Interestingly, all the sprinters listed at the start in Copenhagen are still in the race for the conclusive stage they love so much at the Tour de France: Caleb Ewan, Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, Wout van Aert, Alexander Kristoff, Alberto Dainese, Mads Pedersen, Danny van Poppel, Hugo Hofstetter, Michael Matthews, Peter Sagan… They’ve fought hard in the mountains to make the time cut, mostly with Paris in mind. Their hunger is bigger than ever as only three stages have finished in a standard bunch gallop, making Jakobsen, Groenewegen and Philipsen winners – but only once. Ewan looks desperate to make it up for a disappointing Tour de France after he left the Giro d’Italia without any win as well. The situation is somehow similar as last year: the pressure is off for Van Aert who already won three stages and secured his first green jersey. There’s no suspense for the distinctive jerseys as Jonas Vingegaard confirmed his superiority by finishing second to Van Aert in the time trial to Rocamadour. He’s the king of the mountains as well. Tadej Pogacar will reach Paris without the yellow jersey for the first time but the white jersey is his consolation price.
