What can we expect from the Tour de France, which starts in the Spanish Basque Country on Saturday?

The podium for the team presentation is ready, right at the foot of the Guggenheim Museum on the banks of the Nervíon. Yellow banners flutter on the facade of the town hall and the planters on the main street are decorated with wrappers in green, yellow and white-with-red-dots. Bilbao is ready for ‘Le Grand Départ’, the start of the Tour de France. After more than thirty years, the Basque Country will again have the opportunity to see the best cyclists in the world, during three stages that will lead from Saturday through the northern Spanish province where no road is straight or flat; even the metro meanders from district to district.

Five questions on the eve of the 110th edition of the Tour de France.

1 What can we expect from the opening weekend in the Basque Country?

That it will be a madhouse, in the good sense of the word, but possibly also in a negative sense. The Basque fans, always recognizable by the red flag with a green and white cross, are among the most fanatical cycling supporters in the world. They will cheer for everyone, but especially for the seven Basques who will start this Tour.

The first two stages through the Basque hills are classics in miniature, with the executioner on Saturday being the Côte de Pike, a hill with a profile similar to the Wall of Huy on which the Walloon Arrow is decided every year. A mini version of the Clásica San Sebastián will follow on Sunday, including the ascent of the Jaizkibel at the end.

On those decisive climbs it will be packed with enthusiastic fans who will create a great atmosphere. But combined with the many riders who see opportunities for a stage victory and the yellow jersey, plus the nerves that always play tricks on the peloton in the first days of a new grand tour, it can also be a recipe for (big) crashes.

2 What does the rest of the course look like?

It’s going to be a tough tour. Officially, there are eight mountain stages and 71 categorized climbs, including a record thirty second, first or hors category climbs. To compensate, only two journeys are longer than 200 kilometers. In the first week, two tough stages in the Pyrenees are planned, in week two a triptych in the Alps. Ultimately, all five mountain ranges in France – including the Massif Central, the Vosges and the Jura – are visited. The highlight must be the ascent of the Puy de Dôme, a volcano with a famous Tour history, in the heart of France, which is climbed for the first time in 35 years.

In addition, there are quite a few opportunities for the sprinters. At least six stages should in theory culminate in a bunch sprint, and that number could rise to eight if the sprinter teams do their best. The refugees get off badly with four hill stages and the pure time trialists have little to do with this Tour. Only one time trial is planned, over 22 kilometers with a big climb in the second part of the course.

3 How is Tadej Pogacar?

Tadej Pogacar is normally a favorite for the overall victory together with the Dane Jonas Vingegaard. But after the fall of the Slovenian in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, in which he suffered a complicated fracture of the wrist, it remained quiet around Pogacar for a long time. Only last week he showed himself again: he won two titles at the Slovenian championships. Pogacar mainly defeated himself in those matches. On the climb time trial he was one and a half minutes faster than three years ago on the same course. In that corona year 2020 he won his first Tour.

The Slovenian and his team are keeping their cool. UAE team manager Mauro Gianetti surprised Wednesday by announcing that Pogacar will share the lead with Britain’s Adam Yates, who showed good form in the Dauphiné. It is hard to imagine that it will work out that way in practice – Team UAE Emirates has been built around Pogacar for years.

The two-time Tour winner himself acknowledged at a press conference on Thursday that his preparation has been different than normal and that his wrist is not yet as mobile as normal. “But it feels good, it no longer bothers me in the training sessions, so it looks good.”

4 What can we expect from the Dutch riders and teams?

Fourteen Dutch people are participating, divided into eleven teams. Most of them have a role as servants (such as Wilco Kelderman, Dylan van Baarle and Wout Poels) or as sprinters (Danny van Poppel, Cees Bol, Mike Teunissen). There are three debutants: Pascal Eenkhoorn (26), Lars van den Berg (24) and Elmar Reinders (31).

Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen will meet again in the sprint stages. They are the undisputed leaders of their teams and have to sprint for stage victories. For Dutch success in the battle for the ranking, we have to look at the teams: both Jumbo-Visma and Team DSM are aiming for a good ranking with foreign leaders, respectively defending champion Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark and Romain Bardet from France.

And then there is Mathieu van der Poel. He says he is in the shape of his life and impressed two weeks ago in the Tour of Belgium, which he won. Van der Poel is one of the favorites for a stage win and the yellow jersey in the opening weekend. The only question is whether the Basque hills are not too steep for him. He himself said on Thursday that his chances will depend on other riders, including the classification men and recognized punchers as Julian Alaphilippe.

5 Is it still about safety around the Tour start?

After the accident with Gino Mäder, the 26-year-old Swiss who died after a fall in a descent of the Tour of Switzerland, the safety of cycling is once again hotly debated. Most riders keep their heads down: they recognize that things can be safer, but also say that the sport will always have a risk factor.

One person speaks more firmly. For example, Jonathan Vaughters, the team manager of the American EF Education-EasyPost, advocated hanging nets in dangerous descents. Others have also shown support for that plan. “I think it’s a good idea,” said DSM leader Bardet on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the teams, cycling association UCI, cyclists’ union CPA and Tour organizer ASO met to discuss the safety of the course. There was talk of adjustments to stages 14 and 17, which, like the fatal stage in Switzerland, end immediately after a descent, encouraging riders to take a lot of risks. A day later it was announced that the courses will not change, but that new asphalt will be laid in the last descents, turns will be announced with audio signals and extra boarding will be placed in the most dangerous corners.