R ICHAR D MOOR E

The Cycl ing Podcast

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

Quintana irst, Froome second, Valverde third. Having tipped Quintana every year since 2015 I feel obliged to back him again. He is bound to win it one year. Isn’t he? I suspect he’ll be better at the Tour than he was at the Giro. He lacks punch but doesn’t tire. More than last year, there is a question over Froome’s form.

Who else will be in the top 10?

Bardet, Simon Yates, Porte, Jon Izagirre, Landa, Martin and Barguil. All obvious candidates. Two Movistars and two Skys in the top 10 seems about right, given their strength. Majka, Aru, Meintjes and Talansky could all igure.

Which sprinter will dominate?

Kittel. It’s unsure that Cavendish will be at the Tour. Gaviria will be missing. Greipel will be there, but he’ll turn 35 in July and has to fade at some point. Sagan will be thereabouts and there’s Dan McLay, who went so close last year. But the road looks relatively clear for Kittel.

Who’s going to win the other jerseys?

Sagan might as well start in the green jersey because he will almost certainly inish in it. Quintana for the mountains jersey to continue a trend of GC riders winning the polka-dot jersey. Yates for white, but he could face a challenge from Marc Soler.

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

I’m picking out Marc Soler without actually feeling con ident that he’ll do well, because he rides for Movistar and Quintana and Valverde will be above him in the pecking order. But he is capable of an outstanding Tour de France - maybe a stage win if circumstances allow.

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

It’s a balanced route, without the ridiculously hard inal week that we have seen in some recent races. The summit inish at La Planche des Belles Filles should be interesting.

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

If Froome is in yellow and Sky are dominating, it will re-amplify the stories and allegations about British Cycling and Sky - including Bradley Wiggins and TUEs - especially with the UK Sport and UKAD reports due to be released handily close to the start of the Tour. The noise could be deafening and, for Froome and company, distracting.