AS Monaco, Olympic Games, Roca Team, Leclerc, Micallef… 2024 in 10 questions
Monegasque clubs and athletes have a chance to shine this year (Photos - All rights reserved)
Monegasque clubs and athletes could make a name for themselves this year and put the Principality in the limelight on the international stage.
With the upcoming Paris Olympics, promising seasons for AS Monaco and the Roca Team, Hugo Micallef’s ever-increasing fame and Lisa Caussin-Battaglia’s participation in the brand new electric raceboat championship, the Principality has a lot to offer in terms of sporting news this year.
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1. Will AS Monaco return to the Champions League?
Absent from the most prestigious of competitions since the 2018-2019 season, AS Monaco have never been so close to making their return to the European elite. With a new Champions League format next season, the French championship has been allocated an extra qualification spot.
At the end of the season, the third-placed team in Ligue 1 will qualify directly for the ‘new-look’ C1, while the fourth-placed team will go through a preliminary round. Currently in third place on 33 points, AS Monaco are five points clear of Lille in fifth (28 points) and just two points behind Nice in second (35 points).
While Brest occupy a surprising fourth place, Monaco will have to look over their shoulder and be wary of the return to form of Marseille (27 points) and Lens (26 points). These two, along with Lille, are among the main threats in the battle for second and third place to directly qualify for the Champions League, with Paris comfortably in first place (40 points).
While the second half of the season still promises to be long and hard-fought, ASM have enough talented players in their squad, as well as a well-orchestrated team led by Adi Hütter, to maintain their place on the podium and even set themselves up as favourites for second place behind Paris Saint-Germain. Which would mean a return to the Champions League and the thrill of big games at the Louis-II.
However it is worth noting that several players will be absent in January and February for the Asian Cup (Minamino) and the African Cup of Nations (Singo, Salisu, Jakobs, Diatta), in addition to Caio Henrique’s long-term injury.
2. Will Charles Leclerc be in the running for the world champion title?
Vice-world champion in 2022, the Monegasque driver had a more complicated 2023 season plagued by mechanical problems, particularly during races, which deprived him of a battle for second place behind the untouchable Max Verstappen.
With two podium finishes to end his season on a high, Charles Leclerc managed to climb back up to fifth place, ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz. A small consolation prize for the Monegasque, who realised early on that his season would be a long one, a long way from his title dreams.
In 2024, although Max Verstappen should, barring any surprises, still be in a class of his own, the Scuderia Ferrari driver could capitalise on the noticeable progress in his single-seater at the end of the year to join the fray for podium places on a more regular basis — and why not aim for a sixth Formula 1 victory?
Just as a certain Carlos Sainz managed to do this year in Singapore. As far as the battle for the title goes, 2026 — when the new regulations for engines, chassis and aerodynamics will be in place — would seem to be a more reasonable timeframe, with Red Bull on another planet for the time being.
3. Will the Monegasque team win its first Olympic medal in Paris?
This summer, Paris will be hosting the Olympic Games — three years after the Tokyo Games were postponed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With six athletes present in Japan at the last edition, Monaco is hoping to send an even bigger delegation to France.
With around fifteen athletes in the running to qualify, headed up by Xiaoxin Yang, the leader of the Monegasque sportsmen and women, the Monegasque delegation could put on quite a show.
Could they do better than Rudy Rinaldi and Boris Vain’s sixth-place finish in bobsleigh at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Monaco’s best-ever performance at the Olympics? With Alexander Ehlen in kitefoil and Hugo Micallef in boxing, the Principality can certainly dream — provided they can secure their ticket to Paris.
4. Will Lisa Caussin-Battaglia shine in the E1 Series?
This was the big news at the end of 2023 and the big talking-point at the start of 2024. Runner-up in the World Series, the Monegasque jet-skier is preparing to take part in the E1 Series as part of cricket legend Virat Kohli’s Team Blue Rising.
A prestigious world championship, with several teams supported by big names in the sporting world such as Rafael Nadal, Tom Brady, Sergio Perez and Didier Drogba, will kick off in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on 2 and 3 February for a total of seven rounds.
This is a major new challenge for Lisa Caussin-Battaglia, who is determined to make her mark as the top driver in her team. And from what we have learned, the Monegasque set some promising times during the winter trials used to select the drivers who will take part in this first world championship for electric raceboats.
Caussin-Battaglia’s quick adjustment to her new machine should enable her to make her mark quickly in this new championship, which promises to be spectacular and will include a stop in Monaco (26-27 July).
5. Will Hugo Micallef continue his upward trajectory?
First fight in Monaco, first win by KO, first fight in the United States… Hugo Micallef had an emotional year in 2023.
And 2024 could well push the boxer from the Principality even further into the limelight. With a tenth fight imminent at the start of the year, the unbeaten pro fighter (9 wins, including 2 before the bell) will also be aiming for a first European belt this year.
As well as this major objective, Hugo Micallef will be aiming to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris, where he hopes to shine after missing out on the Japanese event three years ago.
With a new fight scheduled for Monaco later this year, 2024 promises to be a busy year for ‘The Fresh Prince of Monaco’. And potentially one that will establish him as one of the most promising boxers on the planet.
6. Will Roca Team return to the Euroleague Final Four?
With a dazzling Mike James this season (top scorer in the Euroleague with 19.8 points per game) and recent games that have given them some valuable experience in the competition, AS Monaco Basket are ready to repeat last year’s performance. In other words, qualification for the Final Four of Europe’s most prestigious competition.
But this season, in an increasingly tight and tough competition, Sasa Obradovic’s men will have to fight hard to make it into the Final Four.
Currently in fifth place, Monaco are neck and neck with Panathinaïkos, Fenerbahçe and Maccabi Tel Aviv for a place in the top four. But with a squad of this quality and a ramp-up planned for the spring, this Roca Team has everything it needs to be sensational this year.
7. Will Rafael Nadal be back at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters?
Back competing in Australia at the ATP 250 Brisbane after a year away from the courts, the Spaniard is likely to be entering his final season on the circuit.
Now almost 38, the left-hander with 22 Grand Slam titles is hoping to shine during the clay season, which could begin for him at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, a tournament he has not played in the last two editions.
An 11-time winner in the Principality, with his last title coming in 2018, Rafael Nadal is particularly fond of the Monaco event, which usually kicks off his season on clay.
With the French Open, where he could be aiming for a fifteenth title, and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held at his favourite venue, the “Bull from Manacor” should, barring injury, take advantage of Monaco’s clay court to hone his skills, in what could be his last appearance in Monaco in an official match.
8. Will Sébastien Ogier be able to claim a 10th title in Monaco?
Winner of his ninth Monte-Carlo Rally last year, Sébastien Ogier and his partial programme with Toyota should, barring any surprises, take part in this 92nd edition.
And when the eight-time world rally champion lines up at the start of a race, he is inevitably pegged as the favourite. Especially on asphalt, and even more so at home in his native Gap.
This year, the Monte-Carlo Rally is going back to its roots. After two editions away from Gap, the prestigious race is preparing to make its return to the Hautes-Alpes, as it did between 2014 and 2021.
This is the home turf of a certain Sébastien Ogier, who holds all the cards to write a little more Monte-Carlo history.
9. Téo Andant: could an AS Monaco Athlétisme member become Olympic champion?
On the rise for several months now, the member of the Monegasque Athletics Federation is establishing himself as one oto be reckoned with in his discipline: the 400m. So much so that he is aiming for an Olympic medal at the next Games in Paris 2024 as part of the French 4×400 m relay.
“I think about the Olympics every day. We could do something special with the relay. Olympic champions? We can do it,” he told us in a profile. “This energy, this extra soul that we can have at home can help us to excel in an Olympic final.”
If the Monegasque delegation fails to win its first Olympic medal, Téo Andant, a member of the AS Monaco Athlétisme team, could well make the Principality shine in his own way.
10. Can Charles Leclerc finally become a prophet in his own country?
It’s the question that comes up every year, as the symbolism would be so strong. Unlucky for several years on the Principality’s circuit, Charles Leclerc finished sixth in the last Monaco Grand Prix.
It was again a far cry from his expectations, as he dreams of winning on home soil at the wheel of his Ferrari. Fourth two years ago and forced to retire just before the start in 2021, the Monegasque knows that everything will depend on a perfect lap in qualifying.
And even if his Ferrari is still a long way from a Red Bull car, his driving skills and knowledge of the circuit will give him a definite advantage, capable of closing the performance gap.
Provided, above all, that there are no mechanical problems. But there’s no doubt that if the stars finally align, Charles Leclerc will seize the opportunity to add his name to the list of Grand Prix winners that he so badly longs for.