"The competition will be superior to that of the Giro" - Decathlon AG2R boss insists Tadej Pogacar won't have it all his own way at the Tour de France

After securing himself the first Maglia Rosa of his career at the 2024 Giro d'Italia by just short of ten minutes from his nearest challenger, Tadej Pogacar will switch his attention to the Tour de France at the end of this month as he attempts to become the first man since Marco Pantani to complete a Giro/Tour double.

Unlikely the complete and utter domination that Pogacar had over the Giro d'Italia field however, things are set to be a lot more competitive for the UAE Team Emirates leader at the Tour de France according to Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team boss, Julien Jurdie. "The fight for the yellow jersey of the Tour will be more intense than that for the pink jersey of the Giro, that's a certainty," Jurdie predicts confidently in conversation with Cyclism'Actu.

Nevertheless, Jurdie admits Pogacar will start as the strong pre-race favourite. "Pogacar will arrive with the favourites tag. I think he will manage his month of June very well," Jurdie explains. "Afterwards, I still think there will be a good battle because the competition will be superior to that of the Giro."

In terms of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team's Tour de France hopes, after Ben O'Connor secured 4th place at the Giro d'Italia, Jurdie is hopeful of a similar result from Felix Gall in France. "His objective is of course to be 100% at the start of the Tour and the objective will be to achieve a good general classification. He has the ability to get into the top ten. We have not set huge objectives, we will remain careful, it will only be Felix's second Tour de France," he assesses of Gall's chances. "There will be battles for the yellow jersey, the podium, the top 5 and the top 10, and I think we can put him in the latter. with why not a good surprise. And then I think that, like last year, he will have the opportunity to win a mountain stage on this Tour."