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Chris Froome, from now on, will not participate in the 2018 Tour de France after the race, announcing that he will prevent him from taking the start while his anti-doping investigation is ongoing. There is a chance that he can return to the peloton, but we are in unexplored waters. Froome and Team Sky will probably fight like crazy to put him back in the race so he can play his fifth yellow jersey.
But do not be too distracted. Even before the Froome ban, there were good reasons to excite for the group of general classification challengers this year. While Froome was still the favorite to win, he just won a title of Giro d'Italia last May, and still feels the effects. It's not just bad luck that no rider has completed the Giro-Tour's double in 20 years.
Now that Froome is out, an unprecedented Tour champion is almost certain (though Vincenzo Nibali is making waves). If you do not follow cycling very closely, you may not know some of the other favorites of the yellow jersey. It's good. Consider this as a cheat sheet for a world without a Froome
Romain Bardet
Team: AG2R
Why he can win: OK, so Bardet is probably not the favorite of the bets, but he is near. And he is my favorite to win, and that's my list so I put it first. Deal with the nerds.
Bardet is a pure climber, and knowing that Tour organizers have apparently set up a suitable course for the 27 years of becoming the first French champion since Bernard Hinault in 1985. The course includes striking mountain stages on which Bardet is known to attack, and de-emphasize the time trials, which almost cost him his place on the podium last year.
Why He Can not Win: Bardet's time trial ability may be bad . He is also part of a relatively weak team. Compared to Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa on Movistar, or Geraint Thomas on Team Sky, Bardet will have to do a lot more work alone to be sure to stay ahead of the pack.
Geraint Thomas
Team: Sky
Why he can win: Thomas is ostensibly the next man on Team Sky, except to say that it could serve him. Thomas won the Critérium du Dauphine in June, a race considered a predictor of the success of the Tour, and he will have by far the strongest team in France.
Thomas had already said that he wanted to challenge Froome as a team leader. Now there is no doubt that he will be the price jumper of Sky
Why he can not win: Thomas has not yet been team leader, and he did not finish higher than 15th in a big tour. This is not the result of youth either – he recently turned 32 years old. Thomas was an excellent domestic throughout his career. If this can translate into something more must still be seen.
Tom Dumoulin
Team: Sunweb
Why he can win: Dumoulin is one of the few riders to have won a big tour before winning the Giro's pink jersey. Italia 2017. He is probably the best rider of the Tour. Dumoulin excels in time trials and classical style courses and has consistently improved as a climber throughout his career.
Why he can not win: Dumoulin could be the favorite of a year, but this year heavy mountains. And as good as he sometimes watched during big tours, he never really had the dominant look? It's hard to say what's wrong with Dumoulin – he's doing all right – and yet he does not seem to be a runner who can take over. It's a very sentimental analysis, and I should say it would not be surprising to see him win the yellow jersey.
Nairo Quintana
Team: Movistar
Why he can win: Quintana has won two major tours – a Giro d'Italia, a Vuelta a Espana – and a podium six times. For a moment, it appeared that he would be Froome's main rival in France, and it's hard to say that he really lost a step. A fit Quintana may be the best climber in the world, and this course rewards him
Why he can not win: He finished 12th in the Tour last year, and it's hard to say if its shape is better this year. He is a supernatural runner, preferring to make small runs before hitting the bigger ones. He won a stage at the Tour of Switzerland last month … but he also finished third overall behind Richie Porte and Jakob Fuglsang.
Richie Porte
Team: BMC Racing
Why he can win: Porte is a perpetual contestant. He rides with a chip. He can time as well as climb. He has always played well in stage races of a week. One of those years, it seems like it really should be his year.
Why he can not win: This is never his year. And at age 33, his window of opportunity begins to close. The most encouraging sign for him is that he had a fantastic season and a strong Tour before suffering a brutal crash at step 9. But all too often, this seems to be the story with him. Something something is always wrong.
Adam Yates
Team: Mitchelton-Scott
Why He Can Win: Yates is an exciting youngster now rounded to its peak at age 25. He and his brother, Simon, were on a trajectory for the grand tour's grandeur if nothing interrupted the bow. Adam Yates was fourth in the Tour in 2016, winning the Young Drivers Competition, and second at the Critérium du Dauphine this year behind Thomas. So why not?
Why He Can not Win: There is no good reason, really, except youth, and the fact that Yates is dealing with a crowded field. It would be great to see Yates go out and win the yellow jersey, but that's a lot to ask a 25-year-old player.
Mikel Landa
Team: Movistar
Why he can win: Landa moved to Movistar de Sky after the Tour de France last year, ostensibly to finally lose responsibilities and start winning big tours on his own. He is also a mountain specialist, and he would have probably finished on the Tour podium last year, at least, if he was not also Froome's assistant – he was just a second behind Bardet.
Why he can not win: Landa is a really exciting talent and climber. The big question is, as always: will his team leave him free? Landa may not have much improved her situation. With Movistar, he will compete with Quintana and Alejandro Valverde (albeit aging) for help. And there is no guarantee that the three will work well together.
Vincenzo Nibali
Team: Bahrain-Merida
Why he can win: Nibali is the only other Tour driver who actually wore the yellow jersey in Paris (although he l & # 39; Did it in 2014, after Froome was crushed). He is a cunning racer, and a master climber and technician on the bike. He has made 10 times a big podium in his career and is a good bet to do it 11.
Why he can not win: Nibali is a great runner, but he can be outclassed physically by many riders above. I would not feel comfortable with choosing Nibali if Nibali did not always find a way to get into each race.
The Field
Here is a brief overview of the other drivers who could win this year's Tour.
Dan Martin (Emirates United Arab Emirates) – Excellent multiple runner, but also Porte-ian in his ability to escape from all the long stages.
Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale) – I would not have had time to give him a chance this year though he had not won it last year.
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) – Great hairdresser, helluva hair head, a good candidate to be this year's Uran.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) – Old as hell, but all he has to do is stay on the wheel of Quintana or Landa then throw them at the right moment, no?
Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) – Excellent time chronicler, and it's his time at 28 years old. Still, he's never come close to doing anything meaningful in a grand tour overall standings.
Egan Bernal (Team Sky) – He is only 21 years old and already doing things like winning the time trial title of the Tour of California and Colombia. Winning him could actually make me love Team Sky.
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