2015 Tour de France preview: the contenders

Canadian Cycling Magazine has looked at the course and the sprinters in previews of this year’s Tour de France. With two days until the Grand Depart in Utrecht, the Netherlands, we look at the Fab Four favourites and the podium hopefuls.

Alberto Contador (Spain/Tinkoff-Saxo): El Pistolero attempts to become the first rider since Marco Panatani in 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia-Tour double. Contador is also chasing his third Tour victory to match his three Vuelta a España titles. The question is, of course, can he recover enough from a hard-fought victory in May to make huge efforts in the Tour?

Contador recently beat Nairo Quintana in the Route du Sud by attacking on the descent, while his time trialing–supposedly on the wane–was good enough to come third in the Giro’s 59.4-km effort and open up big gaps on his rivals. Contador brings a strong squad of Ivan Basso (Italy), Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic), Michael Rogers (Australia) and last year’s King of the Mountains Rafal Majka (Poland) with him.

Nairo Quintana (Colombia/Movistar): After becoming the first Latin American to wear pink in Milan last season, Quintana seeks to make the same history in the Tour de France. One of the best climbers in the world, he’ll find this year’s course to his liking. Quintana will most likely make his decisive moves in the final week, for the first week’s time trials, cobbles and crosswinds might be to his detriment.

Quintana matched Contador on the climb of Port de Bales in the Route du Sud but lost contact on the descent and came runner-up on the GC. His only stage race win of the season, in the Tirreno-Adriatico, was in March. Between a so-so 8th in the Tour de Romandie and the Route du Sud, Nairo was plugging away at altitude training in Colombia.

Quintana has a strong team in support, with new Spanish champion Alejandro Valverde (Spain) as Movistar’s Plan B. Of the 13 Grand Tours Valverde has competed, the Spaniard has placed out of the top-10 only once.

Chris Froome (Great Britain/Sky): The 2013 champion has contested four stage races this season and won two of them, the Ruta del Sol and the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he triumphed on the final two mountain stages to beat Tejay van Garderen (USA/BMC) for the title.

Froome will hope that he doesn’t come a cropper on the cobbles like he did in 2014. The opening time trial and Stage 9 team chrono are to his advantage, but he’s also one of the greatest climbers in the peloton, with nasty accelerations at a high cadence, with his eyes on his handlebars and arms akimbo.

Froome brings a stacked team of Brits, along with Nicolas Roche (Ireland); Richie Porte (Australia), trying to put things right after a disastrous Giro; and Leopold König (Czech Republic), who came 7th last year. The Brit by way of Kenya is the odds-makers’ favourite.

Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Astana): Nibali’s victory last season was decisive, whether or not his rivals remained in the race, as the Italian took four stage wins. Like Contador, he’s won all three Grand Tours.

Last year Nibali didn’t show much form until he took the Italian national road race title, and this year the same pattern has emerged. He’ll have Lars Boom (The Netherlands) for a cobble buddy, and Michele Scarponi (Italy), Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) and two Estonians, Tanel Kangert and Rein Taaramäe, for the mountains. Astana bossed the Giro for Fabio Aru and Mikel Landa–can they wrest control from Sky, Movistar and Tinkoff-Saxo in the Tour?

The Hopefuls: The French had a dream edition of the Tour last year, placing two riders on the Paris podium and three in the top-6. The runner-up Jean-Christophe Peraud (Ag2r) has looked very ordinary this season, but his young teammate Romain Bardet, 6th last year, took a fine victory on the Pra-Loup climb of the Critérium du Dauphiné to come 6th on GC.

On the third step of the podium last year, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) looks to be the upsetter of the Fab Four order. The Frenchman’s time trialing has improved, but not enough to see his lead in the Tour de Suisse after a scintillating win on the brutal Rettenbachgletscher come undone in the final chrono. Simon Spilak (Slovenia/Katusha) took the prize and Pinot tumbled to fourth. The Tour’s climb-oriented course on home soil will give Pinot wings. After the Fab Four, Pinot is given the best odds to wear yellow in Paris.

Van Garderen has twice been fifth in the Tour de France and wants more. With Cadel Evans no longer a BMC factor, Van Garderen is the main man and brings a crack squad, one that hopes to recreate their world team trial champions form on Stage 9. Tejay must have been frustrated to be thwarted on the final day of the Dauphiné, but he’s a fearless attacker and, like Pinot, can be the upsetter of the 102nd Tour.

Joaquim Rodriguez (Spain/Katusha) was on quite a run of top-4 Grand Tour placings until last year’s Tour when he came 54th. El Purito was on fire in April when he grabbed his first ever Vuelta Pais Vasco title and came fourth and third in the La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège respectively. His 8th in the Dauphiné shows he’s on form.

Others: The Portuguese road champion and one time world champion Rui Costa (Lampre) was third in the Dauphiné. Will Fightin’ Hesjedal thrill us like he has over his last three Grand Tours? Will his teammate Bulldog Talansky bust loose? The Dutch Bumblebees of LottoNL-Jumbo have backed off the yellow in their kit for the Tour, but Wilco Kelderman, Robert Gesink and Steven Kruijswijk are all candidates to sting their way into the top-10. Ignore Rigoberto Uran (Colombia/Etixx-QuickStep) at your peril. Simon Yates (Great Britain/Orica-GreenEdge) is ready for the spotlight.