Tour de France Preview

The biggest event on the cycling calendar starts tomorrow and the start list is certainly showing how good the three weeks of racing are going to be.

Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are both present and GC battles are sure to be even bigger with Visma and UAE both having secondary GC riders who may be allowed to battle it out later on in the tour once their leaders are in a good position. Enric Mas from Movistar may also try to get in a good position. Geraint Thomas is unlikely to be in the mix but it is his last tour so he may try something be that a decent position or a stage win. Last year's second place at the Vuelta, Ben O'Connor is also on the start list but he in not a favourite for the podium, he may be in the top 20 by the end of the Tour. Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe may also be aiming for a decent position in the overall standings but Roglic is clearly the team leader.

For sprinters we have last year's green jersey winner Biniam Girmay along with Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen who will be fighting for points at intermediate sprints if the breakaway hasn't swept them all up. Flatter stages will result in bunch sprints where their teams will be forming lead out trains and jostling for positions on the road. There is a high likelihood that one if not more sprinters will be relegated due to not maintaining their line in the final few hundred metres. Dylan Groenewegen is another sprinter with success at the Tour, he may also be trying to take a win from the others.

There are a few time trial specialists including Filippo Ganna and Stefan Bisseger will have two opportunities to win on stages 5 and 13, the first being flat and the second being up a category 1 climb which is perhaps more suited for the GC riders or climbers. Other than these stages they will be among others trying to get to the finish inside the time limit and unscathed. Mattia Cattaneo of Soudal Quick-Step is another rider who will be setting a good pace on at least one of the time trials if not both. The chance for one of the specialists to win does depend on the attitude of GC riders going into the stage and how much time they want to gain.

For breakaways this year we have Pablo Castrillo who may even get a stage win in the high mountains if the group is allowed to cross the line ahead of the GC riders who will be looking for time. Michael Woods of Israel Premier Tech is another man who could try for a stage win at altitude. TotalEnergies and Uno-X will both be likely to have riders in the break on the flatter stages for sponsorship reasons despite having GC riders. Arkea is another likely suspect if GC dreams go south.

Mathieu Van Der Poel is likely to try and win on the stages more suited to classics riders including the last stage with a triple ascent up Montmartre while Wout Van Aert is another favourite for these stages if he is not busy with the team's bigger GC aims. Julian Alaphilippe may try to win a stage more suited for one day or classics specialists, his teammate Marc Hirschi may even battle him for the honour if it comes to the line.

Overall there are going to be rivalries and fights on every stage, between GC riders, between sprinters, between the teams that have not yet won anything and are getting desperate in the last week. Between different groups on the road, and between riders and their own bodies.