10 TOUR FAVOURITES
ADAM YATES
STRENGTHS For the
first time since making
his professional debut in
GBR, Mitchelton-Scott
2014, Adam Yates took an
Tour de France
early season win on the
appearances: 3
fourth stage at the Tour of
Valencia in February. That
early success seems to
have boosted the Briton’s
confidence, and a month
later he held the leader’s
jersey at Tirreno-Adriatrico
– before yielding it by just
a single second to Primoz
Roglic in the final time
trial. A natural climber, he
should thrive on the 2019
Tour’s mountainous route.
WE AKNESSES While
time trialling is the Briton’s
weak point, he knows how
to limit his losses on hilly courses, like the one at Espelette
on stage 20 of the 2018 Tour (he was 11th) – and on the
one that runs around Pau this year. He was fourth in the
2016 Tour but has struggled since then to rediscover the
consistency required over three weeks that he needs to
achieve his general classification ambitions.
★ ★ ★
PRIMOZ ROGLIC
STRENGTHS Fourth in
last year’s Tour, Primoz
Roglic showed for the
SVN, Team Jumbo-Visma
first time that he has
Tour de France
the qualities required to
appearances: 2
withstand the demands of
three-week races. Winner
of two mountain stages,
at Serre-Chevalier in 2017
and Laruns in 2018, the
Slovenian won on each
occasion at the foot of a
long descent where he
demonstrated a wonderful
sense for picking exactly
the right line. Runner-up
in the 2017 world time
trial championship, Roglic
is also one of the leading
specialists in this individual
discipline.
WE AKNESSES For the first time in his career, the former
ski jumper will line up in two Grand Tours in the same
season. The Slovenian has shown real ambition in opting to
race both the Giro and Tour. The big question marks are how
his body responds to this challenge, and how fresh he will be
in the third week of an extremely demanding Tour de France.
★ ★ ★
Nairo Quintana power ups the
Peyragudes en route to a Stage
17 victory on the 2018 Tour.
48 | TO U R
D E F R A NC E 2018