EDWARD P I CKER I NG

Editor, Pro cycling

JUMBO TO WIN THE TOUR...

I think for the first time since 2011, a team is capable of beating Ineos head-to-head at the Tour. Jumbo have the firepower in Dumoulin and Roglič, and the backup in Kruijswijk, Kuss et al, to be able to beat Bernal and Thomas. My gut says Roglič wins.

... BUT INEOS TO MAKE IT INTERESTING

It doesn’t happen often, but Ineos are most dangerous, imaginative and entertaining when their backs are against the wall, even though Plan A is always to smother the race. Chris Froome won the 2018 Giro by gambling everything on an epic long-range attack, after all else had failed. If Jumbo are the strongest conventionally, Ineos have the strength and ambition to make the race unconventional.

BENNETT, FINALLY

Sam Bennett gets better every year and given his talents, you could argue that Bora held him back in 2019 by keeping him out of the Giro and Tour teams. At Deceuninck I expect the Irishman to flourish, and as the team’s leader in the sprints he’ll get all the support he needs to win at least one Tour stage, and a lot more besides.

GILBERT’S SLAM

The Poggio di San Remo is only 169m above sea level, but it represents a huge obstacle in Philippe Gilbert’s quest to win La Primavera and with it a slam of monuments. I would love it if Gilbert could do it – what a story. But I am finding it difficult to see how he can engineer a San Remo win. He’s not punchy enough any more, and San Remo can be a lottery. However, cycling is about brains as well as brawn and Gilbert has a lot of both. I won’t write him off, but remain cautiously pessimistic.