2016 Tour de France Preview

The 2016 Tour de France is a tour of central and southern France from Saturday July 2 to Sunday July 24, briefly visiting Spain, Andorra and Switzerland. With a total of 28 mountain passes, it could see the yellow jersey battle come down to the strongest climber with the strongest team.

Chris Froome (Sky) will seek to successfully defend his Tour de France title against favorites Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar). Contador having foregone defence of his Giro d’Italia title to concentrate on the Tour, and Nairo Quintana aiming to better his two second place finishes, the 2016 Tour de France looks set to be an exciting three weeks! Other favorites include Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ).

Nairo Quintana can now rely on Valverde who has pinned his hopes on the Olympics rather than the Tour, giving Quintana one hell of a teammate. Chris Froome will have Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard by his side during the Tour de France, with both domestiques expected to make Team Sky's line-up. Both Rowe and Stannard helped Froome defend his Critérium du Dauphiné crown earlier this month and were also in the Sky squad that catapulted Froome to Tour de France success in 2015.

Contador, form-wise, looks to be in good shape. His time trial win over Froome at Les Gets in the Dauphiné was a rare triumph against the clock and his rival, and while he fell away to fifth overall, his attacks in the mountains suggests that he was on course to hone his form.

After a seven-year absence, time bonuses will again be given at the finishes of normal stages. The bonuses will be of 10, 6 and 4 seconds for the first three of each stage which GC contenders will have to take note.

The Green Jersey will be rewarded to the leader of the points classification. Points will be given at the finishes of each stage as well as at an intermediate sprint on every normal stage. Peter Sagan will be looking for his 5th win this year. Mark Cavendish heads up Dimension Data's team and looks to be in for a good lead out train including Edvald Boasson Hagen, Steve Cummings, Bernhard Eisel and Mark Renshaw.

The Polka Dot jersey will be worn by the leader of best climbers classification. Points will be given out at the top of mountains and hills and at the 4 mountain-top finishes of Andorre Arcalis, Mont Ventoux, Finhaut-Emosson and Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc. Chris Froome took this jersey too last year, but it only have the yellow jersey firmly in his sights. After winning the Critérium du Dauphiné, he looks to have the best odds of winning.

Normandy Start

Stage 1 on July 2nd takes riders from the magnificent site of Mont Saint Michel, across the Cotentin peninsula, to Utah Beach, which will remind cycling fans of the huge sacrifice American forces made to liberate Europe during World War 2. This stage should be one for the sprinters as it's pretty flat. Watch out for Yellow, Red and Green painted sheep as the Peleton heads inland!

Stage 2 on Sunday 3rd July is a north-south race down the Cotentin, from Cherbourg to the local capital Saint Lo. Stage two ends with a kick up the Cote de la Glaciene that will suit puncheurs like Sagan and Cavendish for the sprint.

Stage 3 on Monday 4th July, riders set off from the seaside resort of Granville, then head south towards the Loire valley, as far as the city of Angers, in the Pays de la Loire region. Stage 4 sets off next morning, Tuesday 5th July, from nearby Saumur for the longest stage of the 2016 Tour, as far as Limoges. Both stages faily flat which could results in a bunch sprint or an escape from a breakaway.

Massif Central towards the Pyrenees

From Le Lioran, Stage 6 on Thursday 7th July takes riders down to the plains of Southwest France, to Montauban.

Stage 7 on Friday 8th July is across the Midi Pyrenees region to reach the Pyrenees at Lac de Payolle at the end of stage 7. This is the next key stage as it includes the climb of the Col d'Aspin at 1,490m and a downhill finish that could suit a breakaway specialist.  

The Pyrenees

Stage 8, Saturday 9th July, departs from Pau, then takes riders over the classic Pyrenean route of the Col du Tourmalet, which, at 2,115 metres above sea level, will be the second-highest point on the 2016 Tour. This is a brute of a day with climbs of Hourqueet d'Ancizan, Col de Val Louron-Azet and the Col de Peyresourde. Any weakness in any GC Contenders on a stage like this could see them loose minutes. This stage could see a breakaway that could stick if they can stay away to the Col de Peyresourde, for the final descent.

The highest point on the 2016 Tour de France will be reached on Stage 9, Sunday July 10th, with its finish at the Andorran resort of Arcalis, at a height of 2,240 metres.Five categorised climbs and one of the highest summit finishes in Tour history at 2,240m in Arcalis. Thibaut Pinot marked this stage out after the route presentation as one that he would like to win, and he’ll unlikely be alone in that hope. Arguably it will be this stage more than any of the others that will crown the best climber in the race and will almost certainly derail a number of riders’ general classification hopes.

1st Rest Day

Riders will enjoy a rest day in Andorra on Monday 11th July, before the final Pyrenean day on Tuesday 12th, which will take them out of the mountains and across to Revel, at the foot of the smaller "Black Mountains".

Mont Ventoux Becons

Stages 11 departure on 13th July from the historic walled city of Carcassonne, to the resolutely modern but historic Languedoc capital city of Montpellier. The tour will pause here.

Stage 12 on July 14th will finish at the summit of the Mont Ventoux, one of the iconic hill climbs that has distinguished many Tours de France over the years. This will be a stage you won't want to miss. Our money is on a breakaway specialist taking the stage and a pack finish for GC riders, due to the next stage ... 

First Time Trial

Stage 13, Friday 15th July, is one of the two individual time trials days, taking riders across the arid garrigue landscape of the Ardèche, past the incredible natural limestone bridge over the river Ardèche, for a finish at la Caverne du Pont d'Arc, site of the replica of the fabulous Grotte Chauvet caves, discovered in the 1990s, with the oldest and largest collection of prehistoric cave paintings in France. It's not too hilly and is only 37.5 km's long and shouldn't cause any GC favorite's too many problems.

Stage 14, on Saturday 16th July, riders will head due north up the Rhône valley, past Lyon, and on to Villars les Dombes in the wetlands of Les Dombes, just northeast of Lyon.

Suisse Alps

Stage 15, Sunday 17th sees riders crossing the hills and valleys of the southern Jura and the Bugey, on a short stage (just 159 km) between Bourg en Bresse and Culoz. Categorized climbs include the steep pitches of the lesser known Grand Colombier. Combine this climb with the heat and this could be a make or break climb for anyone who is suffering at the end of the 2nd week. Anyone feeling the pinch could lose a lot of time. A breakway specialist who could stay away until the slopes of the final climb of Lacets du Grand Colombier could take the stage.

Next day, Stage 16 Monday 18th July, the Tour spends the day in the Jura mountains of Franche Comté before crossing into Switzerland for a race across the Swiss plains to a finish at Bern. Here in Switzerland, riders will enjoy their second rest day, before setting out again on a challenging Swiss 17th stage on Wednesday 20th July across the Bernese Oberland, via Château d'Oex and Martigny before a climb to the finish at an altitude of 1960 metres, over 6000 ft, at Finhaut.

Uphill Time Trial into the French Alps

Next day starts a few kilometres away, back in the French Alps, at Sallanche. Stage 18 on Thursday 22nd July is the second day of time trials, taking riders over a hilly route from Sallanches to Megève. This stage could prove the decisive moment of the 2016 Tour de France, but the excitement is set to remain until the end with several mouthwatering stages in the Alps.

Then follow two days of mountain climbing in the Savoy Alps, on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd July, taking riders on mountainous routes from Albertville to Saint Gervais on Stage 19, at the foot of Mont Blanc, and next day from Megève to Morzine on Stage 20 - classic Tour de France mountain stages.

Stage 20 in particular looks incredible, with the harder side of the classic alpine climb of the Col des Aravis, followed by the easier side of the Col de la Columbiere, over the Col de la Ramaz onto the epic climb of the Col de Joux Plane before the steep technical descent into the resort of Morzine. The end of this stage will surely decide the winner of the yellow jersey, if it hasn't already.

Champs Elysées

The final stage of the Tour, on Sunday 23rd July, will take riders on a short stage from the smart town of Chantilly, in southern Picardy, to the traditional finish on the Champs Elysées in Paris. The winner of the Yellow Jersey and Polka Dot jersey will already be decided, but for the Green Points jersey and the sprinters remaining, to win on the Champs Elysées will be an epic battle of sheer strength, mental toughness and flat out speed.