Denmark still believes in Tour victory for Vingegaard an has confidence in Visma teammate: "He's a real wild card"

“Jonas is good, but he won't be able to improve by five or ten percent before the start of the Tour, and we can't expect Pogacar to be any less. No one can beat Pogacar at the level he was at this year and last year. He's superb,” says Intermarché-Wanty rider Alexander Kamp.

In addition to Pogacar, Kamp also sees the team's strength from the Emirates. “UAE has a strong team. Visma is also strong, but Tadej is the best. Last year, in one of the last stages, we saw him make up two minutes on Matteo Jorgensen alone—what can you do against a guy like that? He's just a machine,” he says with praise.

In addition to Kamp, Danish analysts also shared their thoughts. TV2 journalist Rolf Sørensen, for example, was also full of praise for the UAE team. “When we say that Almeida will be a fantastic support rider in the mountains, there's no doubt about it. He will be a safe bet, and they can use that. Visma doesn't have that.”

Well, not quite... Sørensen does see one very important difference between UAE and the Killer Bees. That difference goes by the name of Wout van Aert. “He was already decisive for Jonas in the Tour. Van Aert did the same again this year in the Giro for Simon Yates when he helped him well. It was clearly thanks to him that Yates won with such a big lead, so he's a real wild card. He seems to be back to his old self. He can be decisive and help solve the puzzle,” said Sørensen.

Denmark still seems to believe in him, but the rest of the analysts consider Pogacar the man to beat in France. “I hear between the lines that Visma | Lease a Bike are trying to convince themselves that everything will be fine with a view to winning the Tour, but the friendly way in which Vingegaard dealt with Pogacar's supremacy and the way he raced seemed more like raising the white flag than showing that it could still be an exciting Tour,” said Bakelants after the Dauphiné.

Johan Bruyneel also rated Visma | Lease a Bike's chances as low. "With these guys, the teams aren't that important. Visma could be stronger. With their numbers, they might be able to isolate Tadej. But the point is that Tadej will then attack. Then there will only be two of them left. There will be no one else."

Bruyneel's buddy George Hincapie agreed. "The tactics of making the race hard and tiring his legs don't work. That only makes it better for him. They have to ride as if second place, third place, doesn't matter. You have to go all in for the win or nothing else."