The antagonisms write the legend and cycling does not remember anything similar to that of Vingegaard and Pogacar. Two Tours now for each one, the scene of the real battles, although in those of the Slovenian the Dane was not yet a rival: it was on Mont Ventoux, in 2021, where he realized his dimension, although it was already too late for that dispute.

At the end of the historic 2023 edition, with a winner and a loser, even clearer than in 2022, the two contenders praise each other and meet without referral for a year from now. And from now on there are speculations about whether Pogacar will change something in his strategy, whether Vingengaard will keep everything the same. And even if someone will be able to sneak into an anthology fight.

«If everything goes well, next year I want to come back, come back even stronger. We will try to prepare as well as possible for the next battle with Jonas and the Jumbo. There may be other young people who are there and get into the fight. In any case, there is a good future ahead”, predicts the applicant. There are three names above the rest, three candidates to break an era. Or at least to put an animation point.

The first of them is Carlos Rodríguez and he earned it in his own right on the Tour of his debut. At 22, he was still far from Vingegaard and Pogacar, but from his progression and the lessons learned, an enormous future is predicted. It will be necessary to see if the sexitano confronts him at the controls of Ineos or those of Movistar, a team with which he has signed a pre-contract.

The list continues with Remco Evenepoel, the Belgian phenomenon who has already warned that in 2024, a Tour that will not end as usual in Paris (it will start from Italy and its last day will be in Nice because of the Olympic Games), the gala round will be its great objective. Winner of the 2022 Vuelta, for which he will fight again in a few weeks against Vingegaard, Roglic and company, there are also doubts about which jersey he will attempt his assault with. The world champion wants the Ineos, although the Soudal Quick-Step has already anticipated that it is not for sale. Excellent time trialist, in his case the big question will be how he will perform in the high mountains. A test that he could not pass in the last Giro, in which he abandoned due to Covid.

And the third proper name is that of Juan Ayuso, the young Spaniard who dreams of a Tour in which he has not yet debuted. Your problem comes from your contract. He signed an extension with the UAE Emirates until 2028, the same as Pogacar. Impossible to discuss the leadership of the Slovenian in the Tour, due to character and ambition, a coexistence would not seem easy either.

A handful of applicants and a question about Pogacar and his way of going to the Grande Boucle. One of the criticisms of the Slovenian has focused on his ambition in the spring, where he swept away winning almost everything (Jaén, Tour of Andalusia, Paris-Nice, Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Flecha Wallona…) until his accident in Liège. «I like challenges, this year's was to win Paris-Nice, Sanremo, Flanders, the Ardennes… Maybe next year we'll do it differently, it's still early. What is 90% certain is that I will return to the Tour and try to win, “he explained on Saturday in Le Markstein, who spoke about the lessons learned from another painful defeat against Vingegaard:” I have learned that I am capable of suffering when I feel like shit. I have been able to overcome it and hold on, it has been a great lesson for me. We take interesting lessons from this Tour.”