"He needs to know he’s still number one" - Philippa York believes Tadej Pogacar will be out to prove a point to Jonas Vingegaard at Paris-Nice

In what will be a prelude to this summer's Tour de France, reigning Yellow Jersey winner Jonas Vingegaard will battle it out with the man he dethroned for the title Tadej Pogacar at the week-long Paris-Nice. Like many, Philippa York can't wait for the racing to begin.

"It’s quite unusual in modern times that riders of the calibre of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard race each other before July," says the former five-time Grand Tour stage winner in her column for Cyclingnews. "Never mind the individual fitness level, the Tour mind games are played out in every encounter."

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"This will be special because the two main favourites for the Tour de France will be present at the start," she continues. "I think it’s fair to say that Pogačar has been the more aggressive in how he’s been winning and that’s understandable in a couple of ways. He is the type of rider that will pounce at any moment if he sees an opportunity, and he does have a hunger to win that’s exceptional, but I get the feeling there’s also a certain amount of reassurance going on here. He needs to know he’s still number one."

"Vingegaard has delivered the confident finishing touch compared to Pogačar’s much more disruptive style, and the comparative opposition for each of them differed vastly as well," York debates. "It’s always difficult to win a pro race, but the field at the Vuelta a Andalucia was much better than the one Vingegaard crushed in northern Spain at O Gran Camiño."

One aspect of Paris-Nice that York believes could prove decisive is the unique team time trial race organisers have opted to include this year. "The TTT with the result being on each individual is also going to influence things in favour of Jumbo-Visma versus the rest," she says. "They’ve been dominant everywhere and it’ll be no surprise if they lead the race after three days and then try to control the situation to the end. For Pogačar, losing 30 seconds or so isn’t a disaster as the middle portion of the route has all kinds of drama possible."