Porte looks likely challenger as favourite Froome targets fourth title

CHRIS FROOME Age: 32. Team: Team Sky.

Country: Britain. Froome is the obvious favourite. His victory last year made him one of just eight men with three or more Tour wins to their name, and the first to successfully retain the crown since Miguel Indurain in 1995. If he’s wearing yellow in Paris this year, Froome will be close to the all-time record of five wins held by Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Indurain. But his form isn’t great and he’s yet to win on the road in 2017.

RICHIE PORTE Age: 32.

Team: BMC. Country: australia.

If form on the road is the main guide then Porte is the mostly likely to challenge. Although pipped to overall victory in the Dauphine by Jakob Fuglsang, he had the beating of Froome both in the time trial and in the mountains. Porte has also won both the Tour Down Under and the Tour de Romandie this season. NAIRO QUINTANA Age: 27. Team: Movistar.

Country: Colombia. Quintana began the year with ambitious plans for a Girotour double, but will need a spectacular rebound in France to avoid walking away emptyhanded. He was unexpectedly beaten in Italy by Tom Dumoulin, and as Alberto Contador can attest from his own double attempt in 2015 – when he won the Giro but faded badly in the Tour – there is usually a price to be paid in France for those that competed in Italy.

ALBERTO CONTADOR Age: 34. Team:

Trek-segafredo.

Country: Spain. Having put off a mooted retirement to join Trek-segafredo, the veteran two-time Tour winner heads to France as something of a wild card. With memories of his victories now fading, Contador can be easily put to one side but the Spaniard’s aggressive style and never-say-die attitude deserves some respect.

FABIO ARU

Age: 26. Team: Astana.

Country: Italy. Aru’s outstanding 2015 season, when he finished second in the Giro d’italia and won the Vuelta a Espana, persuaded Astana to hand him leadership in the 2016 Tour at Vincenzo Nibali’s expense, but he finished a poor 13th. Nibali is now gone and Astana is largely built around Aru, but he remains difficult to read. ROMAIN BARDET Age: 26.

Team: AG2R La Mondiale.

Country: France. It is more than 30 years since Bernard Hinault delivered France’s last Tour win back in 1985. That perhaps explains why L’equipe marked the end of last year’s Tour not with a front-page picture of Froome but instead with one of Bardet, who rode his way into second place with a superb final week. There’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders this time round.