When do Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard race again as Tour de France rematch looms in July?

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) have gone blow for blow in the early part of the 2023 season as the pair look set to for another battle royale at July’s Tour de France.

With just two-and-a-half months before Le Grand Depart, how are the two riders preparing for the race that will define their year?

POGACAR TAPERING HIS CALENDAR

Like last year, the Slovenian has continued his focus on the shorter races in the early months of 2023.

After winning the Giro di Lombardia Monument last year, he followed that up by taking his first Flanders crown earlier this month after streaking clear of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) in the closing stages.

That means he has now won three of the five Monuments, with just Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix still to tick off.

In the coming weeks, Pogacar will feature at the Amstel Gold Race (April 16) and then at Fleche Wallonne (April 19) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege (April 23) – all one-day Classics.

Last year some questioned whether Pogacar’s early-season calendar left him overcooked for the Tour, but UAE Team Emirates sports director Fabio Baldato says there is method to their approach.

“We have seen riders who can win Amstel Gold Race and Liege and win the Tour [de France],” he said.

“With two peaks, it’s possible to prepare for the Classics, and then recover, and then have a big chance at the Tour. We saw last year that he likes the Classics. We are excited to go back there with him.

“Of course, Tadej wants to win the Tour again. We made an analysis of what happened last year in the Tour, what might have been a mistake, and what we can do better in the Tour.

“Tadej wants to win all the races, not just the Tour.”

As it stands, Pogacar’s only scheduled race between Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour, which starts on July 1, is the five-day Tour of Slovenia between June 14-18.

VINGEGAARD TO TAKE LENGTHY RACE BREAK

Vingegaard was all business at Itzulia Basque Country, seemingly not using all his gears as he romped to a comfortable victory over nearest challenger Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious).

And after not seeing much of the Dane in 2023 to date, it will be more of the same in the spring as he is set to ride only the Criterium du Dauphine between now and the Tour.

That said, the Criterium should get significant race miles in Vingegaard’s legs, with the eight stages including visits to the Jura and Alps mountain ranges.

“I think I am in a better place, my shape I think is better now,” Vingegaard said after his win in the Basque Country, when comparing his form to a year ago.

“It’s a long time until the Tour de France. You can still have a peak now, then have a rest period, and then build towards the Tour.

“At least for me, I don’t think – or maybe I can – I can be in Tour shape twice a year.”

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