The Grandmaster of Cycling Races, the Grand Tour, the place to be, the Tour de France. Where the most important history books are written.
The history books hold Angel Madrazo, Simon Spilak and Andy Schleck tied with 2 wins each, only Madrazo can realistically go for a 3rd, but riders such as Taaramäe and Pluchkin might have one last big push in them to get a place in the history books themselves. Or will we see a new name on the top step of the biggest race in the world?
Week 1: Watch out for Stage 2!
This years edition of the Tour de France starts in Olonne-Sur-Mer, and the first week seems pretty uneventful until you start looking a bit closer.
Stage 1 to Redon is a classic Tour de France stage. Fairly long, very flat and very uninteresting. Surely the sprinters disagree as the yellow jersey is at stake though!
Stage 2. As we head out from Lorient everything seems quiet and much could look like a repeat from yesterdays sprint finish. But the stage ends suddenly after a climb up the Mur-de-Bretagne! This isn't one for the fainthearted, and some of the GC riders, as well as the Puncheurs, will be looking at the chance to keep the yellow jersey for some time after winning this one.
Stage 3 goes from Carhaix to Cap Fréhel and is a sprint finish. Nothing out of the ordinary, but the finish is uphill and could toss some gravel in the machinery for the classic sprinters.
Stage 4 however is made for the sprinters. Not a doubt in my mind, as the riders take the long journey from Le Mans all the way to Chateauroux.
Stage 5 takes its start in Aigurande and with it's bumps heads towards Super-Bessy Sancy where we are likely to see some action. Don't let the breakaway riders get too much of leash here otherwise they may steal the cake! If not, this is another mixture of supreme Puncheurs and GC riders.
Stage 6 to Saint-Flour seems like an impossible task to control. It's up and down all day, but I'd imagine it's not hard enough to cause big selections. A reasonably sized group would love the look of this one!
Stage 7 is the final stage of week 1 which goes from Samatan to Pau, which has often been home to breakaway wins. As we head into the mountains shortly I would expect the sprinters to make the most from it though.
Week 2: Directly into the Mountains
Stage 8 guns off in Pau and through the mountains ends in the valley of Bagneres-de-Luchon. 4 difficult mountains to surpass before ending in a semi-difficult downhill towards the line. If the GC riders haven't made their mark on the race just yet they will now. Despite being a downhill finish I suspect only the very strongest and potential race winners will be able to fight for the win here. And the winner of the stage, may very well be leading the race too.
Stage 9 is another mountain stage, ending on Peyragudes! The stage is relatively short, and with a big mountain early on, many sprinters will have a mark on this stage as one to fight through. The ascent to Peyragudes is long and tough. There is a very short descent halfway up the mountain before we more up again to the flat plateau of the line. It's unlikely to have much of an effect unless a small group reach the line together, otherwise expect every man for himself here.
Stage 10. From Muret to Rodez we are likely to see the breakaway riders take control again. A semi hard stage makes the sprinters look away, and the GC riders take a breather.
Stage 11. While Rodez as a finish would be one for the break this towards Mende can go in multiple directions. The stage starts with a slow rise which should ensure the breakaway is formed easily, while a long flat run-in to the final ensures the peloton have an easy catch if they want. The final could be for the GC riders, but also the hard hitters from the Ardennes will love this stage.
Stage 12. Look back at stage 18 of the Vuelta to see what this final can do. We head towards Ax 3 Domains just like in the Vuelta. Whereas the Spanish GT has a difficult stage all along, this one is flat until the fireworks begin. A long and tiring day in the saddle, and then two powerful mountains to see who's still alive.
Stage 13. From Saint Girons to Bagneres de Bigorre you can't really avoid the mountains - but why should you? 5 mountain tops are on the menu here while the finish is rather discouraging having just ridden Ax 3 Domains the previous day. If strong riders have already lost a lot of time, this is a monumental stage for them as not only the stage win, but also the KOM jersey and possible valuable time is at stake. I could see a scenario where the GC riders doesn't make the most while the breakaway does.
Stage 14. Tomblaine allows the riders to start on the final day of week 2, and we move towards La Planche des Belles Filles. This might on paper be a hilly stage, but don't kid yourself. Unless the breakaway get's a lot of time, this finish is for the GC riders!
Week 3: Up and Down & Up and Down Again
Stage 15 kicks off in Belfort, where the up and down towards Porrentruy begins. It's a perfect chance for the breakaway specialists to claim a win before we move up too high.
Stage 16 to Lyon has a reasonably easy stage ending with a couple of small but sharp hills in the final. I wouldn't entirely rule out the well rounded sprinters, but this late in the race, things could just as well go to the breakaway. For the GC riders this is one last chance to stretch the legs before heading into the finale.
Stage 17 starts in Macon and ends in the valleys of Bellegard-sur-Valserine, but to get down you have to get up first, and the 3 summit stage should be a good leg freshener for the GC riders. The stage is unlikely to cause havoc, but could be a solid chance for the KOM competitors to move ahead and maybe spice things up with a stage win.
Stage 18 from Albertville to Le Sybelles is the perfect mountain stage. 4 big big climbs are on offer on the 144km long route, which will make the Champs Elysees eager sprinters shiver. There's no hiding on a stage like this and you could win the race with a big shout here - but more likely will a couple of riders lose out on their chance for glory!
Stage 19 will see us ride from Gap to the most iconic mountain in the world - the Alpe d'Huez! The mythical mountain has a great history of creating the race and this time will be no different. Only the best riders can win here. And it's the last chance!
Stage 20 Invites us to the first and only mano y mano contest, as the 38km flat time trial shoots off in Arc-et-Senans and finish in Besancon. At this late in the race we are likely to see a mixture of classic time triallists and GC riders fighting for the win. If you are within striking distance of an opponent in the GC this could be a very bad day for you. Likewise could the TT give the final edge and help you win the race!
Stage 21 will celebrate the rulers of the race in the shadows of the iconic Champs Elysées. A stage many sprinters will be eyeing up, should they navigate their way safely through the Mountains.
Stages
5 Flat
8 Hill (4 hill top finish)
7 Mountain (4 mountain top finish)
1 TT (38km flat)
Credits to Sotd for this part of the preview from the Race Reveal Thread.Edited by Luis Leon Sanchez on 21-03-2022 16:02
There's 1 stand-out favourite here and it's the local man riding for the local team. Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier is the superior Climber, he's as good as any other GC leader in the Hills, and he's got a great TT to boot. It is very much his race to lose. He will have the hopes of a nation on his shoulders as we haven’t had a French TDF Winner since the inaugural PT season in 2007! Pierre himself didn’t quite make it onto the Podium here in 2018 (5th) or 2019 (4th). Aleksandr Pluchkin is the clear 2nd favourite and will be hoping to provide some contest to the Frenchman. He's a year past his prime now so he's not quite the level he used to be but you'd be mistaken to count him out. He’s won this race before and he’ll have to use all of that experience if he wants to win it again. Timofey Kritskiy and Ryan Eastman are very similar to one another and have plenty of strength in the Mountains and should fare well in the TT but they may struggle a bit in the Hills.
Another Frenchman who will be hoping for a strong result in front of his home crowd is Romain Sicard. He's not as strong a climber or TT rider as those listed above but he's better in the Hills which are plentiful during the next 3 weeks. He managed to make it onto the Podium last year so he’d love a repeat of that. Ki Ho Choi and Jan Hirt are also similar to each other. Strong climbers, okay in the Hills and fairly good TT riders as well.
There are a number of other strong riders who will be looking to compete for the Top 10 and, with a good day, challenge the Top 5 or even the Podium. This may be the last opportunity for Denifl to get a Top 10 GC at the Tour.
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
Pierre-Henri
Lecuisinier
85
75
77
78
80
79
Aleksandr
Pluchkin
83
73
77
75
75
74
Timofey
Kritskiy
82
73
78
75
73
73
Ryan
Eastman
82
71
77
76
75
76
Romain
Sicard
81
77
75
79
78
81
Ki Ho
Choi
81
74
75
77
76
79
Jan
Hirt
81
74
73
77
79
79
Warren
Barguil
81
75
70
77
77
82
Daan
Olivier
81
76
69
76
80
77
Caio
Godoy
81
76
67
75
76
77
George
Bennett
81
76
65
75
74
79
Stefan
Denifl
81
73
69
70
66
71
Primoz
Roglic
80
76
72
75
76
75
Adam
Yates
80
76
71
79
80
76
Thibaut
Pinot
80
74
65
76
79
75
Sprinters
There are a number of fast men here who will be hoping to fight each other for the Green Jersey. Dylan Groenewegen is perhaps the best sprinter here. He's got the equal best combination of sprinting ability and speed and but he is by far the best when it comes to recovering in order to repeat his efforts the next day. Arnaud Demare is a similar rider but instead of the recovery, he stands out in another way. The Frenchman will be looking at the number of Hilly stages as an opportunity to lay claim to the Green Jersey which he's probably favourite for. Lo Cicero is the best at maneuvering his way through the final kilometer but he doesn't quite have the burst acceleration of some others. Danny Van Poppel is then the best of the rest
HIL
REC
SPR
ACC
Ivano
Lo Cicero
63
78
83
77
Dylan
Groenewegen
67
85
82
81
Arnaud
Demare
80
80
82
81
Danny
Van Poppel
64
78
81
78
Xhuliano
Kamberaj
69
78
79
78
Tom
Scully
67
78
79
80
Grzegorz
Stepniak
67
75
79
79
Hugo
Houle
75
79
79
78
Mark
Cavendish
61
71
79
75
Emiliano
Contreras
68
77
78
80
Issiaka
Cisse
63
78
78
77
Puncheurs
There are a surprising number of really strong Puncheurs here who will be looking to target the numerous stages which will favour them. Jack Bobridge and Matej Mohoric are definitely the Top 2 to watch here. They're both very strong and have a good kick as well. Petr Vakoc is another one to keep an eye on. He performed well in the Ardennes and some of these finishes will suit him. Demare has already been mentioned. He will force the others to be more aggressive as none of them would rate their chances against the Frenchman in an uphill sprint.
Aegon is a familiar name with the Tour de France and they come here with a 2 pronged attack. Daan Olivier is their hope for the GC. He's a very solid climber and he can get over a hill but he will suffer a bit on the Stage 20 TT. Realistically, he'd be targeting a Top 10 GC with the support he has from Schlegel, Ciccone and Zardini. Their other focus will be on Dylan Groenewegen who is the top favourite here in the Sprints. However, he's got absolutely no support here so he'll be relying on others to form a train.
Amaysim Cervélo
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Michael
Storer
70
73
76
69
71
72
71
64
72
73
66
Ben
O'Connor
70
77
70
71
70
72
75
58
68
68
70
Cameron
Bayly
71
74
74
67
70
72
69
65
74
78
73
Patrick
Lane
69
74
76
63
70
68
72
63
73
78
66
Lucas
Hamilton
69
74
73
65
68
72
74
64
75
74
70
Jai
Hindley
70
71
74
67
73
71
71
66
71
74
69
Cyrus
Monk
73
60
66
68
74
69
69
61
70
72
77
Ryan
Christensen
78
67
70
64
76
74
76
68
65
71
76
The only real focus of the Amaysim team here is the breakaways. None of their riders are really strong enough to consider a shot at the KOM but I'm sure they'll try.
EA Vesuvio
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Caio
Godoy
68
81
76
67
75
76
77
59
75
71
68
Marc
Goos
71
77
74
76
78
75
76
67
73
70
68
Attila
Valter
71
72
75
65
74
72
70
69
74
68
69
Willie
Smit
72
69
75
69
76
72
71
68
74
81
67
Byron
Munton
66
70
70
74
70
71
72
60
63
69
65
Felix
Gall
66
72
71
62
68
69
68
61
68
65
63
Luc
Wirtgen
69
70
70
63
71
70
70
66
64
65
68
Michel
Ries
68
72
68
61
70
70
69
61
69
70
72
Another team which has seen many Tours and a lot of success but their hopes this year are probably aimed more at a Top 5 or a Top 10 with Caio Godoy who's strong in the climbs and also in the hills but he's not particularly flash against the clock so he'll need to be aggressive in the Mountains. Goos will be able to provide some support and maybe some depth points as well. 5 of the other 6 riders in the team are 23 so they're here for some experience and not much else.
Evonik - ELKO
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
William
Chiarello
71
79
75
73
73
74
77
63
72
73
69
Andris
Vosekalns
66
78
75
62
69
73
72
67
71
81
68
Hugo
Hofstetter
74
62
70
64
71
71
75
77
78
71
68
Stephen
Williams
68
76
72
66
72
75
75
65
72
73
72
Serghei
Tvetcov
70
76
74
73
70
69
74
71
71
72
63
Aleksa
Crncevic
67
76
70
73
70
70
75
61
69
67
75
Syver
Waersted
71
62
67
64
68
76
76
76
77
71
72
Jan
Xandri
67
74
72
71
66
73
70
60
69
75
74
The hopes of Evonik lie with Chiarello who's a capable Stage Racer but, realistically, he'd be hoping for a Top 10 at best. He is afforded some great support in Williams, Tvetcov and Crncevic. Vosekalns is his best lieutenant but he may be given the freedom to go for the KOM as he's a very aggressive rider who is also strong in the climbs without being a GC threat. The team also has a couple of tier 2 sprinters in Hofstetter and Waersted who will look to mix with the best.
Farfetch Pro Cycling
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Adam
Yates
71
80
76
71
79
80
76
67
76
71
71
Alberto
Bettiol
72
71
77
68
78
75
74
71
77
75
68
Rasmus
Tiller
74
63
70
67
76
75
70
74
73
69
70
Xhuliano
Kamberaj
75
63
69
67
73
73
78
79
78
64
66
Stefan
De Bod
73
69
70
77
75
78
71
60
68
67
69
Simone
Velasco
72
71
74
60
73
70
67
68
74
74
69
Steff
Cras
66
73
69
69
74
74
73
60
66
60
66
Inigo
Elosegui
63
72
68
68
73
76
78
60
69
64
65
The Farfetch team has some variation here. Adam Yates is their hope for the GC and, given his all round ability, he should be in the Top 10 with a shot of a Top 5 if he hits a string of really good form. The other focus of this team is on the sprints as they have Kamberaj who could be in with the off-chance of a stage win here. He is given support in the form of Tiller. Their fans will also be looking forward to seeing Bettiol in the hills. He may not be the best pure puncheur but he's got a good kick if the stages aren't raced too hard.
Festina - OAKA
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Pierre-Henri
Lecuisinier
71
85
75
77
78
80
79
67
74
65
70
David
De la Cruz
69
78
75
74
72
76
75
60
73
65
73
Michail
Kortsidakis
77
63
69
54
75
75
73
68
72
76
70
Gyung Gu
Jang
67
76
76
62
72
70
70
66
74
73
56
Michail
Mavrikakis
70
77
72
71
74
73
69
61
67
63
64
Ioannis
Spanopoulos
69
76
74
72
73
72
70
60
64
66
62
Miltiadis
Giannoutsos
67
76
71
70
74
76
73
64
67
75
67
Remy
Rochas
67
75
72
61
70
69
72
61
71
70
66
Lecuisinier is all I can say here and all that needs to be said. He's the top favourite by some margin and anything less than a GC win would have to be considered disappointment for the Festina outfit. They have given him the best support possible as well. De la Cruz himself is a well rounded stage racer and will be the main lieutenant. Everyone else will be there to protect the GC lead in the Mountains and Hills. Kortsidakis is the only non-climber but he'll be the main source of chasing on the flats.
Gazelle
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Tao
Geoghegan Hart
70
78
74
76
76
74
75
62
69
70
70
Julien
Bernard
72
76
75
66
72
73
71
69
73
75
67
Anatoliy
Sosnitskiy
70
78
72
64
73
77
68
63
73
66
77
Louis
Vervaeke
73
76
73
70
76
77
78
60
69
58
69
Nans
Peters
73
74
76
68
72
76
72
65
69
73
69
Patrick
Konrad
72
75
76
71
76
73
72
62
69
69
58
Jan
Tratnik
71
73
77
62
74
75
70
61
70
71
65
Blaz
Furdi
72
70
76
64
75
72
69
68
71
66
68
A bit of an interesting approach here from the Gazelle team. Tao Geoghegan Hart is their best hope for a GC result but even so, realistically he'd be fighting for Top 15. The rest of the team is filled with relatively good climbers and domestiques but they are lacking that Top GC threat to support. You'd expect they're hoping for some breakaway activity and for someone to have a shot at the KOM.
Generali
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Romain
Sicard
72
81
77
75
79
78
81
63
69
76
64
Nico
Keinath
72
77
74
73
74
73
71
60
67
69
61
Mikel
Iturria
71
77
73
72
77
74
76
60
61
69
66
Frederico
Figueiredo
73
76
73
72
77
75
77
59
68
67
69
Tobias
Ludvigsson
68
76
72
76
75
72
73
62
71
65
72
Pascal
Eenkhoorn
70
76
72
67
74
76
78
64
71
69
67
Pedro
Sequera
69
76
73
71
78
75
72
58
68
70
73
Benjamin
Dyball
71
76
73
75
75
71
72
61
72
69
64
Romain Sicard is the 2nd local favourite here and he can not complain with the support that he has. They would definitely be hoping for Sicard to make a push for the Podium but you'd imagine they'd be pretty happy with a Top 5. Depth points will be on the agenda as well as a fight for the Teams Classification and the KOM as their entire team is well rounded climbers and stage racers.
Grieg-Maersk
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Ivan
Sosa
66
76
76
67
74
78
78
59
72
73
66
Sigurd
Nesset
69
78
73
69
77
76
74
64
69
60
68
Jonathan
Lastra
68
74
75
68
72
73
71
69
71
74
65
Jonas
Vingegaard
66
76
69
69
74
76
75
61
66
68
69
Benjamin
Brkic
72
72
73
70
73
72
68
67
72
64
67
Ingvar
Omarsson
70
71
74
73
71
67
72
68
72
68
73
Truls Engen
Korsaeth
73
56
60
77
71
71
70
66
72
65
64
Arturs
Belevics
74
60
63
76
72
70
71
63
66
74
64
Grieg are very much lacking a GC rider, a Sprinter or a competitive Puncheur. Breakaways will have to be their focus although young Ivan Sosa will be hoping to fight for the White Jersey as well.
Huski Chocolate
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Tiesj
Benoot
71
75
79
62
75
74
74
69
71
62
66
Danny
Van Poppel
72
60
64
67
74
71
78
81
78
56
69
Oscar
Rodriguez
69
77
75
70
71
74
74
63
73
72
64
Bas
Van der Kooij
73
62
69
60
75
74
83
78
77
62
66
Valerio
Conti
67
75
75
66
70
71
74
68
74
70
66
Antwan
Tolhoek
70
75
75
64
71
72
72
58
69
76
70
Jamal
Hibatullah
68
75
70
63
68
65
69
60
68
62
65
Munkhtulga
Erdenesuren
71
59
62
59
70
69
62
68
66
62
59
The Huski team will have 2 hopes here. Benoot should be competitive in the Hills and so they'd like to see him in the fight for a stage win or a few. Their main focus may, however, be on Danny Van Poppel who is a Top 3 sprinter here and has the support of Van der Kooij. A few stage wins and some aggressive riding would have to be counted as a big success.
ISA - Hexacta
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Petr
Vakoc
71
71
81
69
75
71
67
71
74
61
66
Thibaut
Pinot
72
80
74
65
76
79
75
62
69
72
67
Eduardo
Sepulveda
70
75
77
75
74
73
71
70
73
70
63
Emiliano
Contreras
72
64
68
64
73
75
77
78
80
73
68
Getachew
Sendeku
71
76
72
74
72
73
74
62
68
54
63
Ilia
Koshevoy
69
76
73
68
71
72
74
60
69
74
75
Guy
Sagiv
77
63
73
60
73
71
77
72
72
66
71
Alex
Frame
69
50
62
69
68
72
68
75
74
52
68
ISA brings a bit of everything here which will keep their fans entertained. Pinot was the hope of France for a long time but his focus here will be on a Top 10 given the support he's given in Sendeku and Koshevoy. Petr Vakoc will have many opportunities for a stage win here and the team will be hoping he provides the goods. Contreras may not be one of the Top 3 sprinters here but he'd still want to put up a good fight. He has support from Frame and Sagiv to aid him.
Isostar - Specialized
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Tom
Scully
74
52
67
63
66
70
78
79
80
55
63
Aleksandar
Roman
67
77
75
64
71
73
74
63
76
74
78
Kevin
Inkelaar
64
78
69
63
74
75
77
60
74
69
69
Carl Fredrik
Hagen
68
74
75
65
74
72
71
71
72
74
72
Romain
Bardet
66
77
74
59
72
70
71
52
75
67
71
Gavin
Mannion
68
77
71
64
72
76
65
61
71
67
63
Jonas
Gregaard
71
76
70
66
76
73
74
63
69
57
73
Antonio
Pedrero
67
76
73
65
73
68
71
70
71
76
70
Tom Scully does have a pretty good chance here, given the field, to fight for stage wins so their Manager will hope the Kiwi can succeed. Other than him, it's a bunch of climbers who should be relatively aggressive and maybe give the team a chance of going for the KOM. They do have some youngsters, notable Inkelaar, who will be interesting to watch in the battle for White.
King Power
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Matej
Mohoric
72
71
83
64
78
72
72
67
77
71
79
Primoz
Roglic
71
80
76
72
75
76
75
69
74
72
71
Dion
Smith
69
78
75
68
72
74
75
66
74
75
71
Sarawut
Sirironnachai
71
66
77
65
77
74
70
64
73
80
69
Thurakit
Boonratanathanakorn
70
70
73
67
78
74
72
69
73
80
79
Jan Drago
Petelin
69
76
72
62
70
70
70
54
73
70
61
Ka Hoo
Fung
68
75
70
74
68
72
73
62
71
71
67
Michael
Vanthourenhout
75
66
68
72
68
73
68
68
68
70
73
Mixed focus between the GC and the Hills for the King Power team. Roglic isn't getting any younger but he's still got a GC Top 10 in him and he's got the very capable support of his trusted lieutenant, Dion Smith, to guide him up the GC. Mohoric is one of the most talented young Puncheurs in World Cycling and the team has provided him support in hope that we can find success in the Hills which could result in multiple stage wins if all goes well.
Mapei
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Warren
Barguil
70
81
75
70
77
77
82
64
75
66
76
Julius
van den Berg
77
57
64
58
77
77
73
71
70
75
71
Alex Ariya
Destribois
69
76
75
68
68
69
74
61
75
77
78
Aaron
Grosser
70
64
74
63
74
72
73
75
75
61
67
Issiaka
Cisse
74
53
63
67
73
67
78
78
77
73
59
Luis Enrique
Lemus Davila
70
77
72
72
75
70
68
57
62
71
72
Dayer
Quintana
69
76
71
70
73
72
76
61
63
67
64
Teten
Rohendi
70
73
74
68
72
74
72
62
73
71
70
Another Frenchman leading his team here. Warren Barguil is a strong all-round Stage Racer who should be in and around the Top 10 if he avoids getting into any real trouble. He's got some great support from Destribois, LD and Quintana. The team also has Cisse here for an outside chance in the Sprints.
MOL
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Ki Ho
Choi
71
81
74
75
77
76
79
59
68
68
71
Ivano
Lo Cicero
71
55
63
55
70
62
78
83
77
53
59
Orluis
Aular
68
79
71
68
75
74
75
63
69
67
71
George Alexandru
Stancu
67
78
69
66
70
74
73
59
71
70
66
Karol Andrzej
Domagalski
68
75
71
74
70
69
75
62
65
65
62
Marton
Dina
69
73
73
69
69
68
73
62
75
73
63
Pedro Pablo
Pereyra
64
77
67
61
71
74
66
50
64
66
73
Steven
Kalf
71
58
66
65
74
73
69
72
70
65
67
No Tenorio but could still be a party here for the MOL team. Ki Ho Choi has a very good chance of going for a Top 5, or at the least a high Top 10. He's got a very strong supporting cast, headed by Orluis Aular who could well be the favourite for the White Jersey as well. Outside of the GC, they also have Lo Cicero who will be hoping for stage wins here although he's been given no support by his team.
Moser - Sygic
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Jan
Hirt
70
81
74
73
77
79
79
65
76
74
67
Josef
Cerny
71
70
76
68
75
67
66
75
79
74
66
Grzegorz
Stepniak
72
57
67
64
70
70
75
79
79
63
68
Sean
McKenna
70
74
76
63
69
72
71
65
77
73
70
Michael
Kolar
65
77
75
61
70
71
71
54
66
72
60
Josef
Hosek
71
75
74
64
74
74
74
64
70
67
64
Daniel
Turek
73
64
68
77
72
73
71
61
68
71
60
Juan
Osorio
67
74
71
71
72
70
73
70
69
68
64
Another team with a GC leader who should be in the Top 5/Top 10 bucket with Jan Hirt who's a strong all-rounder. He has some support, most notably in Kolar. Josef Cerny is likely to be lead-out to Stepniak in the sprints, where they could have some success together, but he'll be free to ride for himself in the hills where he will be looking for results from reduced bunch sprints.
Project: Africa
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Jack
Bobridge
73
69
83
77
74
74
69
69
80
66
66
Francesco
Bongiorno
69
79
75
68
77
77
77
58
69
69
65
Stefan
Denifl
67
81
73
69
70
66
71
63
60
70
61
Tsgabu Gebremaryam
Grmay
67
77
74
65
71
73
76
61
71
58
74
Keagan
Girdlestone
70
75
71
72
75
72
73
61
68
68
65
Eddie
Van Heerden
67
69
71
66
65
68
67
63
71
65
65
Kent
Main
67
71
69
71
69
72
72
63
68
73
71
Sirak
Tesfom
72
62
64
74
68
71
66
63
67
70
64
It's a pretty strong team sent here by Project: Africa. Their GC leader may be Stefan Denifl but he lacks the recovery he used to have so Bongiorno may take team leadership in hopes of a Top 10 or 15. Jack Bobridge is one of the Top 2 Puncheurs here and should be going for stage wins, he'd be disappointed not to come away with at least 1 stage win here. Girdlestone will be a young gun to watch here too.
Team Popo4Ever p/b Nemiroff
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Aleksandr
Pluchkin
72
83
73
77
75
75
74
65
71
65
64
Pascal
Ackermann
72
65
77
61
75
71
79
77
80
66
63
Martin
Laas
67
74
76
62
68
73
73
67
76
68
57
Artem
Topchanyuk
68
77
73
65
72
72
71
60
70
73
63
Andrii
Bratashcuk
69
71
77
58
75
70
69
62
67
65
79
Dries
De Bondt
76
62
67
57
72
69
68
74
76
76
61
Stanislaw
Aniolkowski
72
61
64
56
72
72
73
75
75
57
63
Roman
Gladysh
70
66
72
63
70
70
70
70
72
70
68
This may be the last chance for Aleksandr Pluchkin to win the Tour de France but it'll be pretty tough for him so it may be his last chance for a Podium instead. He hasn't got all that much support as the only other decent climber in the team is Topchanyuk. Ackermann is in with a good shot of solid result here given his speed on the flats combined with ability in the hills.
Team Puma - SAP
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Arnaud
Demare
73
67
80
61
75
72
80
82
81
70
63
Valentin
Madouas
73
74
75
69
74
72
75
72
71
65
68
Marcel
Aregger
73
64
71
68
72
71
77
78
77
65
67
Christian
Mager
70
74
77
62
68
70
71
60
71
68
70
Mike Aaron
Egger
66
75
74
55
70
76
71
64
74
73
65
Jannik
Steimle
73
66
70
65
70
69
73
76
78
61
62
Yikui
Niu
72
74
72
67
76
69
75
74
74
73
70
Narankhuu
Baterdene
72
58
61
59
71
70
75
74
75
59
66
A different focus here from Puma which is very much on the Green Jersey for Arnaud Demare. He's one of the best sprinters here and one of the best Puncheurs so he'll have plenty of opportunities to pick up both points and stage wins. In the hills he has the support of Madouas and Mager while in the sprints he's got strong support from Aregger, Steimle, Niu and Baterdene.
Team Tinkoff - La Datcha
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Timofey
Kritskiy
73
82
73
78
75
73
73
66
64
66
60
Aleksey
Rybalkin
65
75
73
71
78
77
81
65
69
67
73
Sergey
Chernetskiy
70
71
79
66
80
69
70
63
71
76
64
Nikita
Novikov
69
77
72
70
74
71
71
62
70
69
67
Alexander
Foliforov
73
75
72
70
79
77
76
61
59
67
73
Alan
Banaszek
72
61
64
63
69
72
74
77
79
65
69
Dmitry
Strakhov
68
69
76
67
75
75
71
61
69
63
67
Evgeny
Shalunov
70
75
69
70
75
71
73
64
63
65
72
A spot on the podium will be the target for Timofey Kritskiy who, at 34, won't see many other opportunities for a memorable Tour de France result. He's got some solid support from Rybaklin, Novikov and Foliforov to help him in his quest. Chernetskiy is also here to target the hills while potentially providing support in that terrain. Not wanting to miss out on the sprinter actio, they have Banaszek here as well.
Xero Racing
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
George
Bennett
67
81
76
65
75
74
79
65
73
55
63
Hugo
Houle
78
66
75
69
76
71
79
79
78
70
69
Sergio
Higuita
69
76
75
65
75
77
77
66
73
71
64
Jordan
Schleck
64
77
73
53
71
71
78
52
73
61
61
Daniel
Habtemichael
67
76
73
72
73
72
74
59
66
68
69
Henok
Tesfaye Heyi
75
70
73
67
74
76
65
68
73
78
66
Bachirou
Nikiema
69
67
73
62
70
72
69
70
73
71
70
Luke
Mudgway
68
59
64
60
70
66
68
74
76
65
65
The Xero team will be focusing on two riders in particular here. The first one is Kiwi Climber George Bennett who may well be capable of cracking the Top 10 here but he'll need to give himself a buffer going into the TT on Stage 20. Their 2nd focus is on Hugo Houle who would be favourite in some of the stages here at a lower level but he'll have some stiff competition both in the sprints and the hills.
Zwift Pro Cycling
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
SPR
ACC
FTR
DWH
Ryan
Eastman
70
82
71
77
76
75
76
62
69
73
66
Xuban
Errazkin
71
74
78
70
76
75
76
63
73
69
67
Jack
Burke
69
77
76
69
75
74
80
60
71
77
71
Luca
Wackermann
74
68
74
53
74
74
73
74
72
70
64
Nicolay
Cherkasov
80
70
71
66
72
74
66
70
75
65
67
Carter
Jones
69
75
73
71
72
71
69
63
66
73
68
Mark
Cavendish
69
53
61
62
68
65
71
79
75
56
61
Brendan
Rhim
66
75
70
62
68
71
72
62
67
67
64
A real mix of young and old here makes for quite an interesting Zwift roster. Ryan Eastman is in with a great chance of a Podium or a Top 5 here if he can limit his losses in the hills. He has great support from Errazkin, who may be eyeing up the hills for his own efforts, and Burke as well. They also bring with them a man who knows this race all too well, although he's far from a favourite this time around, I'm sure we'll see Mark Cavendish pop up in the sprints from time to time.
Not sure I like that sprinter startlist...was expecting Groenewegen to be around 3rd to 5th best and then he could have followed any trains.
Now I can only hope that the team is doing it properly sending "weaker" riders to work all day and then not trying to form a train as it`s just climbers and him.
GC wise something between 5th and 10th would be nice to get.
Different to the other GTs it`s not about attacking but about supporting Olivier as long as possible.
Weird startlist, very top weak but depth heavy. Looks like a walk in the park for Festina.
For Evonik, this is on paper the weakest lineup but with a lot of potential for break success. I hope that Chiarello can once again compete for a top 10 GC but between him, Vosekalns, Tvetcov and my climbing loanees Williams, Crncevic and Xandri there should be a lot of potential to work for the KoM, breakaway stages too.
Hofstetter once again in the unfortunate position of potentially slightly missing out that top ten sprinter slot narrowly. Would be nice to add a few points via him too but we'll have to see whether he can be succesful.
After I decided to sell Justo Tenorio I pretty much conceded my team goal of finishing on the podium at the TDF. Now we are here and looks like Ryan Eastman actually has a realistic chance to achieve that which is really exciting.
Hopefully he has enough support with Burke and Errazkin.
And I wouldn't complain if the crafty Manx Missile used his superior knowledge of the French roads and dusted off his world-renowned finishing kick to steal a stage or two.
All in for Demare in his quest to return into the maillot vert!
We got a full sprint train, which appears to already set us apart from the entire opposition...
Since the key about any points jersey is consistency, I hope we can at least work the flaws of that situation by trading some extra wins for a continuous stream of points.
And if everything does fall in place, I have trust in our new addition Jannik Steimle to our sprint train to set things up well and fast enough for Aregger (who should be on peak motivation after the home win) to stretch the line of sprinters out going into the final kilometre.
It'll be intriguing to see who else will regularly participate in the sprint preparation. We have the new allrounder Madouas, the old allrounder Niu and the loanee Baterdene who can all take positions 4 and 3 in a train on a good day.
In addition to Madouas' and Niu's climbing skills, we add Mager and Egger as extra domestiques on tougher days and I'm hopeful both get a few shots at breakaway success in weeks 2 and 3 when Demare needs no support.
Regarding the route, day 1 is all about getting bonus seconds to be set up perfectly for the Mur de Bretagne, where Demare wants to get beneficial treatment thanks to a good GC position to fight for the stage win.
If that is out of reach against strong opposition in Bobridge and Mohoric (particularly their top tier ACC can make it very hard to get separation in any hilly stage sprint with the new system), the bare minimum we want to achieve is to remain on s.t. with the lead on stage 2 while the sprint opposition has to concede time, so that we can aim for yellow over the course of the first week through bonus seconds.
No early TT alongside the favorable stage 2 were the two main factors in choosing to rather defend the 2019 points jersey here instead of the 2020 one in Spain.
IF Demare can get into the lead by stage 5, I'm optimistic he can make the front group to hold on to yellow and aim to win either that stage and/or the following one. If he's nowhere in the GC at that point, that might be two chances lost purely based on AI treatment.
Similarly, stages 10 and (on a perfect day) 11 offer two more chances against the pure puncheurs and dual threat climbers if we play it right, and the same goes for stages 15 and 16 a week later.
Capitalizing on those four opportunities that the pure sprinters definitely won't get will be crucial in chasing the maillot vert once again, this is where we need to make a difference.
The opposition is weak, which I already stated might weirdly not be in our favor when this gets on the road. Groenewegen's REC looks fancy but should be meaningless, Lo Cicero has had more downs than ups lately (but so did AKA before this season!) and Van Poppel lacks a bit of everything in a straight duel.
Obviously, Houle is a big opponent that we haven't faced in ages and thus a wildcard in the points jersey fight as well as on every relevant stage, and I sure hope not chasing Ackermann in recent transfer seasons won't come back to bite me!
But then again, even with that outlook on the apparent opposition being done, I can't help but wonder what the randomness we've all experienced will have in store for us and everyone else this Tour. Let's make the most of it!
Thanks Sotd for the route information and Luis Leon Sanchez for the preview! We went for the KoM sponsorgoal but looking at the startlist now Top-5 would have been smarter...
According to the favourite list even a top-3 is possible for Kritskiy but he has the worst recuperation and resistance (apart from Denifl), so I won't get my hopes up yet.
Kritskiy has only been at the Tour de France 3 times: 6th in 2016, 11th in 2014 and 29th in 2012 (when loaned out to Wiggle) top-5 this year would make me very happy!
Nikita Novikov can write ManGame history again this race by extending his own record -> completing 20 consecutive Grand Tours.
Wishing everyone all the best during the 3569km from Olonne-sur-Mer to the Champs-Élysées. May the best non-Frenchman win, if not a Lecuisinier/Sicard/Barguil podium is also acceptable
Ah damn was sure Bobridge wouldn't be here. This way the risk of sending Mohoric here became a little bit bigger. I still think there are enough stages where he should contend for the win.
Dion Smith is also back after winning two stages last year and the KoM, hope he can do better here than he did at the Vuelta. However with this startlist I fear that he will be assigned to helping Roglic mostly. Which is fine if he can perform well.
My goal will be two stage wins and a top 10, which should definitely be achievable with my squad here.
Thanks for the preview!
Good to see Roglic stay with the first group. Unfortunately, Mohoric didn't so the chance of a yellow jersey after stage 2 is gone. Smith also lost time, which hopefully means he'll be on the attack.
Congrats jph on an important win!
Good to see Chiarello in the first group. Every other climber missing out can be good or bad depending on whether they use that to join breaks and whether we can compete for a decent teams classification position.
Surprising result. We got two guys in the break, Nesset in the first group and a "free" youth point for Brkic, so a good start. Hopefully we can continue to try in the breaks for the rest of the race.
