SA MD ANSI E

Pro cycling Deputy Editor

Who will win the yellow jersey and who is going to be second and third?

Froome will win his fourth Tour. Porte will be second and an Orica-Scott man, Simon Yates probably, third.

Who else will be in the top 10?

Quintana, Bardet, Chaves and Meintjes for a start. Quintana’s lacking the e!fervescence of 2013/14, and I don’t buy Movistar’s line that the Colombian will be better in his second major tour of the season. He’s a tough nut to crack though, and I expect he’ll hang on to a top !ive.

Which sprinter will dominate?

Please let it be Nacer Bouhanni. He’s bad Maverick to Marcel Kittel’s Ice Man and though he’s far from universally popular, Bouhanni could bring the kind of edge to the Tour that Cavendish used to in his rumbustious youth.

Who’s going to win the other jerseys?

Simon Yates for the white jersey. Sagan – obviously – for the green, and Rafa¯ Majka for his third KoM jersey. Unable to live with the pace of the yellow jersey, the Pole will revert to what he does best, which is getting into mountain breaks.

Which rider do you tip for a break-out performance?

Breakouts are a commodity at the Giro and Vuelta, but rarely at the Tour. However, how about Primož Roglic? He was impressive in the spring, winning a stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, two at País Vasco and coming third overall at the Tour de Romandie.

What do you think of the route, and which stage are you most looking forward to?

The idea of an event being a racers’ course which rewards guile over strength has always appealed. Here, ASO appears to have looked to the Grand Tours in its southern neighbours to reinvigorate its own contests in the mountains, which have been killed by sports science and teams at 100 per cent. Stage 13 !inishing in Foix over three hard cat-one Pyrenean climbs has all the hallmarks of a GC royal rumble.

What is going to be the tactical narrative of this race?

What I hope happens is that the ramp test at Planche des Belles Filles delivers the favourites to the front and from there on, they take the !ight to each each other with daily ambition and invention being rewarded. What I think will happen is that a team will take command of the yellow jersey, there’ll be a hiatus, and then the Hail Marys will !ly in the Alps.