Ride of their lives
THE Tour de France starts tomorrow in the Vendee region of western France, so buckle yourself in for what is sure to be a wild ride.
Defending champion Chris Froome is the red-hot favourite but he is probably more vulnerable this year than any of his four previous victories.
While the salbutamol case against him is over, it must have a negative effect on the lanky Brit. But I think the biggest question is: has he recovered from the Giro d’Italia?
Froome’s Giro win was brilliant and his amazing 80km solo breakaway to win the final mountain stage was as good as I’ve ever seen. His main challenges will be: Movistar: the Spanish power team have named three leaders in Alejandro Valverde, Mikel Landa, and Nairo Quintana but I feel that the little Colombian Quintana is the genuine chance.
Romain Bardet, who has been on the podium for the past two years, and the diminutive Frenchman looks primed for this one.
Tom Dumoulin, the big Dutchman who finished second in the recent Giro but also has the recovery question mark looming over him
Then there’s the Aussie team backing a fiery young Englishman.
Mitchelton Scott will have four Aussies in the squad to support Adam Yates, who is a genuine chance, not only for the podium but for the overall title. His twin brother Simon dominated most of the Giro recently and Adam’s recent form was very impressive in the Dauphine where he finished second and won the final mountain stage. He finished fourth only a handful of seconds off the podium in 2016 and is now much stronger.
Colombian Rigoberto Uran finished second last year, although I don’t reckon he is in quite the same form.
Vincenzo Nibali is former winner of the Tour and the Giro and the Vuelta. He has come in a bit under the radar but this crafty Italian can’t be discounted.
Welshman Geraint Thomas is in great form. He recently won the Dauphine and is reserve captain for Team Sky. He will handle the first week even better than his fearless leader and especially the cobbles on stage nine. If Chris Froome is still in the mix, I reckon Thomas will move into the super-domestique role; if Froome loses time, Thomas is capable of winning.
But I’m saving the best until last with Tasmanian hard nut Richie Porte, who can win this year. He was the main challenger last year until his ugly crash on stage nine.
We know he is one of the best climbers and he’s pretty handy in the time trial, and although his descending may test him again I believe Richie’s biggest challenge will be in the first nine days and especially the cobbled stage nine to Roubaix. This is where his powerful BMC team will be crucial. Fellow Aussie Simon Gerrans has fitted in well as Richie’s faithful lieutenant and, along with Greg Van Avermaet, will be trying to guide him, especially through that first scary week.
Michael Matthews will be out to defend the Green Jersey he brilliantly won last year, but even he admits it will be a tough ask. World Champion Peter Sagan has dominated the best sprinter category for nearly a decade and he would need to falter in order for Michael to win again.
There are 11 Australians on the start line and many with strong support roles. Mitchelton Scott have four, with Damian Howson expected to support Yates in the mountains, Mat Hayman captain on the road (and as a former winner of Roubaix will be crucial in stage nine), Luke Durbridge, who will be the powerhouse expected to close the gaps and keep the breakaways under control, and Michael Hepburn riding his first Tour de France and will fill a similar role to Durbo.
The team have copped a bit of flack recently for not selecting dynamic sprinter Caleb Ewan. It was a tough call. I, like most Australians, was disappointed that I won’t be able to watch the dynamic youngster, with his head low over the handlebars, fighting it out in the hectic bunch finishes. Caleb had been told to prepare for the Tour, so was rightly devastated.
The fact that Yates’s form has impressed and that he is a genuine chance to win this bike race meant that they had to build a team around him to facilitate that. And there are now only eight riders per team.
Simon Clarke is the road captain for EF Education — Drapac, an American team with an Aussie sponsor. He will be hoping to guide Uran one step higher on the podium.
Heinrich Hausler will be the leader in the first week for Bahrain Merida and it will be fascinating to watch how it all plays out on stage nine in the cobbles. His team leader Nibali handles the pave better than all the GC contenders and this is the stage that Heinrich was selected for.
Rory Sutherland makes his Tour debut at 36. UAE Team Emirates is in its second year and Rory will be looking after tough Irishman Dan Martin.
The solid sprinter from Bathurst, Mark Renshaw, is back as the lead-out man for Mark Cavendish. The Manx Missile is hoping to become the leading stage winner in the history of the Tour but needs four more to match the 34 wins by the great Belgian Eddie Merckx. Cav won four stages in 2016 but crashed out early last year and didn’t add to his amazing tally.
The one thing I can guarantee all tour followers is that you are in for one hell of a ride.