Tour de France 2016: Route, favourites, odds, Team Sky's chances and how to watch – everything you need to know
Can Chris Froome ride to a third overall victory in the world's biggest bike race?
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On Saturday 2 July, 198 riders from 22 teams will set out to compete in the 103rd edition of the race. On the evening of Sunday 24 July, after riding more than 3,500km on a route that includes forays into Andorra, Spain and Switzerland, the remnants of the peloton will finish in Paris. There, one rider will receive the iconic yellow jersey and €500,000 awarded to the race winner.
Along the way, riders will be cheered on by millions of roadside fans, be escorted by tens of thousands of gendarmes, and follow a publicity caravan comprising 170 colourfully-arrayed vehicles and populated by almost 500 permanently enthusiastic staff.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2016 edition of the world’s biggest bike race:
The route
After Yorkshire hosted the Grand Départ in 2014, and Utrecht was given in the honour last year, the race organisers have opted to begin this edition of the Tour de France in… France. The backdrop, however, is stunning: Mont St Michel, the spectacular Benedictine island monastery connected to the coast of Normandy by a one-kilometre causeway.
The route, on the whole, seems designed for aggression rather than attrition, with fewer draining summit finishes and the onus on short, exciting mountain stages. That said, Bastille Day’s stage 12 ends atop one of the Tour’s most iconic climbs, Mont Ventoux, while stage 9 to Andorra Arcalis finishes a dizzying 2,240m above sea level.
In total, of the race’s 3,519 kilometres counter-clockwise around France, just 54km are against the clock. However, the two time trials are hilly and technical, and could prove decisive in the race for the yellow jersey.
The favourites
Chris Froome (6/4 – odds from Oddschecker): The reigning champion had a quiet start to the season, but his impressive Critérium du Dauphiné victory was a powerful statement of intent – the 31-year-old has preluded both of his previous Tour wins with Dauphiné success.
Backed up by arguably the strongest all-round squad Team Sky has ever assembled, and with a balanced route that suits his all-round strengths, Froome enters the race as the undoubted man to beat.
Nairo Quintana (2/1): The diminutive Colombian climber has twice finished runner up to Froome, narrowing 2013’s deficit of 4:20 to 1.12 last year, and impressive early season victories at the Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Romandie suggest he is only continuing to improve.
The 26-year-old cannot count on the quite such formidable team support as Froome, but should be equally as comfortable on a parcours whose only time trial stages are distinctly lumpy. He is a slow starter to Grand Tours, but expect fireworks if he is within striking distance as the race enters its third week.
Alberto Contador (13/2): At 33, the most decorated Grand Tour rider of his generation is running out of opportunities to add to the yellow jerseys he won in 2007 and 2009, and has not finished on the podium since his 2010 title was retrospectively stripped from him for a doping offence.
Despite promising early-season form, Froome looked a class above him in the Dauphiné. However, a route that encourages nous rather than attrition perhaps suits the Spaniard most of all, with several downhill finishes providing an opportunity for a skilful descender to gain time with an ambush on his rivals.
The outsiders
Fabio Aru (18/1): After a stellar 2015, in which he won the Vuelta a España and took two stages and second overall at the Giro D’Italia, the Italian makes his Tour debut backed by super-domestique and former race winner Vincenzo Nibali. The Astana rider’s quiet early-season form was boosted by a fine, daring stage win at the Dauphiné.
Richie Porte (20/1): Froome’s erstwhile, loyal lieutenant was a key player in both of his Tour victories. The 31-year-old will share team leadership of BMC with Tejay van Garderen (who spent years waiting in the wings behind Cadel Evans, another Australian). Doubts remain about Porte’s capacity to last a full three weeks.
Thibaut Pinot (22/1): A white jersey and third-place overall in 2014 was followed by a disappointing 16th place in last year’s race, albeit with a stage win on l’Alpe D’Huez. This year, however, the Frenchman has been in excellent form, with a time trial victory over Tom Dumoulin in the Tour de Romandie demonstrating his improvement against the clock.
The sprinters
Marcel Kittel: Kittel won the opening stage at the last two Tours he rode (the first of four stages in each race) and, after a dire 2015, is back to his best this year. Consecutive stage wins in the first week of the Giro d’Italia demonstrated that, when fit, the 28-year-old is undoubtedly the fastest sprinter in the world.
Andre Greipel: In Kittel’s absence, and with Mark Cavendish out of sorts, Greipel was the dominant sprinter in last year’s race, capping off four stage victories with a first career win on the Champs Elysées. The German goes into the race having beaten his compatriot Kittel in the national championships, and with three Giro d’Italia stage wins under his belt.
Mark Cavendish: This season the former World Champion has not enjoyed the successes of his German rivals: a total of three stage victories and the overall title at the Tour of Qatar represent an unusually modest return for the Manxman. However, Cavendish has proved time and again it is foolish to write off a rider who, with 26 stages, is the most successful sprinter in the race’s history. Victory on the opening day to Utah Beach would mean the 31-year-old finally gets the chance to wear the yellow jersey – something that has eluded him thus far.
Peter Sagan: The Slovakian’s consistency across all terrain has enabled him to win the Tour’s green jersey four years in a row, despite last winning a stage in 2013. The reigning World Champion has avoided the curse of the rainbow jersey with a string of victories this season, most notably the Tour of Flanders, so expect him to make it five in a row here.
How to watch
Every stage is broadcast live on ITV4, Eurosport 1 and S4C. Highlights at 7.00pm every night on ITV4, from between 8.30pm and 9.40pm on Eurosport and at 10.00pm on S4C.
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