From a more human Pogačar to a Cavendish stage win, here are the top five things I want from the 2024 Tour de France.

1. Tadej Pogačar looking even vaguely human

Poggy’s extra-terrestrial Giro performance switched on my inner cynic and switched me off any tappa that looked like it might lean toward the GC ‘contest’. The Slovenian was untouchable, on a planet of his own, his ‘competitors’ impotent spectators to what we can only hope is generational greatness. At the Tour I’d most like to see him coming back down to earth a little, or for those below to rise toward his level – see number 2 below.

2. An (at least) four-way GC battle

The Tour de France is always enjoyable but you need a proper GC battle for a classic edition. Before the mass crash at April’s Itzulia Basque Country, the 2024 Tour looked set to be an explosive showdown between defending champion Jonas Vinegaard, last year’s runner up Tadej Pogačar, Slovenian veteran Primož Roglič, and Tour debutant Remco Evenepoel. The Basque crash left Vinegaard, Roglič and Evenepoel battered and broken and threw an Eiffel-sized spanner in the works of their Tour preparations. At the time of writing, Vinegaard’s status is still in doubt. We can only hope the injured trio have recovered enough to put up a half decent fight against an injury-free Poggy who looked otherworldly at May’s Giro (see number 1 above).

Jonas Vinegaard gives a thumbs up to number 2 on my list.

3. Mark Cavendish winning a stage

The 2023 Tour was supposed to be Cav’s swansong and his final shot at winning Tour stage number 35 and besting the record for most stages he jointly holds with the great Eddy Merckx. Then came his crash on stage 8 and the swansong was put on ice for a year. Cav is indisputably the greatest-ever road sprinter and doesn’t need another Tour win to confirm that greatness. But the Tour is all about the sub plots, the stories within the story, and this will be one to watch, an ageing David against young fast-twitch Goliaths like defending green jersey Jasper Philipsen. Gone are the days of the dominant HTC express sprint train; if the Manx Missile is to make history (again) it will need to be a victory for the Astana underdogs.

Thomas Voeckler – the archetypal plucky showman

4. French success

Just as you need a tight GC battle to make a classic edition, the Tour always has that extra je ne sais quoi when there’s a winning (or almost winning) home hero or two for the locals to cheer on. Think 2011 and plucky showman Thomas Voeckler, 2019 with plucky showmen Julian ‘Loulou’ Alaphillipe and Thibaut Pinot, or last year with plucky showman Thibaut Pinot (again) almost winning, and Victor Lafay actually winning. Ideally we’ll have someone like David Gaudu up there on GC, and the Decathlon dream team battling Cofidis and Arkea for stage wins. Allez les bleus!

5. The breakaway making it

I’m contradicting myself and number 3 on this list a little here but, apart from crosswinds, the only thing that can shatter the dull monotony of a long, flat Tour sprint stage is a breakaway with an actual chance of holding on to the finish. There’s nothing quite like watching the struggle play out between the hare of the break and the hounds of the chasing pack. Does the break have the strength and cohesion to hold them off? Have the sprinters’ teams timed it right or given the escapees too much leash? On the one hand you want to see the chaos and power of the bunch gallop. On the other hand you’re cheering on the underdog, hoping they can somehow overcome the odds.

What do you want from the Tour?

Nineties-style drug busts? The race decided by the final time trial? The first-ever crash-less edition? What do you most want from the 2024 Tour de France? Let me know in the comments and I’ll put in a word with Christian Prudhomme.