Peter Sagan Tinkoff
Does the route suit him? It’s difficult to imagine one that wouldn’t suit Sagan, who has enjoyed such a stranglehold on the green jersey since 2012 that Tour officials changed the points scoring system last year to give specialist sprinters a better chance of beating him. It didn’t work.
The right team-mates? Yes and no. While his team rides in the service of the GC contender Alberto Contador, Sagan is generally left to his own devices. The arrangement suits the 26-year-old Slovak just fine.
What form is he in? Sagan ended last season on a high, winning the third stage of the Vuelta, before triumphing at the World Road Race Championships in Richmond, Virginia. Following a series of eight second-place finishes in the rainbow jersey, he triumphed at Gent-Wevelgem in April, secured his first Monument victory at the Tour of Flanders and won two stages at the Tour of California.Biggest plus point? It’s difficult to tell, because he has so many: consistency, fearlessness in the saddle, incredible bike-handling skills and an apparently bottomless reservoir of good humour and youthful fecklessness.
Biggest worry? Illness or an accident. Sagan was forced to pull out of last season’s Vuelta after a crash caused by a race official’s motorcycle.
He’d be secretly happy with … Nothing less than the green jersey, but will want a stage win or two. Despite romping home in the green jersey stakes last year, Sagan was forced to endure the frustration of five second-place finishes at the Tour.
Marcel Kittel Etixx – Quick-Step
Does the route suit him? Not especially. The 2016 Tour contains nine largely flat stages, but several have punchy uphill finishes that the German won’t particularly enjoy.
The right team-mates? Yes. The Etixx – Quick‑Step locomotive is the fastest lead-out train in the business.
What form is he in? After a disastrous 2015 ruined by the adverse affects of a virus, Kittel has returned to full health and rediscovered his mojo. In this year’s Dubai Tour he won two stages, the points category and overall victory. More recently he breasted the tape in two stages of the Giro d’Italia, taking his first maglia rosa, before withdrawing after stage eight.
Biggest plus point? On his day Kittel is virtually unbeatable and in Etixx – Quick-Step he has the luxury of a team tasked with the sole purpose of delivering him to the front of the pack with 150 metres to go.
Biggest worry? Peter Sagan.
He’d be secretly happy with … a win in stage one from Mont Saint-Michel to Utah Beach Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, which looks a certainty to put one of the sprinters in the maillot jaune.
Alexander Kristoff Katusha
Does the route suit him? Without question. Rather than being an out-and-out speed-merchant, Kristoff will relish the prospect of long, undulating Classic-type stages that will tire out his sprint rivals. Throw in some bad weather and he’ll be in hog heaven.
The right team-mates? He’s lucky to have a team around him at all. The Norwegian has lost his lead-out man, Luca Paolini, who received an 18-month ban after testing positive for cocaine in last year’s Tour. In February, the UCI decided not to ban Katusha from racing after deciding the Italian’s use of the drug was “social”.
What form is he in? Along with two stages wins in 2014, victory in that year’s Milan-San Remo and the following year’s Tour of Flanders remain the highlights of the big Norwegian’s palmarès. He’s notched a few low-key wins in the build-up to this year’s race.
Biggest plus point? Has a definite edge over out-and-out speedsters in the mid-mountain stages.
Biggest worry? Peter Sagan.
He’d be secretly happy with … equalling or bettering those two stage wins in 2014.
André Greipel Lotto-Soudal
Does the route suit him? Up to a point, but Sagan is invariably in the shake-up in sprint finishes and has the edge over the fast men when it comes to snaffling points on the medium mountain stages.
The right team-mates? Yes. In Greg Henderson, Greipel has one of the best lead‑out men in the business and Lotto-Soudal proved their class and versatility as a unit with three consecutive stage victories in the Giro. Greipel was effusive in his praise for their efforts after winning two of them.
What form is he in? Greipel will turn 34 during this year’s Tour, so he’s in the twilight of his career but remains a wily old dog with plenty of experience. Two Giro stage wins proves there’s still plenty left in the tank.
Biggest plus point? The popular German has ridden the past five Tours and won at least one stage in each, proving he has the beating of anyone on a good day at the office.
Biggest worry? Peter Sagan.
He’d be secretly happy with … in descending order: an opening day stage win, a closing day stage win or – considering the return to form of his compatriot Kittel – any stage win.
Mark Cavendish Dimension Data
Does the route suit him? It will suit him much the same as it suits any of the sprinters with whom he’ll be contesting fast and furious finishes.
The right team-mates? Apparently so. Cavendish has enjoyed plenty of success with his new South African team, who he praised for being “consistently visible” throughout the Tour of California. There is, however, a possibility that he’ll drop out of the Tour early to focus his energies on the Olympics.
What form is he in? Overall first place in the Tour of Qatar and a win in the final stage of the Tour of California would suggest that things are ticking along nicely.Biggest plus point? As the last rider to win the Tour’s points classification before Sagan burst on the scene and began his monopoly, Cavendish knows and has what it takes to win the green jersey.
Biggest worry? Peter Sagan.
He’d be secretly happy with … like most of the sprinters, the Manx Missile will have his eye on a stint in yellow following a win in the opening stage, but will probably be content to emerge fit and healthy ahead of his tilt at Olympic gold.
