Jose De Cauwer: "More and more riders are skipping the Tour or approaching the Tour de France in a different way. I think it is a good thing for cycling"
Cycling
With many riders already revealing their calendars for the 2024 season, much has been made of the Tour de France plans of Tadej Pogacar and the absence of the Grand Tour from Wout van Aert's race program.
"More and more riders - and especially top riders - are skipping the Tour or approaching the Tour de France in a different way. That is noticeable and I think it is a good thing for cycling," says Sporza's Belgian analyst, Jose De Cauwer. "Organizer ASO cannot ignore that signal. They must stop pretending that the other races are a side issue."
Although admittedly, Tadej Pogacar is riding a Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double, De Cauwer believes winning the Giro has become the Slovenian's main priority in 2024. "When Pogacar said he would ride the Giro, I already thought 'phew', even before we knew whether he would also go for the Tour," he says. "There is much more than the Tour de France in a season and he said it that way himself."
Wout van Aert will be skipping the Tour de France altogether in 2024. "He does it differently and he is right. It is a good change," says De Cauwer. "There is much more than the Tour, but there is also much more than the Tour of Flanders, also for Van Aert. Although the whole story of Visma-Lease a Bike was pinned on him and those 2 monuments yesterday. I read that he is relaxed, but he puts everything on the Tour and Roubaix. So nothing has changed in that area. And that is logical."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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🇧🇪 Wout van Aert's 2024 goals: ✅ Ronde van Vlaanderen ✅ Paris - Roubaix ✅ Giro d'Italia ✅ Olympics ✅ Vuelta ✅ World Championships
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