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Van Vleuten, who won last year’s inaugural edition, is entering Stage 1 with high hopes of a successful title defence but feels the momentum instead lies with her compatriot.
“Demi Vollering showed this year that she is the number one favourite, I think,” van Vleuten told the media in Clermont-Ferrand.
“She is at a super strong level, and I was not able to beat her (on the climbs at La Vuelta). In the end, I did win La Vuelta, but it was also a special situation, and on the uphills, she showed that she was stronger.”
Despite the Movistar rider’s prediction, several other riders could yet pose a threat to the maillot jaune and the 40-year-old invited more to enter the fray.
“I hope that we have more riders going for the GC with a bigger battle than Demi Vollering and me, we need more nationalities fighting each other in the finals to keep the races more interesting,” she said.
“I hope it will be a mistake, so far, if you see through the spring and on the uphill, maybe it’s realistic to say that it will be a duel and people love to see it.
“But sometimes we underestimate, a bit, the other competitors. I hope there will be more competitors that make our lives really hard and that we see a battle on the Tourmalet.”
Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ) and Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) are just a few van Vleuten tipped to impress, but so, too, could Juliette Labous (DSM), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon/SRAM), Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) and, of course, Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma).
“If you are not on team Demi Vollering and not on team Annemiek, then for sure, you are going to make a plan for the first six stages to disturb that battle between Demi and me,” van Vleuten explained.
“I expect some fireworks, and that is also what makes the racing nice.”
“People love to see a duel,” she added. “Whether it’s Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert (in cyclo-cross and Spring Classics), it’s what the media love to see.
“I love seeing a bigger battle with more people. I think it’s more interesting.
“But if I can entertain a lot of people by having a duel between the two of us, so be it, the most important thing is that I am in the fight for the yellow jersey.
“Whoever is joining me in that fight, I will see.”
