Tour de France 2019 Preview
As the 106th Tour de France gets ready to roll out of the start gates in Brussels, expectations are already growing for what could be one of the most unpredictable races of recent years. Unexpected line ups, in-form underdogs and a well-balanced Tour route are all leading towards a fantastic race. So, who exactly are the favourites?
The reigning champion, Geraint Thomas, has to be considered one of the leading candidates for the 2019 Tour. The TTT (team time trial) on stage 2 and the Pau time trial on Stage 13 will favour Thomas, as well as the lower gradient climbs, where his time trialling and pursuit qualities will help him up the everlasting climbs. Despite this, there are several steep passes this year, many of which are summit finishes, which could prove to be trouble for him. Thomas’ form could also be questioned due to his crash at the Tour de Suisse. Although his season so far has been underwhelming, Thomas was unstoppable last summer and who’s to say he won’t be again this July.
Thomas’ team-mate turned rival, Egan Bernal, has come from nowhere in the past year to being one of the biggest up and coming stars in the cycling world. The 22 year old has showed his talent through his wins at the Tour of California last year, coupled with his overall victories at the week- long Paris-Nice race and the Tour de Suisse this season. Having crashed before the Giro d’Italia this season, this will be Bernal’s first Grand Tour as one of Ineo’s leading spearheads and his quick rise and promotion to joint-leader with Thomas for the Tour this summer has shown that Ineos are open to Bernal being the man to lead the team if Thomas doesn’t come up with the goods, very much what happened with Thomas and Froome last year. The real question with Bernal is how he will respond to the pressure; will he flourish or flounder under it?
The sudden crash and abandonment of the Tour from Chris Froome and the announcement from Sunweb that Tom Dumoulin will not be attending the Tour has opened up the race for many other talented riders to make this Tour the one they are remembered for. Astana’s Jakub Fuglsang is no spring chicken at 34 years old, but his form coming up to the Tour is second to none with his win at the Criterium du Dauphine, beating a talented field including Nairo Quintana, Thibaut Pinot and Adam Yates. This year could be Fuglsang’s best chance to stake a claim for a Grand Tour victory.
Other contenders for the victory and the podium include the French pair of Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet, with both previously being on the podium, but never on the top step. This year’s race leads itself towards punchy climbers with good acceleration, something that both men possess. If they survive the TTT on Stage 2 with losses of less than a minute, they could be strong contenders for the upper echelons of the top 10.
The Yates twins, Adam and Simon, could work as a double act to get Adam a podium place, with Simon riding as support (as he’s already ridden the Giro). Fabio Aru and Dan Martin will look to gain time on the stage 6 finish up La Planche des Belles Filles, especially with the added kilometre of gravel road atop the climb averaging at 20-24%. Vincenzo Nibali is also likely to attend, but in search of stage wins. Steven Kruijswijk, Rigoberto Uran, Richie Porte, Ilnur Zakarin and Wilco Kelderman are also outsiders that could challenge for the podium if the race goes in their favour.
Movistar’s triple threat of Nairo Quintana, Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde will return again in 2019 to attempt to unsettle the Ineos, formerly Team Sky, machine with a stranglehold on the Tour over recent years. Valverde’s age could work against him, meaning it is down to Landa and Quintana to upset the Ineos apple cart. Due to Landa’s Giro d’Italia appearance, the work may be down to Quintana to lead the Movistar team this year. Having struggled to rekindle the form of his youth over the last few years, this year could be make or break for Quintana as a grand tour contender.
The underdog story of the year could come from riders like the talented Warren Barguil, or the young German Emanuel Buchmann, with Julian Alaphilippe and Guilio Ciccone facing off for the King of the Mountains Classification.
The sprint stages of this Tour will be a showcase of talent with the younger generation of sprinters including Caleb Ewan, Fernando Gaviria and Dylan Groenewegen taking the mantle from the older sprinters like Andre Greipel, Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish. Elia Viviani’s second Tour appearance looks like it could be his best, with him being a leader contender now, unlike 2014. Peter Sagan begins this Tour looking for a record beating seventh green jersey with the Australian Michael Matthews as his biggest competition. Will any of the out and out sprinters be able to challenge the relentless Peter Sagan this year?
The route itself is made for the climbers this year with only one ITT in the race (and at only 27km) and the peloton going over iconic passes like the Col d’Isernan, the Galibier and finishing atop the Col du Tourmalet. However, the TTT on Stage 2 at 27km could prove to be decisive if strong time-trialliing teams like Ineos can gain enough time for their leaders on less powerful teams like AG2R and FDJ. An incredible final three days in the Alps will undoubtedly be a fitting finale for the race and one that will determine the race winner, potentially on a long-range attack up the Isernan, or on the final 36km climb to Val Thorens on Stage 20.
This year’s Tour de France has all the ingredients to become an all-time classic. Only time will tell, but amongst the wise heads, excitable young talents, fearless descenders, powerful sprinters and angelic climbers we have a race that could break records. The 100th anniversary yellow jersey is up for grabs, who do you think will win?