Jonas Vingegaard eyeing ‘special’ repeat victory in 2023 Tour de France as teams are presented

Jonas Vingegaard is looking to repeat a “special” win as he bids to defend his Tour de France title.

As defending champion, Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma were the last of the men’s teams to take to the stage – with the focus on the Dane.

“For sure I want to try to go for it again,” Vingegaard said. “It was very special to win it last year and it is special to be here as the defending champion.”

Vingegaard’s team-mate Wout van Aert won the green jersey 12 months ago, but the Belgian suggested that may not be the highest objective.

“I really enjoyed last year’s Tour de France, but this year we have slightly different objectives trying to win stages and the overall with a super-strong leader,” Van Aert said.

Riders made their way to the stage on their bikes, and the first to be presented were Bahrain Victorious.

With the Bahrain riders on the stage, a minute’s silence was respected for their team-mate Gino Mader who died at the recent Tour of Switzerland.

“It is for sure probably a hard start for myself,” Girmay said on Eurosport. “I try to do my best and see where we are, but the first two stages will be hard.

“We will then see in the coming days after that to see what we can do.”

It did not have a summer feel in Bilbao, as many in the crowd were holding umbrellas to shield from the rain.

Mark Cavendish was given a warm welcome onto the stage, with the Brit chasing a 35th win to break out of a tie with Eddy Merckx for most Tour de France stage victories.

“I have always had incredible memories of the Tour de France,” Cavendish said on the stage. “To win 34 I have got to be happy. To win one stage you have to be happy, so if I can win one more I will be even more happy.”

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