Pogagnard claimed his second yellow jersey at the age of just 22 as a potential rider to challenge the likes of Bernard Hinault and Eddie Mercks in the Tour de France title leaderboard. But the last 2 French grand tours are wrong for the Slovenians at the hands of Danish GC star Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma).
The 2024 route was revealed on Wednesday, with a different route than the past two editions. This is an edition that is unlikely to be decided until the final race with the clock at the French Riviera on Stage 21.
"The route is fun. I really like the first week, it's a bit harder than the past few years. You will have to arrive in good shape from the start of the tour," Poganyar told L'Equipe.
"There is a difference in altitude, finishing for the sprinter, two time trials, this is super exciting. The mountain stage is pretty normal and there's nothing normal, but it looks really good to me. Especially in the last 3 days, I think the race will be decided."
The last three stages could cause a complete overhaul of the general classification after 18 already challenging days of racing. When the back-to-back Summit ends in Stages 19 and 20, the tour returns to the Isola 2000 ski Station in the Southern Alps for the first time since 1993.
The prelude to the summit finish is two equally difficult climbs on a short 145km stage - from Col de Valls to 2109 metres, the highest road in France is to Simé de la Bonnet at 2,802 metres.
Vingegaard could be preferred over his fierce competitor Pogañar, given his exploits over 2000m in the past two tours, but these are technically not the classic end of the tour where he Mona
"We probably have a difficult finish in the last three stages. It is not; Here, the last three days are super difficult, without the Champs-Elysees, which are usually reserved for sprinters," said Pogagnard.
"The Monaco and Nice time trials are very interesting and I'm really looking forward to it, but we have to arrive at this final stage with good legs to win.
"It will be special to spend a tour on the road where I train most of the year. Just looking at the profile at the end of the tour will make me smile. It's really full of promise"
Poganyar surpassed Vingegar in this year's Paris-Nice Stage 20, the summit at Cordraquirol (7.1% at 15.7 km), the climb classified into 3 categories included the other stalwart from the race to the sun, Col de Braus (10 km at 6.6 km). Col de Turini (20.7% at 5.7 km) and Col de La Colmiane (7.5% at 7.1 km).
Vingegaard attended the presentation and showed clear excitement about the difficulty of the 2024 Tour de France. He and Poganyar are lined up to become big favourites for next year's race alongside Dane's former team-mates Primoš Rogic (who recently moved to Bora Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep).
Poganyal's 2024 program is still undecided, with rumors of Giro d'Italia's debut circulating for the incredibly versatile Slovenian, alongside his desire to win an Olympic gold medal in Paris. Still, the winner of the 2nd degree should want to return to his place on the podium of the Tour de France.
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