We believe Froome-Dog is pretty much that cyclist.
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The former Team Sky rider has joined BMC racing and “now has the opportunity to test himself against friend and former team-mate Chris Froome on the biggest stage of them all”, says the Telegraph.
Chris will be very hard to beat if he doesn’t have any misfortune.
Another factor making him a likely challenger for a first Tour win is his form in 2016, Quintana having enjoyed more wins than any of his rivals. “Perhaps he is not at the same level as Froome or Quintana, but he will be a rival to keep in mind”.
“This will be the best version of Nairo”, Movistar team manager Eusebio Unzue said.
Australian Richie Porte could feature and has the experience of helping Froome to his two Tour titles, but the Tasmanian, now riding for BMC having left Sky at the end of last season, has always flattered to deceive in three week races, despite great pedigree over one-week events.
The first stage also passes through Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where American paratrooper John Steele dangled from a clock tower after his parachute got caught during the invasion, and survived.
“We all want to win, but we must be clear, I’m not the strongest of the bunch, and in recent years we have seen that it is the strongest rider who wins”.
VERDICT: This could well be the year he turns seconds into a first.
After finishing third in the Tour de San Luis, the 26-year-old recorded three successive race victories at the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie and Route du Sud. When it comes to the third week, will they be burned by then?
Contador once seemed destined to dominate cycling.
He goes into this Tour very confident, citing the desire to win it, not merely make up the numbers and reckons we will not know who is really challenging for the yellow jersey until the last stage.
“It will be the Tour in which we would like to show Oleg Tinkov our gratitude for his support all these years”.
“I’ve not seen any weaknesses (in Froome), maybe the one is that he’s less strong in the last week but I have heard he has prepared especially for the third week in this Tour, so it won’t be a weakness”. But given the Briton’s colossal win rate in past Tours – by far the Tour’s most successful sprinter, only Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx have more stage victories than Cavendish in the race’s 103-year-history – it would be more than unwise to rule Cavendish out, too. There are flat stages and mountain stages, as a broad classification.
Riders hoping to win time-trial gold the following month at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be able to use that tough course to gauge their form.
There is a lot of stiff competition for the yellow jersey too in 2016.
Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) will mount the French challenge after a strong season.
The quality 25-years-old rider from Italy will be looking to stamp his name all over this year’s Tour.
Contador won his first Tour all the way back in 2007-since then, he’s won seven Grand Tours, with a doping ban for clenbuterol in between that wiped out what would have been two more, the 2010 Tour de France and the 2011 Giro d’Italia.
Those two stages take place in the second half of the 3,519-kilometer three-week race. The Italian aims for success in the upcoming Olympic Games road race, but he should still be a force to be reckoned with in France. “There are nine climbing days in this year’s Tour, which is a big plus for the Colombian”.
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As for the Tour route, Contador argued that it will be “open until the last moment, and in fact I consider that last stage the hardest”. He has now just won the Giro.
