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The Roar

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2016 Tour de France preview

Roar Guru
21st June, 2016
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Richie Porte wins on Willunga Hill. (Team Sky)
Roar Guru
21st June, 2016
1
1323 Reads

The world’s largest bike race starts in just over a week with a star-studded field set to contest the 103rd edition of Le Tour.

Chris Froome returns to defend his 2015 title with former teammate and now BMC team leader Richie Porte looking at de-throning the Englishman. Joining them in the peloton will be the exciting Nairo Quintana, the ever-present Alberto Contador, along with Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali.

Nibali however will be riding in support of Aru with the Italian citing the Rio de Janeiro Olympics as his major focus following his impressive Giro d’Italia win in May.

Form-wise, Chris Froome looks red-hot. After starting slowly earlier in the season he claimed the overall win at the recent Criterium du Dauphine, finishing ahead of both Porte and Contador.

Speaking of the Spaniard, Contador has been a busy man, racking up over 30 days of stage races already this year.

His form has been a little up and down but he did manage a podium finish at the Volta ao Algarve in February, followed by two second places at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya and a victory at the Tour of the Basque Country.

Porte meanwhile has been the busiest of the main contenders, racking up around 40 stage race days this season.

He has warmed into the season and but for a minor issue at the end of the Dauphine which saw him drop to fourth, he has looked strong in the mountains.

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Nairo Quintana is perhaps plotting an assault from the cover of darkness given he hasn’t been sighted at a stage race since the Tour de Romandie.

Quintana has already claimed both the Catalunya and Romandie this season showing he is in supreme climbing form. He will also have the assistance of fellow mountain goat Alejandro Valverde.

Fabio Aru meanwhile is currently in a rut. He placed a disappointing 14th at the Catalunya before abandoning the Basque Country when placed 20th overall.

He will however have Nibali as his right-hand man but the Italian is coming off a draining yet successful Giro d’Italia campaign.

The route itself this year will be tough, featuring nine mountain stages and two individual time trials.

The battle for the GC will heat up quite early this year with the Alps appearing in stages seven, eight and nine.

The riders will crest the Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, Col du Peyresourde, Col d Beixalis and finish atop the Andorre Arcalis across those three days.

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They then get a slight rest across the proceeding two stages before they tackle the imperious Mont Ventoux followed by the 37.5km time trial.

A mere two days later and they tackle the Grand Colombier.

In fact the last two weeks of the race will see the riders cross eight mountain stages and two time trials.

Stages 17-20 will follow a rest day and see perhaps some of the most exciting racing in recent years with the riders tackling three mountain stages and the 17km time trial.

Unlike previous years where Sky have been able to pump out a metronomic rhythm due to the amount of time taken to hit the mountains, this course sees one suited to riders willing to attack.

The lack of a team time trial also puts the GC contenders front and centre for almost the entirety of the race, unable to look to a strong TTT to establish an early buffer or gain time on rivals.

This year’s edition looks geared to include plenty more of the fireworks we witnessed towards the end of last year’s race.

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