But where were we left off with the press review? Just over a month ago the newspapers were hailing Vingegaard's dominance at the Giro and Milan's victory in the Roman sprint. Now, to echo the title of L'Équipe, the collective invitation "VAMOS!" is directed at three musketeers whose faces grace the cover in a somewhat collector's poster style, perhaps the creation of a graphic designer, perhaps artificial intelligence, most likely both.

In the composite image, meanwhile, the Sagrada Familia cannot be missing, to geolocate the starting point, as if the title weren't enough... They attest from the Aso house newspaper that "Tadej Pogačar is the great favorite for the 113th edition of the Tour de France – his kingdom – where he will seek to equal the record of five victories. He will have to contend with his historic rival Jonas Vingegaard and the electrifying Paul Seixas, whose debut is greatly increasing anticipation". A nice touch from top correspondent Alexandre Roos, who recalls how on the occasion of the Florence Grand Départ, young Paul Seixas had gained the first and fleeting mention in the newspaper.

Gazzetta dello Sport and Ciro Scognamigio focus the reader's attention on Pogi's pursuit of myths, someone who is "with history and legend that has been flirting for quite some time, a magnificent out-of-the-ordinary talent who pedals on a planet of which he is the only inhabitant. From today at the Tour de France the Slovenian begins to chase the record of records: the fifth success in the Boucle, which would bring him level with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain".

Cosimo Cito from Repubblica also does the math, recalling how exactly nine months have passed since the last time Tadej and Jonas found themselves together in the same race. It was the European Championship and we know how that went. That the Barcelona event is awaited with fever is testified to by the report from La Vanguardia, an article that also includes a mention of the recent visit of Pope Leo XIV, "as proof of the city's vitality". No one seems to notice a contrast between the sacred and the profane, thinking of the Tour.

Meanwhile, who knows if, with respect to the team time trial and its outcome, Marco Bonarrigo from Corriere della Sera will be right, as he seems to rely decidedly on the verdict of artificial intelligence. A good choice by Il Giornale, which relies on the "prophecy" of a champion like Vincenzo Nibali, interviewed by Pier Augusto Stagi. The last Italian in yellow on the Champs-Élysées, who decidedly approves the organizers' choice to start with the team time trial, looks favorably upon Seixas, despite his very young age and the comparison with Pogačar and Vingegaard. Word of the "Shark".

L'ÉQUIPE

POGAČAR FOR FIVE?
It happened two years ago: practically yesterday. The Tour de France was about to start from Florence, under the pale faces of Renaissance paintings. At the time, the name Paul Seixas had appeared on these pages only once — three weeks before — hidden in an article that didn't even mention him. Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard were tied (2-2) in their Grande Boucle rivalry, but the Dane had the upper hand, having annihilated the Slovenian in the two previous editions. (Alexandre Roos)

LA VANGUARDIA

BARCELONA INAUGURATES AN EXCITING TOUR

The Tour de France gets underway today through the streets of Barcelona with a historic Grand Départ. For the first time, the Catalan capital will host the start of the French race, which will see Tadej Pogačar — the main protagonist and favorite — aim for a fifth title capable of consecrating him in the pantheon of cycling alongside Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain. Barcelona, which had already hosted the Tour in 2013, inaugurates the Grande Boucle in the wake of the recent visit of Pope Leo XIV and the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus at the Sagrada Familia: events that, taken together, testify to the city's vitality. (Roberto Rodriguez)

REPUBBLICA
VINGEGAARD CHASES POGAČAR; THE TOUR IS A TWO-MAN AFFAIR
Exactly nine months have passed since the last time Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard wore a race number on the same day, in the same race. It was the European Championship in the Ardèche. Pogačar won, Vingegaard withdrew halfway through. They meet again in Barcelona at the Tour de France starting today for the coming weeks, a regular appointment, the only one of the year between them, in the race that matters most, the only one in which the Dane has beaten the world champion, who at the time was still young and vulnerable in certain aspects... (Cosimo Cito)

CORRIERE DELLA SERA
THE TOUR BECOMES SCIENCE, VINGEGAARD ON THE ATTACK IN THE TRANSFORMED TIME TRIAL
Now that AI has defined in detail the critical power thresholds to respect on climbs (those where if you go beyond you blow up, if you go slower you get dropped) and calibrated the carbohydrate load to consume (some reach 140 grams per hour, stuff that causes indigestion), now that cooling vests are ready to wear until a moment before the start and beverages mixed with cherry juice to gulp down (at Mojito temperature, mind you) right after the finish line otherwise the "glycogen window" closes, the Tour de France of the Martians is ready to launch at the fateful five o'clock in the evening from the port of Barcelona. (Marco Bonarrigo)

IL GIORNALE
"ANOTHER TWO-MAN BATTLE BETWEEN POGAČAR AND VINGEGAARD. AND KEEP AN EYE ON SEIXAS"
THE LAST ITALIAN TO WIN IN 2014 READS THE TOUR STARTING TODAY FROM BARCELONA
Tadej Pogačar against Jonas Vingegaard, total and final challenge. After so much anticipation the most awaited moment for cycling enthusiasts has arrived. Today from Barcelona the start of the 113th edition of the Grande Boucle. The Slovenian is chasing five, the Dane hopes to narrow the gap and reach three... We talk about it with Vincenzo Nibali, the last Italian capable of keeping the good name of Italian cycling high for almost two decades, winner of the Giro, Tour and Vuelta, the last example of a complete rider and for this universally recognized.
We start from Barcelona with a "team time trial": do you like that we begin right away with a team-only test?

"I really like it. To win a grand tour you absolutely must have a great team, you can't go anywhere alone. A test like this would have pleased me a lot". (Pier Augusto Stagi)