The 2023 Tour de France is about to begin and the Vingegaard-Pogacar duel already promises a show. It will be the revenge of the last edition, in which the Dane of Team Jumbo Visma managed to break the Slovenian talent's unbeatable aura.

Furthermore, Pogacar arrives at the Grande Boucle after recovering from the wrist injury sustained in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and there are doubts about his conditions on the part of many insiders.

The Slovenian, however, does not seem worried and indeed, relaunches the challenge three days before the start of the Tour: “For two years I defended the title on the Tour, and this is a different type of pressure than when you attack. This year I have nothing to lose. I'm coming back from an injury and whatever happens, it will happen. I think I'm in good shape, but you never know what can happen. For sure, I have a completely different mentality than last year.

The pulse improves every day - Pogacar told Cyclingnews - I don't have 100% mobility yet, but on the bike I feel good. I've never felt any pain while pedaling, but maybe that's because I never push directly on the bone when I do, and I can't bend my wrist much. It just feels a little stuck, but I'm glad there's no pain. So, I've been able to do a good workout these past few weeks.

“I was a bit worried the second week after the injury, when I had a full cast, because I couldn't even get on the rollers – continued the UAE Team Emirates rider – But I had good help from some good physiotherapists and they made me a plastic mold to be more agile. After that, I was pretty confident that I could make the right preparation for July and every day I was more confident that I could be 100% in the Tour. From then on, I had no more doubts."

Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency