The best riders in professional cycling will embark on the sport's most famous test on Saturday as the 110th Tour de France pushes off in Bilbao.
Twenty-one stages and some of France's most iconic mountain climbs await the peloton over the first three weeks of July, and the battle for the yellow jersey could be a head-to-head showdown for the ages.
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard will once again have the might of Jumbo-Visma at his disposal as he seeks to repel the man he dethroned as Tour champion, Tadej Pogacar.
- Tadej Pogacar to win the Tour de France
- Mads Pedersen to win points classification
- Wout van Aert to win stage one
Pogacar Out For Revenge
The 2023 Tour has been billed as the third instalment of Vingegaard's and Pogacar's personal duel, and it's long odds that someone other than the superstar duo will ride into Paris on July 23rd with the iconic yellow jersey draped across their shoulders.
Vingegaard was the only man to put Pogacar in any trouble in 2021, when the Slovene easily defended the title he won in dramatic circumstances a year earlier. And the Dane went one better last year as he and his Jumbo team-mates executed their gameplan to the letter on stage 11 to wear Pogacar down with continuous attacks.
That decisive day was the first time we have seen Pogacar crack since he burst on to the scene at the 2019 Vuelta a Espana with a third-place finish.
Up until last year's Tour, Pogacar had looked untouchable. He won the yellow jersey at the first attempt in the delayed 2020 edition of the race and then successfully defended his crown a year later, winning by over five minutes to Vingegaard.
And after relinquishing his prize possession last summer, Pogacar has looked like a man on a mission in 2023.
He won the general classification at the Ruta del Sol and Paris-Nice in the spring and augmented those wins with one-day Classic success at prestigious races such as La Fleche Wallonne, Amstel Gold and the Tour of Flanders, where he became the first Tour de France winner since 1975 to claim De Ronde glory.
A broken wrist suffered at Liege-Bastogne-Liege halted his seemingly unstoppable progress but Pogacar has said that he would have always taken a break after that race - enforced or otherwise - to prepare for the Tour, and he returned to racing at last week's Slovenian national championships, winning both the time-trial and road race.
He perhaps doesn't have quite as strong a supporting cast as Vingegaard, but he had a much weaker unit at his disposal when winning the Tour in 2020 and 2021, and if his injury hasn't stopped his build-up too much then Pogacar should arguably be seen as the man to beat.
TADEJ POGACAR TO WIN THE TOUR DE FRANCE
Tadej Pogacar looking for a third win
Pedersen To Win Points Classification
Wout van Aert turned the points classification at the 2022 Tour de France into a procession.
The Belgian superstar amassed 480 points en route to the green jersey - a whopping 194 more than second-placed Jasper Philipsen. But Van Aert has indicated that he will prioritise August's world championship and stage victories over defending his jersey, potentially opening the door for another rider.
Philipsen is seen as the likeliest rider to succeed his compatriot, and the Alpecin sprinter has enjoyed a strong 2023.
However, taking intermediate sprint points on mountainous stages can be just as important as winning sprint finishes in the points classification and it may be that this is where Philipsen falls short.
Former world champion Mads Pedersen should be less worried in that regard. The Dane is a winner at all three Grand Tours and won the points jersey at last year's Vuelta a Espana.
Pedersen's sole Tour de France stage victory came on an extremely tough stage 13 when he infiltrated the breakaway, and the Dane looks an enticing price to leave his points rivals green with envy.
Britain's last green jersey winner Mark Cavendish is a long shot to win the points prize for the third time with the Manx Missile solely focusing on becoming the sole owner of the record for the rider to have won most stages at the Tour.
Cavendish is currently tied on 34 stage successes with cycling legend Eddy Merckx.
MADS PEDERSEN TO WIN THE POINTS CLASSIFICATION
Pedersen favourite for the points classification
Van Aert Primed To Win The First Stage
If Van Aert is prioritising stage victories over fighting for the green jersey then stage one will be high on his list of potential targets.
The opening stage will see the peloton take on a Classics style route across the Basque country, beginning in front of Bilbao's stunning Guggenheim Museum.
There is rarely a moment to draw breath with over 3,000 metres of elevation crammed into the 182km route, and the day seems sure to be won by one of the peloton's one-day specialists.
Van Aert ended uncharacteristically empty handed in his Classics campaign this spring, finishing on the podium in a slew of the top races without winning, but you can be assured that he will be in peak condition for the Tour.
The Belgian is already a nine-time stage winner at cycling's biggest spectacle and had a spell in the yellow jersey in the first week of last year's Grand Boucle.
Van Aert will have no doubt been licking his lips when the route for this year's first stage was announced and before he is pressed into the service of team leader Vingegaard in the mountains, the Belgian may once again claim the yellow jersey for himself.
WOUT VAN AERT TO WIN STAGE ONE
