Ten riders to keep an eye on over the next three weeks
Thursday 2 July 2015 10:10, UK
Much of the focus at the Tour de France is on the fight for the yellow jersey or battle to be king of the sprints.
However, there is plenty of scope for other riders to make their mark over the course of the three weeks of the race.
Here are 10 to look out for…
Age: 22.
Team: Orica-GreenEdge.
Riding style: Climbers.
Two rolled into one, the British twins from Bury are on the hunt for stage wins and given that both are among the brightest young talents in the sport, it's far from out of the question. They both made their grand tour debuts last year - Adam at the Vuelta a Espana and Simon at the Tour - so they will be prepared for the rigours of three-week racing. They will look to get wins out of breakaway, probably on mountain or rolling stages.
Age: 27.
Team: Lotto Soudal.
Riding style: All-rounder.
The Frenchman enjoyed an outstanding Tour last year, holding the yellow jersey for one day and then winning stage 11 with a late solo attack two days later. Having tasted that success, he will no doubt be on the hunt for a repeat this time around and given that he has shown good form this season, don't be surprised if he is successful.
Age: 24.
Team: Lotto Soudal.
Riding style: All-rounder.
Wellens is a team-mate of Gallopin and is not too dissimilar in terms of his all-round riding style. He specialises on shorter climbs and is likely to target stage wins out of breakaways. The Belgian is waiting for a chance to announce himself as a top-class rider and the Tour could be the perfect platform.
Age: 26.
Team: MTN-Qhubeka.
Riding style: Climber.
The Tour will have an African team racing for the first time in its history this year and MTN-Qhubeka will have five riders from Africa in their nine-man line-up. One of the most prominent of those is the Eritrea's Teklehaimanot, who is unlikely to challenge anywhere near the top of the general classification but should be a regular fixture in breakaways, his confidence no doubt boosted by winning the mountains classification at the recent Criterium du Dauphine.
Age: 23.
Team: MTN-Qhubeka.
Riding style: Climber.
The South African is another MTN-Qhubeka rider who could make a big impact, and he could even be a contender for stage wins out of a breakaway. Meintjes is excellent going uphill and if he can get in the right breakaway on a mountain stage, he could take some beating. Evidence of that came when he finished an impressive third in one of the summit finishes at the Criterium du Dauphine in June.
Age: 26.
Team: Giant-Alpecin.
Riding style: Sprinter.
The German won Paris-Roubaix in April and will consequently be among the favourites to win the Tour's cobbled fourth stage. Degenkolb should be able to eat up the 13.3km of pavé - as the cobbles are known - and with no team leader to look after, he will be given licence to turn on the power and go for victory.
Age: 28.
Team: Lampre-Merida.
Riding style: All-rounder.
The former world road race champion won two stages in four days at the 2013 Tour but struggled at last year's race with pneumonia, so he will be keen to make up for lost time. One of his 2013 wins was on the exactly the same finish as this year's stage 16, so he will no doubt have his eyes on a repeat there. A strong climber with a decent sprint, Costa can win on a variety of terrains.
Age: 24.
Team: Bora-Argon 18.
Riding style: Sprinter.
The Irish sprinter is set to make his Tour debut after picking up three impressive wins so far this season. He defeated Nacer Bouhanni on all three occasions and has also got the better of Degenkolb, so he has the potential to snatch what would be an unfancied yet famous win.
Age: 36.
Team: Europcar.
Riding style: All-rounder.
The veteran Frenchmen is one of the most charismatic and recognisable riders in the peloton. His attacking style and legendary gurning have become one of the hallmarks of the Tour in recent editions and although he is no longer the force he was three or four years ago, expect to see plenty of Voeckler on your TV screens as he bids for stage wins, most probably from breakaways.
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