The China Mail - Rivals ready to rock as fans flood in for Tour de France opener

Title contenders Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were promising to steer clear of any scrapes to avoid picking up an early injury in the 21-day excursion around France.

Instead sprinters such as Belgium's Jasper Philipsen and Italian Jonathan Milan are the men to beat on a flat but frenetic opening run around Lille, where partying fans have been gathering this week.

After starts in Florence, Bilbao and Copenhagen, and with upcoming editions in Barcelona and Edinburgh, cycling's most prestigious race has an old school itinerary this year raced exclusively in France and favouring climbers.

But with the race starting in the northern city of Lille, fans from cycling-mad Belgium have been flooding across the nearby border.

- All in all the way -

They have come to cheer on Remco Evenepoel in his bid to reach further than his third man billing.

"I'll go all in all the way," promised the double Olympic champion.

Often described as the most beautiful stadium in the world, the Tour route roves across the north coast to the west of Brittany, before heading south through the Massif Central and the first mountain stage on day 10.

"Everybody knows that's when the real race begins," said Evenepoel.

Team UAE's Pogacar starts as red-hot favourite with fans and bookmakers alike, and he can silence any remaining doubters by beating arch-rival Vingegaard of Visma.

Pogacar has won three Tour de France and has 99 professional wins, so will almost certainly hit his century here, maybe in the first week.

"Jonas might be stronger in the mountains, so I'd better get ahead a bit early on with some bonus seconds," he said.

- 'Intense rivalry' -

Glimpses of Pogacar and Vingegaard going head-to-head on the Alpine slopes or along the panoramic roads of the French Riviera provide tension, drama and sporting rivalry as enthralling as any involving the old-time legends.

Vingegaard tends to focus on a single-mission strategy, awaiting one big moment to spring a deeply considered killer move at a meticulously chosen spot.

Visma team boss Grischa Niermann insisted Friday his team had come to win, but both he and Vingegaard were keeping mum about what their plan was.

"I'm on the highest level that I've ever been," said Vingegaard, the 2022 and 2023 winner.

"If we didn't think we could win, we wouldn't be sat here," said Niermann.

- See-saw title struggle -

Pogacar certainly seemed relaxed when he spoke to the press at the Lille opera house.

"The last five years have been intense between me and Jonas," Pogacar said. "It's a great competition and rivalry and it will be interesting to see if the title changes hands again."

The volcanoes of the Puy de Dome present the first mountains as late as stage 10, with two more colossal climb days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.

But before any dash towards the eventual finish line on the Champs-Elysees there is one final twist.

A last-minute addition to the 2025 route is a nod to the 2024 Olympic Games road race, which drew vast crowds to the old Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre.

On the final day a cauldron of noise up the narrow cobbled climb to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica provides one last obstacle, after which the winner will be crowned.

Q.Yam--ThChM