Vingegaard back to defend Tour de France title but Pogacar man to beat

Slovenian has taken over the sport since double Tour winner Vingegaard suffered horror crash in April

TOUR DE FRANCE: UAE Team Emirates team's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (Left) cycles on stage during the team presentation for the 111th edition of the Tour de France cycling race. Pic: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

If the defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard overcomes both the lingering aftermath of a horror crash in April that hospitalised him for 12 days, and the rampant form of a seemingly invincible Tadej Pogacar, his will be one of the most remarkable wins in the race’s history.

The double Tour winner starts this year’s race, which begins in Florence on Saturday and ends in Nice on July 21 in extremis, his embattled team beset by illness and injury, his form uncertain.