“I’m excited to start the Tour, the last few months haven’t always been easy. We worked together to get to this moment and, obviously, I will have to understand where I am at but I feel good and very motivated.” There are no more doubts: Jonas Vingegaard next week he will be regularly at the start of the Tour de France and will also be able to count on, among others Wout van Aert. So once all the doubts have vanished, it will now be a matter of understanding what their condition will be after the injuries that stopped them in recent months even if it seems clear that if Visma Lease a Bike he decided to let them go because he has more than acceptable feedback on the fact that his two champions will not be extras. Van Aert had fallen on 27 March while running the Dwars door Vlaanderen, suffering fractures to his sternum, clavicle and some ribs, Vingegaard had been out of action since 4 April, the day in which he ended up on the ground in the Basque Country in Spain, suffering a fracture of his clavicle, several ribs and a pneumothorax. So good. Good for the two-time winner of the Grande Boucle who will try to defend his title from the onslaught of Tadej Pogacar who is aiming for a double after the Giro victory; good for Van Aert, who skipped the Northern classics and the Giro d’Italia and who will try to leave his mark on the French roads and good for the Tour which acquires two sure protagonists who will certainly put on a show. “I am very proud of Jonas, Wout and the team of coaches who helped them recover from serious injuries – admitted the team’s sporting director Merijn Zeeman – In recent weeks he has shown himself to be a champion, both mentally and physically. Of course, we don’t yet know how far they can go. We are cautious because Jonas’ preparation has been far from ideal, but he will be there at the start, healthy and motivated”. The Tour will see Visma in great shape at the start. In addition to Vingegaard and Van Aert, the winner of the last Vuelta will start Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman and Jan Tratnik . The 2024 Tour, number 111, will start on June 29th and end on July 21st: 3,492 km scheduled with the first three stages on our roads. The first, 206 km from Florence to Rimini; the second, 200 km from Cesenatico to Bologna; the third, 229 km from Piacenza to Turin. On the fourth day we start from Pinerolo and then enter France and face Sestriere, Montgenevre and Galibier. Two time trials: one individual 25km from Nuits Saint Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin, the other on the last day of 34km from Monaco to Nice. There will be dirt roads and cobblestones and obviously there will be climbs: in the Massif Central, with the finish line in Le Lioran and then the Pyrenees with the inevitable arrival in Pau before the high altitude arrivals in Saint Lary Soulan (Pla d’Adet) in Plateau de Beille, in Isola 2000 and on the Col de la Couillole.