With less than a week until the greatest race of all starts, it’s time to look at the main contenders for this year’s edition.
The 2013, 100th edition of the Tour will cover 3,404 kilometres, including six mountain stages, with four summit finishes and three time trial stages.
General classification
Listed as number one contender here is Chris Froome. Arguably the best rider in last year’s tour, Froome will have the full support of Team Sky with the withdrawal of 2012 winner Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Froome has been in the best form of his career this year. He kicked off the year by winning the Tour of Oman with Alberto Contador second and Cadel Evans third. He also took the points jersey there.
He followed that up by winning the Criterium International, Tour De Romandie and Criterium du Dauphine. In the recent Tirreno Adriatico he ran second.
The number of summit finishes as well as time trials in this year’s route more than suits Froome.
Froome will be ably supported by in-form Australian Richie Porte and the rest of the well-drilled Sky Team that successfully controlled the race last year.
In arguably the second favourite position is the 2011 winner Cadel Evans.
The Australia had been relatively quiet this year since finishing third in the Tour of Oman. However, he hit impressive form in the Giro d’Italia, finishing third, and said he was yet to peak.
While age is not exactly on Evans’ side he is an incredibly strong rider who will do his best to stay at the front of the peloton.
While he may not have the level of support Froome will enjoy at Sky, Cadel’s lieutenant Tejay van Garderen has been in good form.
This will allow Cadel to use Tejay in an attacking capacity or, should poor fortune befall the Australian, allow Tejay to lead the team.
Alberto Contador has also been riding below the radar. The two-time winner has had solid results this year without being outstanding.
He finished second in the Tour of Oman, third in Tirreno-Adriatico, winning the points jersey, third in the Klasika Primavera, fourth in the Tour de San Luis and fifth in the Tour of the Basque Country.
The Spaniard is seemingly going to ride into good form in July. He will be one of the best climbers in this year’s field and has the full support of Saxo-Tinkoff.
The time trials could also potentially work in his favour given he has time trial specialist Michael Rogers on his team.
Contador will definitely be a real threat in this year’s tour.
Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck will be an outside chance of challenging for the general classification. Since recovering from a broken hip, Schleck has barely been able to complete a multi-stage race.
He himself has said he can’t win it this year but you can never keep a rider like him down. He will have a strong team with him, sporting the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Andreas Kloden and Heimar Zubeldya.
It will be hard to see anyone outside of these top four really challenging for the GC. But there are always surprise packets and we will more than likely see some aggressive riding from the likes of Movistar, Euskatel-Euskadi, FDJ, AG2R and Europcar.
And let’s not forget the evergreen riding machine Jens Voigt is still riding and will no doubt be in a breakaway at some point.
Points classification
The green jersey will seemingly be a two horse race this year between ‘Manx Missile’ Mark Cavendish and Slovakian Peter Sagan.
In 2012 Cavendish was relegated to second team leader, behind overall winner Bradley Wiggins. Sagan was therefore virtually uncontested in taking the green jersey.
However Cavendish still took the win on the Champs-Elysee, winning it for a record fourth consecutive time.
This year Cavendish, the 23 stage Tour winner, will have the full support of Omega-Pharma Quickstep.
Cavendish’s main issue will be in the mountains. Sagan showed last year he is a more than capable climber and will have the chance to take plenty of intermediary points over Cavendish.
Sagan was the 2012 green jersey winner, taking three stage wins. The three-time Slovakian Champion has already taken the points jerseys in this year’s Tour of California and Tour De Suisse.
With Thor Hushovd not being selected by BMC due to their support of Cadel Evans, the ‘God of Thunder’ won’t be there to terrorise Cavendish and Sagan.
Add to that Alessandro Petacchi announcing he will no longer be Lampre’s sprinter and the retirement of Australia’s Robbie McEwen, we are set for a tough slog-fest between Sagan and Cavendish.
My tips?
My heart, as an Australian, says Cadel Evans but my head says it’s near impossible to ignore Chris Froome.
In terms of the points I’m really liking Peter Sagan. Sagan proved he didn’t need a huge lead-out train last year and his climbing ability will mean he can pick up some easy points on Cavendish.
But nothing is certain in cycling and Le Tour is the toughest race on the calendar.
Anything and everything can happen and it will be a more than interesting race this year, especially in the Tour’s 100th edition.
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