CyclistWho actually are the underdogs for the Tour de France?The Tour de France is getting ever closer. Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike will be aiming for a third consecutive maillot jaune despite injuries sustained in a crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this season.UAE Team Emirates Tadej Pogaar, meanwhile, is aiming to return to the top step with a highly impressive Giro dItalia performance in his legs.Both teams managers are taking the opportunity to play down their riders chances, claiming the other as the clear favourite and positioning their own as underdog. But can we really be calling back-to-back Tour de France winner Vingegaard an underdog? Can a man who just dominated the Giro at a canter be anything but a favourite? Below, weve assessed the pairs chances, along with the other top names, to try to figure out who the underdogs of the 2024 Tour de France actually are. Related Posts The climbs that will decide the 2024 Tour de France How are the favourites preparing for the Tour de France? How much is the 2024 Tour de France prize money? Tour de France history: Pantani goes from hero to legend Mens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to know Underdog contender 1: Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates)Dario Belingheri/Getty ImagesTwo Tour de France victories and Giro dItalia dominance does not an underdog make. But UAE Team Emirates Manager Maxtin Joxean Fernandez pointed the finger at rival Vingegaard as being top billing at the Tour de France, saying in an interview with Sporza that Pogaar was fatigued after the Giro dItalia and that Vingegaard is the big favourite, having been training at altitude for several weeks.Its understandable that three weeks at maximum effort in a Grand Tour would exhaust anyone, let alone someone aiming to win their first Tour de France title since 2021. In May, Pogaar won the Giro dItalia on his debut with relative ease, as expected, with his closest competitor Dani Martnez (Bora-Hansgrohe) finishing almost ten minutes behind.Even if hes Giro-fatigued, the Slovenian star can still rely on the strongest team in the peloton. Adam Yates and Joo Almeida dominated the recent Tour de Suisse, winning two stages apiece and finishing first and second on GC. Both will be riding in support of Pogaar at the Tour alongside a line-up of top-notch talent that also includes 21-year-old super-talent Juan Ayuso.The last man to complete the Giro/Tour double was Marco Pantani in 1998. If anyone could achieve this feat in the current peloton, its Pogaar, or this guyUnderdog ranking: 0/5Underdog contender 2: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)Pauline Ballet/A.S.O.Jonas Vingegaard has won the last two editions of the Tour de France. However, the Dane broke his collarbone and ribs and suffered a punctured lung in a horrible crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April. Its understandable that this has derailed his preparations for a yellow jersey defence.Visma-Lease a Bike said that it took a month before Vingegaard was riding again, announcing his return with a video on social media, in which Vingegaard said, This is the first time back on the bike for me, riding outside, and its really nice to finally be able to ride like normal again. To finally be able to ride on the road has been amazing. Im really looking forward to taking the next steps.Postcard from Tignes. @MatteoJorg pic.twitter.com/5Vdf5zagWc Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) June 16, 2024 He was pictured at the teams last altitude training camp before the start of the Tour alongside most of his teammates for the race in Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Jan Tratnik and Matteo Jorgenson.Its a mighty squad, as usual, and should he be either not at full fitness or just suffering, they have the strength of 2023 Vuelta a Espaa winner Sepp Kuss and the increasingly impressive Matteo Jorgenson who won Paris-Nice and came second at the Dauphin in their ranks should they need another option in the GC battle.Underdog ranking: 1/5Underdog contender 3: Primo Rogli (Bora-Hansgrohe)A.S.O./Billy CeustersThis will be Primo Roglis first Tour de France with his new Bora-Hansgrohe team, which packs some firepower in super-domestiques Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov. Rogli has plenty of experience in winning Grand Tours, having tucked away three consecutive Vuelta a Espaa titles and a Giro dItalia maglia rosa. But the Tour de France is the one that has evaded him.Rogli finished just off the podium in 2018. In 2020, he lost the yellow jersey on a dramatic final day of racing as Pogaar claimed the top spot after a dominant time-trial display on La Planche des Belles Filles. In both 2021 and 2022 he abandoned through injuries sustained after crashing.If he manages to avoid hitting the ground this year (and its a big if, he was another caught up in the Itzulia crash that took Vingegaard out), Rogli should be able to maintain a strong place on GC. Especially considering hes already won the warm-up in the Critrium du Dauphin.Underdog ranking: 2/5Underdog contender 4: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)A.S.O./Billy CeustersRemco Evenepoel completes the big four of favourites despite this being his first outing on the Tour de France rollercoaster. Yet the 24-year-old is no newcomer, he already has the palmars of a seasoned vet.The two-times World Champion won the 2022 Vuelta a Espaa at just 22 years of age. Given Belgiums rich legacy in cycling, the expectations on Evenepoels shoulders are huge, with the country looking to celebrate its first Tour winner since Lucien Van Impe in 1976.Evenepoel will undoubtedly be one to watch. He said in December last year that state his aim was to make it to the top 5, but since he came down hard in the Itzulia crash there will surely be less pressure for a big result here. This is scheduled to be his only Grand Tour of the season though, providing good reason to go all out. Hell certainly be a favourite for the time-trials.Underdog ranking: 3/5Underdog contender 5: Carlos Rodrguez (Ineos Grenadiers)A.S.O./Billy CeustersOn to the actual underdogs now; dismiss Carlos Rodrguez at your peril. The 23-year-old placed 5th at last years Tour de France, which earned him a revelation title, as did his impressive victory on Stage 14 the hectic mountain stage that saw motorbikes hold up a Pogaar attack.He has been flying this season too, winning his first WorldTour stage race in the Tour de Romandie as his development continues. A Tour de France podium is calling his name and the Ineos Grenadiers team, including former winners Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas, will surely be a big help to get him there.Underdog ranking: 4/5Underdog contender 6: Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla)Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesThis might be the last time Simon Yates has a direct shot at the Tour de France GC, with rumours that he may be riding for Visma-Lease a Bike in 2025, where leadership will be hard to fight for.Yates won the 2019 Vuelta a Espaa ahead of Enric Mas (Movistar), holding the jersey for the majority of the race. His best result at the Tour de France came in 2023, where he finished just off the podium behind his twin brother Adam (UAE Team Emirates).But for this year, Jayco-AlUlas sports director Tristan Hoffman said to Dutch website In de Leiderstrui, A stage victory in the Tour can be just as important as, for example, finishing fifth [overall] lets just present both options to him reaching the podium will be very difficult.Yates is a determined stage hunter, having already won in all three Grand Tours, his most successful being the Giro dItalia, so this might be his true target. As for a GC battle, well see how that goes.Underdog ranking: 5/5Underdog contender 7: Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesOlympic champion Richard Carapaz was forced to abandon the recent Tour de Suisse but is still focussed on the Tour de France. Fortunately the injuries sustained in a crash on Stage 4 in Switzerland were not severe and the move was said to be taken as more of a precaution.Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian cyclist to win the Giro dItalia in 2019 while racing for Movistar. He shone towards the end of the second week particularly, thriving on the mountain slopes and claiming victory on Stage 14, which allowed him to pull the maglia rosa onto his shoulders and never let it go.The EF Education-EasyPost team are one that can be found lighting up races and are perhaps more suited to stage hunting than having a focus on the yellow jersey. But when needed to help Carapaz on GC, you can be sure theyve got the talent to try. Its finding the balance between helping Carapaz and stage hunting that will be key for the team this July.Underdog ranking: 5/5Underdog contender 8: Enric Mas (Movistar)Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesIn the past, Movistar has made the mistake of having too many leaders at a Grand Tour, who ended up cancelling each other out. This year Enric Mas will be Movistars sole leader at the Tour de France. Despite never reaching the top step of the podium, Mas has thrice finished in second at his home Grand Tour of the Vuelta a Espaa.It never seems to click for Mas at the Tour; his best-placed result is 5th at the 2020 edition, while his last two have been DNFs. In 2022 he was forced to abandon before Stage 19 with Covid and in 2023 he broke his shoulder after crashing on the opening stage.Looking at results in stage races this season, Mas has finished fifth at the Volta a Catalunya, sixth at the Tour de Romandie and seventh at the Tour de Suisse. Its hard to see a jump to the yellow jersey, but on his day Mas is still entertaining to watch he possesses a die-hard spirit on the bike, battling to the finish no matter what.Underdog ranking: 5/5For more on the Tour de France, visit our hub page. Related Posts The climbs that will decide the 2024 Tour de France How are the favourites preparing for the Tour de France? How much is the 2024 Tour de France prize money? Tour de France history: Pantani goes from hero to legend Mens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to know The post Who actually are the underdogs for the Tour de France? appeared first on Cyclist.