He Francia Tour It is not just a battle between The Vingergaard Jonas Tadej. It is also a war of structures, of blocks that push their leaders towards glory. And, in that collective struggle, UAE Team y Visma They present themselves as the two most powerful armies of the Large loop. The UAE arrives with a fearsome arsenal.
Pogacar, indisputable number one in the world, is escorted by a height -refined group, led by Joao Almeida -capaz of being a leader in any other team- and underpinned by Adam Yates, Marc Soler, Pavel Sivakov and Jhonatan Narváez for the mountain. In the plain, Politt and Wellens ensure armor. With 11 victories this season, including the recent Dauphiné, the Slovenian seems unabordable.
But if something has taught the tour is that individual force needs a choral strategy. There could be the only mole of UAE: they dominate by brute force, but sometimes they sin of some tactical errors. “We carried the team we wanted. We are not obsessed only with visma, we analyzed the rivals, but we look at Notros,” Matxin told Marca in Granada.
A team job
Visma, on the other hand, lives its ability to stir races. Its leader Jonas Vingegaard has competed less (19 days) than Pogacar, but never fails in July. Beside him, a Matteo Jorgenson in full hatching -wondered until 2029 -, a wout van Art versatile and devastating, and a mountain trident with SEPP Kuss, Simon Yates and Ben Tulett who could lead any other team.
Its strength is in depth, in its capacity for controlled chaos: guerrillas in the first week, strategic leaks, fans …. will not win by watts, but by tension. On paper, UAE has more muscle; Visma, more fang. With a nervous tour until the 12th stage, the teams will be key. It will not be a total face to face. The board is ready. Now we need to see who can move the pieces better.
