The Tour de France is about to commence and our excitement for what’s to come is escalating by the hour.
Although we’re naturally saddened we won’t be at the race for the first time in years, we’ll certainly be there in spirit, avidly watching the action daily, cheering on our favourite team’s and riders from afar, all while counting down the days to the Tour de France 2021 and what we’re sure will be a momentous return.
To give you a head-start before the race gets underway, we’ve curated a hit list of top contenders for Yellow, top sprinters, a quick route refresh, a few thoughts from 17 x TDF former pro, Stuey O’Grady and how you can watch worldwide so you don’t miss a minute of action!
The #1 favourite has to be last year’s champion, Egan Bernal. At just 23 years old, the Colombian climbing sensation certainly turned heads when he proved the strongest of his star-studded line-up of Team Ineos team mates, sealing the team its seventh Tour de France victory of the past eight editions.
Following his recently revealed back injury at the Dauphiné and the absence of Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome on the start list, the young Colombian will certainly have his work cut out for him, and the team will have fewer GC options to fall back on, if Bernal isn’t at his greatest. Time will tell…
Since the recent return of professional cycling in 2020, Roglic has been Mr unstoppable. He completely dominated the Tour de l'Ain, continuing the momentum through to Critérium du Dauphiné where his exceptional climbing legs did the talking up Stage 2’s Col de Porte summit finish, leaving competitors legless in their quest to take him on.
Unfortunately for Roglic, who was bound to win the overall tour, he crashed heavily on the penultimate stage, resulting in a nasty dose of cuts and road rash, forcing him to withdraw to try to recover in time for the Tour. Rumour has it, he’s still not 100%, so he may have some difficulty in the opening stages.
Thibaut Pinot is without doubt France’s greatest hope at a Tour de France overall victory and they’re now more eager than ever, their last being 15 years ago with Bernard Hinault.
The Frenchman had his GC hopes crushed last year when he was caught out in a crosswind marred stage early on, however he impressively bounced back to win Stage 14 finishing up the Tourmalet. He then retired early on Stage 19, so will undoubtedly be returning this year with a vengeance.
Having recently finished second overall at the Dauphiné, there is no denying that he’s ready to rock.
This year, Mikel Landa will be lining up for the Tour de France with complete team support, backing his GC ambitions. This will be a welcomed change for the former Movistar rider who was often caught in situations battling for the GC leadership, shared with fellow team mates in previous seasons.
Landa is consistently right in the mix come the mountains, and was fourth overall at the 2017 Tour de France. Having also endured a disrupted Dauphiné due to back problems, here’s hoping he’s made a full recovery by go-time.
No doubt oozing confidence from his recent Dauphiné overall victory, 24 year old Daniel Martinez will certainly be one to watch by all. Another incredibly strong Colombian talent, particularly when the road rises up and clearly in the form of his life heading into the tour.
The question is, does he have what it takes to remain in contention for the length of a Grand Tour? He’s still to prove it, yet at only 24, he certainly has time on his hands and 2020 could well be his year.
As a former Giro d’Italia champion, and 2018 Tour de France runner-up, this Dutch climbing, time-trialling phenomenon will be quite the asset to team leader Primoz Roglic throughout the tour, and if Roglic’s not up to scratch following his recent spill, he may just slot nicely into the leadership role himself.
He was recently right in the mix of GC contenders at the Dauphiné, finishing in seventh overall, so will be hitting the ground running from Nice in great condition, part of a Jumbo-Visma mission to finally take Ineos off that top step.
Although a little off the mark in his recent return to racing, due to injury, Dan Martin is a consistently there kind of GC rider and has been right up there in previous Tour de France editions as an overall contender and as a multiple stage winner.
The Irishman is well regarded for his do-or-die attitude, often on the attack making the magic happen.
We look forward to seeing him aboard his Factor O2, hopefully making it rain in the mountains in the weeks to come.
Lining up for Tour de France debutants, Israel Start-Up Nation, they’ll be more motivated than ever to step onto the scene with a bang and Martin will be their best bet for success when the road rises up.
Quintana is another former Movistar rider who will be hitting the Tour de France in the fresh colours of French team, Arkéa-Samsic.
The 30 year-old climber was off to quite the start of the season pre-lockdown, claiming multiple overall stage race wins, setting himself up for a big season ahead.
His recent return has certainly given hope, following a third place overall at the Tour de l'Ain, however having also fallen victim to a training accident with a car in July, his Dauphiné was less than ideal, the knee injury he sustained from the accident eventually causing him to withdraw.
Positively, his team have since confirmed, he’s recovered and ready for Le Tour. To see him back at the top of his game, will be a welcomed sight for cycling fans around the world.
Yet another incredible climbing talent reigning from Colombia is Esteban Chaves, known not only for his climbing legs but his contagious smile.
The long-time Mitchelton-SCOTT rider has had a few rockier seasons plagued by illness and injury, however proved his return to the top was going well when he claimed a Stage victory at last year’s Giro d’italia.
His recent return to racing will have him heading to the Tour de France with confidence following a fourth overall at the Vuelta a Burgos.
This year will mark his second Tour de France appearance, his last in 2018 during a challenging battle with illness, so he’ll be returning with some serious ambitions to perform at his greatest.
Between himself and Adam Yates, the team will have some very handy cards to play.
We’re rounding out our top ten with Aussie favourite, Richie Porte.
The 2020 Santos Tour Down Under champion has been confirmed as co-leader for Trek-Segafredo, alongside Bauke Mollema.
Clearly off to a flying start this year, with his victory down under, he’ll be heading into the tour with big hopes. He recently finished 15th overall at the Dauphiné, confirming he’s a little off the mark, yet still in good knick.
Following some terrible luck in previous editions, he’ll be eager to get through to Paris at the pointy end unscathed and with some luck on his side. Australia will certainly be routing for him.
Young, shockingly quick Caleb Ewan will be returning to the 2020 Tour de France booming confidence, having claimed a phenomenal 3 x stage wins at last year’s edition. He was off to a fantastic start to the 2020 season to add, winning two stages at the Santos Tour Down Under.
He’ll almost certainly be up for another victory or two, with the big goals surely lying in Nice for the opening stage and the final run along the Champs-Élysées that he so impressively claimed in 2019.
Irish sprinter Sam Bennett will inarguably be in the mix for a stage win or two. Having switched forces this season to Deceuninck-QuickStep, he’s proven the transfer has been a wise move, having already won stages at the recent VOO-Tour de Wallonie and Vuelta a Burgos.
He has 5 Grand Tour Stage wins to his name, however is yet to raise his arms at the Tour de France, so will surely be eager to add Le Tour success to his shining palmares.
What would a top sprinters list be without the legendary André Greipel?
As an 11 x Tour de France stage winner, there’s no denying the German sprinter will be right up there and hungry to add another victory to his already exemplary success rate.
Lining up for Israel Start-Up Nation, who will be the first Israeli team to ride the tour, he’ll have added desire to whip out a result for the team.
As fellow Factor Bikes partners we’re incredibly excited to see Greipel going head to head with the world’s best on his Factor ONE.
The 3 x former world champion and 4 x Sprint Classification winner will be the hot favourite to reclaim his beloved Green Jersey at this year’s Tour.
Having recently placed fourth at Milan-San Remo he’s proven he’s there, just not quite there, however anyone would be a fool to ever underestimate the great that is, Peter Sagan.
Italian sprint superstar, Elia Viviani is yet to taste success this season in his new Cofidis colours.
However, as a five time Giro d’Italia stage winner, 3 x La Vuelta stage winner and a 2019 Tour de France stage winner, it would come as no surprise to see him on the top step over the coming weeks.
@PaulineBallet
The world class sprinter from Norway has been considerably off the mark at his recent return to racing in 2020.
Although, having won three stages in previous editions, he remains a favourite to be right in contention for stage victories at this year’s tour.
Just to refresh your memory on this year’s route that has for organisers, thankfully remained the same 3,470km distance...
It’s a mountain mad edition, with limited sprint opportunities and a sole penultimate time trial, finishing up the 5.9km La Planche des Belles Filles that will absolutely favour the climbing specialists who have lost time in previous editions’ time trials.
Included along the route will be a succession of 5 testing summit finish stages, including 29 categorised climbs that travel through five of France’s mountain ranges; the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura, Vosges and Massif Central. Missing from the key climbs encountered will be the iconic, Mont Ventoux and Alpe d'Huez.
The first mountain finish will come as early as Stage 4 to Orcières-Merlette and the most decisive mountain days will lie in the Alps on Stage 15, finishing up the Grand Colombier, followed by the Stage 17 Queen Stage to Méribel that will face the highest point in the race at its finish up the brutal Col de la Loze.
Stage 18 will counter a challenging previous stage with a mountain-filled day through the Alps, at this point just days out from Paris.
The sprinters will have a great battle for the Yellow Jersey on day one in Nice, however will then have limited opportunities throughout the race’s course that travels over mostly hilly-undulating terrain the whole way round. The sprinters who have bought some form of climbing legs will likely be the ones to claim stages between Nice and the final run into Paris where it will well and truly be all-on again for Champs-Élysées victory.
“This Tour De France will certainly go into the History books before a kilometre has even been raced. What a year it’s been.
With so much uncertainty over the past few months it’s just fantastic to see the Tour go ahead. Fingers crossed, the peloton make it to Paris without any Covid cases and it can be remembered for being a great bike race and nothing else.
This will be my first TDF home since 1997, so it’s going to be really strange sitting on the couch watching the racing unfold. I cannot wait to see what happens!
INEOS have gone "All in" on Bernal & Jumbo-Visma are certainly the strongest team on the planet at the moment.
With most of the world’s best riders on the Start line, it’s going to be non-stop excitement for the viewers, and with a parcours that is extremely challenging, I am seeing a lot of sleep deprivation over the next few weeks.
Can Sagan win his 8th Green jersey? Can the French finally get the win they've been searching for since 1980?
It’s going to make for one hell of a bike race….
Vivre Le Tour & Stay Safe!"
- Stuey
As the Tour de France is one of the biggest sporting event’s across the world, the coverage is always fairly accessible worldwide.
Here are a few sites and channels to tune into or sign-up to during the tour:
Click here to view the 2020 start list.
We'll be tuning in daily, counting down the days until we're back at it catching the action live next year. Join us in our countdown, by securing your spot on your tour of choice with Mummu Cycling at the Tour de France 2021, by placing a risk-free booking deposit. Your place will then not only be reserved, but you'll also receive all tour itineraries before they go live on our website following the Official 2021 route reveal this October.
Register, HERE.