EF Pro Cycling
Looking for: Urán and Higuita for top-six overall, with stage wins for Keukeleire and Bettiol
Few would tip a 23-year-old Colombian in his first full year on a Worldtour team for victory in the Tour de France, but after Egan Bernal’s sensational victory last year, Sergio Higuita could be worth a punt. There is a theory going around that rookie pro cyclists have so much training and racing data available to them these days that they can dispense with the apprenticeship and go straight to the boardroom.
Higuita took the overall win at the Tour of Colombia in February. With a strong team, including his older compatriot Rigoberto Urán by his side, that Colombian Tour squad is similar to the one set to take to the start line in Nice on Saturday.
Chief among the list of mostly younger talent is another Colombian, Daniel Martínez, who used a bit of tactical cunning to snatch the Critérium du Dauphiné title when race leader Primož Roglič withdrew. Quietly spoken British climber Hugh Carthy is also slated to appear having impressed with an 11th place on GC at the Giro d’italia last year. He’ll play a domestique role in his first Tour de France. Add in American rouleur Neilsen Powless, who has been tipped for big things, and it’s a wellrounded bunch.
STAR: Rigoberto Urán (Col)
At 33 it is not too late for Urán to repeat his breakthrough second place behind Chris Froome in the 2017 Tour and, after last year’s seventh overall, the popular Colombian still justifies his high ranking. He will be well-suited to the many climbs and summit finishes this July.
HITTER: Daniel Martínez (Col)
It’s saying something when your least talked about Colombian super-climber is the guy who won the traditional Tour warm-up of the Dauphiné, so expect him to play a major shepherding role in the mountains.