LILLE: The Tour de France sets off Saturday with superstar Tadej Pogacar and his rival Jonas Vingegaard sharing top billing with the magnificent 3,338-kilometre route itself.

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.

France has been wilting under a heatwave this week, but the race`s sole African rider Biniam Girmay was unfazed by this.

And with hordes of Belgian fans pouring across the nearby border Remco Evenepoel will be well supported in his bid to reachfurther than his third man billing.

`I`ll go all in all the way, promised the Olympic and world time-trial champion.

Often described as the most beautiful stadium in the world, the Tour route roves across thenorth 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 the straight talking Evenepoel.Team UAE`s Pogacar starts as red-hot favourite with fans and bookmakers alike, and he can silence any remaining doubters bybeating arch-rivalVingegaard 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 Pd better get ahead a bit early on with some bonus seconds,` he said.

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 enthral-ling 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 on Friday his team had come to win, but both he and Vingegaard were keeping mum about what their plan was.

Pogacar certainly seemed relaxed when he spoke to the press at the magnificent Lille Opera.

`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.`-AFP