Jonas Vingegaard is set to defend his title at the Tour de France. The Jumbo-Visma rider feels good and is ready to renew his rivalry with two-time champion Tadej Pogacar.
What's at Stake?
The 110th edition of the Tour de France will spend three days in the Basque country, where cycling is hugely popular. The course should provide for a thrilling start, with Stage 1 being a constantly undulating circuit of 182km starting and ending in Bilbao.
The Dane is confident and expects Pogacar to attack right from stage one. "I expect him to attack right from stage one, just like he did last year, and I'll be there to follow him," said Vingegaard.
The Competition
Other riders to watch out for on the first day include Jumbo's Wout van Aert and France's Julian Alaphilippe. "This kind of start here in the Basque Country means the guys trying to win the race can't relax at all," said Alaphilippe.
The Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, described the region as "the yellow jersey of spectators". Local rider Mikel Landa, of the Bahrain Victorious team, beamed when asked how he felt ahead of the race.
The Route
Sunday's second stage embarks from the town of Vitoria and runs to San Sebastian, while stage three starts at Amorebieta-Etxano and takes the peloton away from the Spanish Basque Country across the border with France to Bayonne on a largely flat 185km run.
"As champion, you could say I'm the hunted man, but believe me I'll be hunting too," said Vingegaard. The riders were given a taster of what is expected along the roadsides of this cycling heartland at Thursday's reception.
The Tour also takes in the neighbouring coastal city of San Sebastian, which hosted the Grand Depart of the 1992 Tour. The riders are ready to start the biggest race in the world, and Vingegaard is feeling good and ready to defend his title.
The Basque people are huge fans of cycling, and the excitement is palpable. "There are seven of us from the region, the excitement and passion for cycling of the Basque people is huge," said Landa.
The riders will be doing their best to honour Gino Maeder, who died aged 26 following a fall in the Tour of Switzerland earlier this month. "Every day we'll be riding in memory of Gino," said Pello Bilbao, Landa's teammate.
Vingegaard is ready to start the Tour de France, and he's feeling confident. He's where he wants to be, and he's ready to hunt for another win. "I feel good, I feel ready, I'm where I want to be," said the Dane.