"Every year, we see a new rider come out of the hat" - Vincent Lavenu believes Tour de France victory won't just be about Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard

The Tour de France has been highly predicted to be battled between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, who were a level above the competition last year and both aim to take the win this year. Vincent Lavenu, who will be directing Ben O'Connor this July, disagrees that other riders won't be able to get in the battle.

"We have a well-thought-out and thoughtful team, articulated around our leader Ben O'Connor," AG2R Citro¨en Team manager Vincent Lavenu told Cyclism'Actu. "We also have riders who know how to win races at the highest level. We therefore have arguments to develop, both in the general classification and for the stages. A successful Tour? A top 5 for Ben O'Connor and a stage win. We've won 21 stages since the team's creation, so if we can take a 22nd, we'll be very satisfied."

AG2R's expectations coming into the race will mostly be of a strong result in the overall classification, as the team comes with many climbers to support Ben O'Connor. The team is having Felix Gall and Aurélien Paret-Peintre who should also be able to chase stages within the many mountainous days, as they do chase a stage win simultaneously.

He doesn't name O'Connor as the rider who will be capable of fighting for the victory, on realistic terms, but he argues that there can be surprises popping out from this race. "Every year, we see a new rider come out of the hat, so who knows? Me, I can see Skjelmose disturbing them from time to time. It will still be the uncertainty of the Tour, knowing that there are two major players at the start," he concludes.