The 2018 peloton heads up the
Champs-Élysées to a hero’s welcome.
Left: Chris Froome was just a second
behind stage winner Tom Dumoulin
in last year’s individual time trial in
the Basque Country.
TOM DUMOULIN
STRENGTHS Although the
rainbow jersey of world time
trial champion passed to
NED, Team Sunweb
Rohan Dennis last September,
Tour de France
Tom Dumoulin nevertheless
appearances: 5
remains one of the reference
points in this individual
discipline. The powerhouse
within Team Sunweb’s red
train, he could take advantage
of the second-stage team time
trial to gain an initial edge over
some of his rivals. A winner of
a high-mountain stage in each
of the three Grand Tours, he’s
also become an extremely
consistent and effective
climber. Blessed with the
typical profile of a Grand Tour
winner, he claimed victory at
the 2017 Giro d’Italia.
WE AKNESSES Like last season, the Dutchman has taken
a gamble by doing both the Giro and the Tour. Second
in both races last year, he coped with the back-to-back
challenge remarkably well. However, with one week less
between the two races this summer, it remains to be seen
whether he’ll be able to claim podium finishes again.
Although solid and homogeneous, Team Sunweb’s line-up
doesn’t compare with that of Team Ineos so he won’t enjoy
quite the same back-up as Froome and Thomas.
★ ★ ★ ★
ROMAIN BARDET
STRENGTHS Winner
of three high-mountain
stages at the Tour de
FRA, AG2R-La Mondiale
France, Romain Bardet is
Tour de France
undoubtedly one of the
appearances: 6
world’s best climbers.
That quality ties in
perfectly with the nature
of this year’s route. The
undisputed leader of
a team built entirely
around his ambitions, the
Frenchman blends a level
of consistency – that has
meant he hasn’t finished
outside the Tour’s top six
for five years – with a sense
of daring that is highlighted
in the message painted on
his frame: “Take the risk or
lose the chance”.
WE AKNESSES Although time trialling is Bardet’s principal
shortcoming, he’s mitigated its impact by working hard at it.
The six seconds per kilometre that he yielded to the leading
specialists in 2016 have been cut almost in half. Having twice
climbed onto the Champs-Élysées podium (second in 2016,
third in 2017), the rider from the Auvergne slipped down the
hierarchy a little last season with a sixth-place finish that was
more the result of setbacks in the race than an indication of
any loss of status... but he will have to bounce back.
★ ★ ★
2 0 1 9 TO U R D E FR ANCE
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