UAE’s sports manager expects Visma to go all in for Jonas Vingagaard in the last week of the 2024 Tour de France in their attempt to recover the 3 minutes that separate the Danish rider from Tadej Pogacar.
“We expect attacks, we expect movements, but we have confidence in Tadej and the team,” the Spaniard said. “Three minutes is a perfect situation, but in one day a lot can change.
“Right now, I think the advantage we have is comfortable. Visma would have to move like they did today [on stage 15], and we’ll try to defend ourselves and see if we can finish with the character we’ve shown so far.”
“The last three stages are very difficult,” Matxin noted. “We have been in Isola for the [June] training camp, especially to see the last two road stages and the time trial.
“We know them, we climbed up to Bonette at 2,800m, and Friday and Saturday are very difficult. The Sunday time trial [in Nice] is also very complicated. We are going to have to be careful and trust in our cyclists and our plan.”
Tadej Pogacar could become the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro and Tour in the same year.
“It’s not that Tadej is getting better, but he has a great recovery,” Matxin said. “Maybe he rode the Giro d’Italia without exerting himself and being in the red and he has a fantastic daily recovery.”
