The 112th edition of the Tour de France, the worlds greatest cycling race,sets off from the northern French city of Lilleon Saturday. The main contenders for the leaders yellow jersey are once again Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, who between them have won the five last Tours. FRANCE 24 previews the race, focussing on14 riders and six rivalries that will stir debate.

PogacarVingegaard: Duel for the yellow jersey

Between them SlovenianTadej Pogacarand DaneJonas Vingegaardhave won everyTour de Franceof the past five years. This year they should once again be far ahead of the pack in chasingvictory.

For the first time in three years, both riders are coming to the Tour at peak physical fitness: in 2023, Pogacars Tour preparation was hampered by a fracturedwrist, while in 2024 Vingegaard competed in the Tour despite suffering a terrible crash and a punctured lung in a race in April.

Pogacar seems to be untouchable. After a flawless 2024 season, the Slovenian has extended his winning recordin 2025, with victories in the UAE Tour, Tour of Flanders, Flche Wallonne and Lige-Bastogne-Lige races. In the last Critrium du Dauphin race,Pogacaroutclassed his Danish rival so completely that it seemed like a display of arrogance.

Vingegaard can still have high hopes, as July is when he is at his strongest. Pogacar couldbe vulnerable given the effort he has expended in the first half of the year.

Read moreNetherland's Van der Poel pounces past Pogacar to secure Milan-San Remo double

RoglicEvenepoel: Fighting for what's left of the podium

Barring crashes, Vingegaard and Pogacar are the only contenders for the top two spots in the race.That leaves just one place on the podium a place targeted by a number of outsiders, starting withRemco EvenepoelandPrimoz Roglic.

For his second appearance in the Tour de France, Evenepoel, a Belgian who rides for the Soudal-Quickstep team, has big ambitions. He finished thirdlast year, while also earningthe white jersey for best young rider, and is aiming to reprise his performance and even win another stage. The time trial in the Norman city of Caen in Stage 5 is already in his sights. Evenepoel won two Olympic gold medals incyclingin 2024 and lets it be known that he wants to give the two Tour favourites a run for their money.

Faced with this trio of young riders, 35-year-old veteran Roglic is still hoping to win his first Tour de France, the only Grand Tour race the other two arethe Giro in Italyand the Vuelta in Spain that he has not won.

Since his withdrawal from this yearsGiro after multiple crashes, he has been training away from the public eye. His team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has provided him with bodyguards, secondary riders to safely escort him along the course until the mountain stages begin on July 14. It will then be up to Roglic to shine, bringing all hisexperience to bear.

And if Roglic isnt able to finish the race, as has been the case in his last three Tours, the door will be wide open forFlorian Lipowitz, his young lieutenant, who has had a remarkableseason so far this year.

JorgensonAlmeida: Battle of the ambitious lieutenants

Both Pogacar and Vingegaard are coming to the Tour de Francewith their own "dream team" of riders. Vingegaards Dutch team VismaLease a Bikefeatures Simon Yates, Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss and Wout Van Aert, while UAE Team Emirates XRGhas Joo Almeida, Adam Yates and Pavel Sivakov to support the reigning Tour champion Pogacar.

Read morePogacar hails 'golden age' of cycling after securing third Tour de France title

Each of these secondary riders would be capable of competing for a top place in the overall race if a team were built around them. Even while assisting their leaders, the strongest among them could still make it onto the podium, just as Yates did in 2023. On the Visma side, the American Jorgenson perhaps has a chance for a top finish. He won this years Paris-Nice race after stepping in at short notice to replace Vingegaard, who crashed and suffered a concussion at the fifth stage of the race.

A rider fromUAE Team Emirates,Joo Almeidais one to watch even team leader Pogacar may keep tabs on him. The Portuguese rider is the best stage race rider of 2025. He won the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour of Romandie and the Tour of Switzerland in succession. Whether he would put his personal ambitions ahead of supporting the all-conquering Pogacar is an open question.

VauquelinMartin-Guyonnet: Who will be the best Frenchman?

Bernard Hinault was the last Frenchman to win the Tour in 1985, andthe chances of a French winner this year are slim. For a Frenchman to win, the other riders would have to fall down, Hinault said this week. But even if winning the Tour is not in the cards, there are contenders to capture the hearts of French cycling fans.

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Two Normandy-born riders are likely candidates to find favour with home fans. The first,Kvin Vauquelin,is currently on a roll. He came close to victory in the Tour of Switzerland, has the talent to shine in time trials and distinguished himself last year by winning the second stageof the Tour in Bologna,Italy. This years sixth stage starts in his home town, Bayeux, and will be a good opportunity to showcase his abilities.

Guillaume Martin-Guyonnetalso has a positive track record in his favour. He has been the most consistent Frenchman in the Tour de France in recent years, finishing in the top 15 every year since 2019. Having joined the GroupamaFDJteam this winter, the 32-year-old leader won't have many teammates to help him in the mountains, but has rarely needed them. He should be competitive in the general classification, while also aiming for a stage win. The sixth stage will pass through his home town of Sainte-Honorine-la-Chardonne one indication of his growing popularity in French cycling.

Van Aertvan der Poel: Celebrated rivals battle it out in the first week

A casual glance at the 2025 route might suggest that the Tour is regressing, going back to the time when the first half of the course was designed for those taking a siesta rather than providing drama to capture the public's attention. Race director Christian Prudhomme says this is not the case: the route is deceptive, a "trompe l'oeil" with hazardseverywhere.

The first week should be a treat for the puncher-sprinters, riders who excel over terrain of short steep climbs, including the hilly stage finales in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, Rouen, Vire and Mr-de-Bretagne.Mathieu van der PoelandWout van Aertare ideal riders for this kind of stage. They will be able to show their stuff if their respective teams are willing to give them free rein.

Thetwo have known each other since competing in junior competitions and are set to continue their epic rivalry, considered one of the greatest in cycling history.Van der Poel has had a near-perfect first half of the season, winning both the Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix races and finishing second in the Tour of Flanders. He is inevitably the favourite in the duel with van Aert.

Van der Poel comes from a family of professional cyclists, including his grandfather, the celebrated French cyclist Raymond Poulidor.

But will he be allowed to show how good a rider he is? In recent Tours, he has been content to play the role of high-profile lieutenant for his teammate Philipsen.

And what state will Wout van Aert be in? Over the years the Belgian has had a string of setbacks. Out of form in the Classics races,he performed betterat the Giro by winning the Gubbio-Siena stage, thenriding in support of his teammates Olav Klooj (two stage wins) and Simon Yates (overall victory).He may have regained the form that willallow him to compete with his Dutch rival Van der Poel again.

MilanPhilipsenMerlier: Three contenders for top sprinter

This year, there will be ample opportunity for riders to see who has the most powerful quadriceps in the pack an honour decided among the sprinters. The course route includes seven flat stages which, on paper, should end in amassive sprint to the finish.

Read moreGirmay wins Tour de France stage eight as Pogacar retains overall lead

BelgianJasper Philipsenhas dominated the sprints inthe Tour for the last three years and will be going all out for his tenth stage win and hoping for more. His 2025 season has so far been a little sub-par, which could leave the door open to his sprint competitors.

In six years as a professional,Tim Merlierhas racked up 60 wins. The Belgian rider from Soudal Quick-Step is in great form, having already won ten races this year, including four victories in the World Tour cycling series. Also worth noting isJonathan Milan, a rising talent among the sprinters. The lanky Lidl-Trek rider has big ambitions for his first Tour de France, having won every World Tour stage race in which he has taken part.

This article has been translated from theoriginal in French.

Originally published on France24