97.926243
AMD 452.928874
ANG 2.108041
AOA 1080.157743
ARS 1450.537772
AUD 1.798908
AWG 2.12321
AZN 2.007149
BAM 1.955925
BBD 2.378252
BDT 144.489211
BGN 1.955925
BHD 0.443228
BIF 3509.023701
BMD 1.177925
BND 1.500096
BOB 8.139519
BRL 6.38271
BSD 1.177875
BTN 100.523408
BWP 15.600995
BYN 3.854646
BYR 23087.331819
BZD 2.365951
CAD 1.603098
CDF 3398.314319
CHF 0.935405
CLF 0.028538
CLP 1095.129815
CNY 8.440309
CNH 8.439249
COP 4689.39895
CRC 594.837921
CUC 1.177925
CUP 31.215015
CVE 110.27203
CZK 24.646321
DJF 209.743371
DKK 7.461454
DOP 70.494494
DZD 152.109697
EGP 58.022699
ERN 17.668876
ETB 163.469121
FJD 2.637615
FKP 0.863276
GBP 0.862601
GEL 3.204416
GGP 0.863276
GHS 12.190777
GIP 0.863276
GMD 84.22618
GNF 10215.651249
GTQ 9.056577
GYD 246.42571
HKD 9.24601
HNL 30.773962
HRK 7.536412
HTG 154.649859
HUF 399.203326
IDR 19062.0084
ILS 3.944853
IMP 0.863276
INR 100.708477
IQD 1542.998366
IRR 49620.09495
ISK 142.446936
JEP 0.863276
JMD 188.001985
JOD 0.835195
JPY 170.179596
KES 152.179701
KGS 103.010002
KHR 4732.301685
KMF 492.373101
KPW 1060.088497
KRW 1604.946949
KWD 0.359609
KYD 0.981663
KZT 611.718997
LAK 25381.61808
LBP 105536.527962
LKR 353.392529
LRD 236.165056
LSL 20.719221
LTL 3.478107
LVL 0.712516
LYD 6.344404
MAD 10.572174
MDL 19.841265
MGA 5300.337897
MKD 61.533923
MMK 2472.967489
MNT 4223.442545
MOP 9.523607
MRU 46.74898
MUR 52.948179
MVR 18.14445
MWK 2042.530211
MXN 21.945864
MYR 4.972067
MZN 75.340533
NAD 20.719221
NGN 1802.15516
NIO 43.342763
NOK 11.881146
NPR 160.837253
NZD 1.940089
OMR 0.452069
PAB 1.177875
PEN 4.176666
PGK 4.86531
PHP 66.570482
PKR 334.365716
PLN 4.243888
PYG 9386.598396
QAR 4.304974
RON 5.059075
RSD 117.187471
RUB 92.85592
RWF 1693.207942
SAR 4.416905
SBD 9.820272
SCR 16.592058
SDG 707.348348
SEK 11.264384
SGD 1.500092
SHP 0.925664
SLE 26.444855
SLL 24700.50455
SOS 673.142913
SRD 44.036774
STD 24380.6712
SVC 10.306657
SYP 15315.211479
SZL 20.70332
THB 38.118091
TJS 11.45473
TMT 4.134517
TND 3.431819
TOP 2.758823
TRY 46.91719
TTD 7.988509
TWD 34.086841
TZS 3109.79825
UAH 49.123132
UGX 4225.269361
USD 1.177925
UYU 47.273014
UZS 14790.942924
VES 128.951587
VND 30838.07893
VUV 140.323223
WST 3.056689
XAF 655.99882
XAG 0.031783
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.183402
XDR 0.815852
XOF 655.99882
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.234989
ZAR 20.734144
ZMK 10602.74357
ZMW 28.533819
ZWL 379.291399
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Rivals ready to rock as fans flood in for Tour de France opener
Rivals ready to rock as fans flood in for Tour de France opener / Photo: Marco BERTORELLO - AFP

Rivals ready to rock as fans flood in for Tour de France opener

A frantic fight for the first overall leader's yellow jersey will mark the start of cycling's Tour de France when the much anticipated 2025 edition races out of Lille in a carnival atmosphere on Saturday.

Text size:

Title contenders Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were promising to steer clear of any scrapes to avoid picking up an early injury in the 21-day excursion around France.

Instead sprinters such as Belgium's Jasper Philipsen and Italian Jonathan Milan are the men to beat on a flat but frenetic opening run around Lille, where partying fans have been gathering this week.

After starts in Florence, Bilbao and Copenhagen, and with upcoming editions in Barcelona and Edinburgh, cycling's most prestigious race has an old school itinerary this year raced exclusively in France and favouring climbers.

But with the race starting in the northern city of Lille, fans from cycling-mad Belgium have been flooding across the nearby border.

- All in all the way -

They have come to cheer on Remco Evenepoel in his bid to reach further than his third man billing.

"I'll go all in all the way," promised the double Olympic champion.

Often described as the most beautiful stadium in the world, the Tour route roves across the north coast to the west of Brittany, before heading south through the Massif Central and the first mountain stage on day 10.

"Everybody knows that's when the real race begins," said Evenepoel.

Team UAE's Pogacar starts as red-hot favourite with fans and bookmakers alike, and he can silence any remaining doubters by beating arch-rival Vingegaard of Visma.

Pogacar has won three Tour de France and has 99 professional wins, so will almost certainly hit his century here, maybe in the first week.

"Jonas might be stronger in the mountains, so I'd better get ahead a bit early on with some bonus seconds," he said.

- 'Intense rivalry' -

Glimpses of Pogacar and Vingegaard going head-to-head on the Alpine slopes or along the panoramic roads of the French Riviera provide tension, drama and sporting rivalry as enthralling as any involving the old-time legends.

Vingegaard tends to focus on a single-mission strategy, awaiting one big moment to spring a deeply considered killer move at a meticulously chosen spot.

Visma team boss Grischa Niermann insisted Friday his team had come to win, but both he and Vingegaard were keeping mum about what their plan was.

"I'm on the highest level that I've ever been," said Vingegaard, the 2022 and 2023 winner.

"If we didn't think we could win, we wouldn't be sat here," said Niermann.

- See-saw title struggle -

Pogacar certainly seemed relaxed when he spoke to the press at the Lille opera house.

"The last five years have been intense between me and Jonas," Pogacar said. "It's a great competition and rivalry and it will be interesting to see if the title changes hands again."

The volcanoes of the Puy de Dome present the first mountains as late as stage 10, with two more colossal climb days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.

But before any dash towards the eventual finish line on the Champs-Elysees there is one final twist.

A last-minute addition to the 2025 route is a nod to the 2024 Olympic Games road race, which drew vast crowds to the old Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre.

On the final day a cauldron of noise up the narrow cobbled climb to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica provides one last obstacle, after which the winner will be crowned.

L.Bartos--TPP