The Tour de France starts in just 10 days and we are going to find out which runners are the most fit for the race of world cycling races
The 109th edition of Tour de Franceand that could cause the occasional surprise in the race. The start in Denmark tells us that it is not going to be a Tour to use, then the dreaded pavés will arrive with a mini Roubaix and then the Alps and the Pyrenees to decide a race that has seen Tadej Pogacar lift in its last two editions. The Slovenian will seek the treble, but it will not be easy for him because two super teams like Ineos and Jumbo will try all kinds of strategies to dethrone him. Below we review the five riders who best arrive at this Tour:
1. PRIMOZ ROGLIC
Recent winner of the Dauphine Libere, the race that is a Tour de France compressed into eight stages, he will seek to unseat his compatriot Pogacar. He has the strongest team at his service, but there is always the question of whether he will last three weeks at the highest level. Luckily for him, the hardest part of the mountain will be in the second week and we will see if his Jumbo team can support him to contain Pogacar.
2. GERAINT THOMAS
The one who was the winner of the Tour in 2018 and runner-up in 2019 has recovered his pedal stroke this year by winning the Tour of Switzerland. He is a runner who also has a huge team behind him like Ineos and who is good for both the time trial and the paves stage. At 36 years old, he knows that it is his last train to try to win the French race. Nobody doubts that quality has to spare.
3. TADEJ POGACAR
The reigning champion has just won the Tour of Slovenia riding with his teammate Rafal Majka. It may not have been the most demanding preparation in history, but he proved to be a cannibal this year by being more than competitive in the spring classics, winning the Strade Bianche and also winning the Tirreno Adriatico. At 23 years old, Pogacar is in a position to break the records of the greatest.
4. WOUT VAN AERT
The Belgian can fight for the general, for the points jersey or for winning a time trial. We are talking about the most complete cyclist in the peloton who will be under the command of Primoz Roglic to meet his objectives. That does not mean that he is the strongest candidate to wear the yellow jersey at some point in the race due to his outstanding qualities. It is life insurance.
5. DANIEL FELIPE MARTINEZ
Geraint Thomas’s lieutenant at Ineos has stripes and a lot of desire after an impressive season. Third in Paris-Nice, third in the Algarve, first in the Basque Country, fifth in Flecha Valora, fourth in Liège or eighth in Switzerland, they tell us about a chameleon. Tradition marks that Colombian cycling has a great role on French roads and here we have a worthy successor to Nairo and Rigoberto Uran.