The Tour de France 2024 embarks from Florence, Italy, on Saturday. It's a 21-day race billed as a four-way battle for the title.

Here, AFP sports takes a brief look at the men expected to challenge for the title in Nice, France, on July 21.

• Subscribe To FloBikes To Catch All The Best Cycling, News And Highlights
• 2024 Tour de France Jersey Color Guide
• Tour de France 2026 To Start In Barcelona

Tadej Pogacar (Team UAE/Slovenia)

Cycling's closest thing to a rock star, the 25-year-old was head and shoulders above his rivals, winning six stages and the overall title at May's Giro d'Italia. 

Despite contracting COVID-19 just 11 days ago, rivals believe the Slovenian remains "unbeatable" as he targets the first Giro-Tour de France double since Marco Pantani in 1998. 

Confident, affable and polite, this self-described "good boy from a good family taking no short cuts in life" won the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France. 

His racing instincts, however, got the better of him in the past two editions, where a more prudent approach might have delivered the title, rather than runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2023. 

This instinct to "race every stage," combined with a dislike for heat and a potential wobble downhill, are his weak spots. He appears to have the strongest team, if he can avoid a clash of egos.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma/Denmark)

The wiry climber with nerves of steel targets a third straight Tour de France on the back foot after a bad fall and 12 days in hospital in April. 

On a real climb day, with four mountains rather than one, the man from a remote fishing village has proven he can punish the best of the rest. His hair-raising descending skills are just as remarkable. 

Vingegaard, 27, also can stick to a long-range plan, and it seems so can his Visma teammates, including his right-hand man, Wout van Aert, considered by Vingegaard himself as possibly the best rider in the world. 

Vingegaard's team Visma was described by Dave Brailsford, mastermind of seven Tour de France wins, as the "most expansive thinkers in cycling."

His weakness is that he is race-rusty, but conventional wisdom says a rider must race into form in Week 3.

Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora/Slovenia)

Easily the most relaxed looking rider ahead of the race, Roglic seems to have been given wings by a new 6 million euros ($6.4 million) per year contract with Red Bull. 

"I changed teams to try and win the Tour de France," said the 34-year-old, almost unrecognizable, as he cracked jokes in Florence this week. 

Roglic forever will be remembered as the man who lost the 2020 Tour de France on the final day time trial. 

The former ski-jumper can change that plotline here on the 2024 Tour, which also culminates with a potentially game-changing time trial. 

This strong all-rounder with four Grand Tour wins to his name has a tendency for bad luck, or falls, but at Red-Bull Bora, he arrives with a solid team as the clear leader.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step/Belgium)

Billed as the new Eddy Merckx when winning a rare junior world championship double in 2019, Evenepoel has taken his time to arrive at the top, mainly due to the fact he plunged over a bridge and into a ravine on the Tour of Lombardy at age 21. 

But a world title in Woolongong, Australia, coupled with the Vuelta a España title in 2022, also delivered him the 'Velo d'Or' that year. 

His strengths are his time trialing, meaning he may just produce a last day turnaround. 

The 24-year-old also is capable of a masterclass of endurance and producing long-range breakaways. 

His target is to wear the yellow jersey at some stage, possibly after the gravel run at Troyes, and the best young rider jersey. 

His weakness might be his tendency to get discouraged at altitude, but with three class climbers alongside him at Quick-Step, the sky's the limit for the Belgian.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In The United States 

A live broadcast of the 2024 Tour de France will be available on Peacock for those watching from the United States. 

Peacock is the exclusive home of the event in the United States through 2029, with start-to-finish coverage of every stage, though select stages also will air on NBC.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In Canada 

FloBikes will provide a live broadcast for Canadian audiences.

Viewers in Canada will be able to watch all 21 stages of the Tour de France 2024 live on FloBikes and the FloSports app.

FloBikes also will provide updates, highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the entire event for all Flo subscribers. 

Catch All The Best Races, Highlights, Insight, News And More On FloBikes

FloBikes is the streaming home to some of the best cycling from across the globe. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more of your favorites in action.

FloBikes Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloBikes subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

Join The Conversation On FloBikes Social

• Follow us on Twitter @FloBikes
• Follow us on Instagram @flobikes
• Follow us on TikTok @flobikes
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook