Cycling’s new stars prepared for Tour

BRUSSELS — No matter who wins, this year’s Tour de France will see a changing of the guard.

And if the names of Wout Van Aert, Kasper Asgreen, Enric Mas or Caleb Ewan don’t ring a bell now, they might soon be on everybody’s lips.

In the absence of many stalwart riders who have stamped their mark on cycling’s marquee event in recent years, new faces will emerge this summer.

There is a long list of top riders missing the Tour, which starts on Saturday from Brussels with a 120.8-mile stage through Flanders and back to the Belgian capital, and that number includes:

• Four-time champion Chris Froome, who is missing out for the first time since 2011.

• 2018 runner-up Tom Dumoulin.

• Primoz Roglic, a fourth-place finisher last year.

• Former world champion Philippe Gilbert.

• Ace sprinters Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel and Fernando Gaviria.

The generational change is likely to be the most visible in the fight for the race leader’s yellow jersey, as 22-year-old Egan Bernal seems ready to take over from his leader at team Ineos, defending champion Geraint Thomas.

In the wake of an already successful season during which he won the Paris-nice and Tour de Suisse weeklong races, Bernal has been elevated to a co-leader status after Froome, who also rides for Ineos, was ruled out because of a horrific crash last month.

Many former Tour winners including Eddy Merckx and Alberto Contador have picked Bernal as their favorite.