CONTENTS
ON OUR COVER
THE 2019 PELOTON IN ACTION
Main photograph: ASO/Pauline Ballet.
Riders, from left: ASO/Pauline Ballet,
ASO/Alex Broadway, ASO/Thomas
Maheux, ASO/SWPix
YOUR 2020 TOUR GUIDE
32 THE FAVOURITES:
There’s a strong line-up of
GC contenders, especially in
Ineos-Grenadier and Jumbo-
Visma’s multiple leaders
12 Defending champ:
Young Colombian Egan
Bernal on newfound
fame, a team with three
leaders, and a route that
plays to his strengths
16 The Saffa contingent:
Will Daryl Impey and
NTT Pro Cycling be
notching up more stage
wins? Plus watch our
women’s road champ in
action at Le Course
22 Talented racer: Julian
Alaphilippe on the
exhilaration of 14 days in
yellow on home roads
24 France’s hope: Has
Thibaut Pinot got what
it takes after last year’s
abandon?
26 Dutch determination:
With Roglic, Dumoulin
and Kruijswijk leading
the charge, they’re going
all out for the win
28 Rising star: Slovene
Tadej Pogacar is set to
rival Egan Bernal for the
top young rider spot
30 Climbing high: With
a revitalised Nairo
Quintana on board,
Arkéa-Samsic is on an
upward trajectory
56 AFRICAN RACING
We round up the action
from the Coronation
Double Century, Paarl
Boxing Day and Vets &
Masters Tour de Maurice
36 Back on top: Cofidis
has regained WorldTour
status and has a Top 10
in its sights
37 Team debut: Israel
Start-Up Nation lines
up for its first Tour de
France this August
40 The eternal second:
Raymond Poulidor
may never have won
Le Tour but he was its
greatest ambassador
162 Taking it virtual:
The CyberCo@ch says
it’s pretty damn fun in
Watopia – but stop with
the weight-doping
49 TOP GEAR Cutting-edge tech to get you as stoked
for riding your bike as Le Tour itself
52 TESTED Do you need a Gravel Grinder? We put four
bikes, and a set of wheels, through on/off-road action
67 THE MAP: The 2020 route
across France at a glance
68 THE TOUR DIRECTOR:
Christian Prudhomme
reflects on the unprecedented
challenges of 2020, plus the
five-mountain route
72 THE ROUTE: From the
Grand Départ in Nice, through
summit finishes, new climbs in
the Massif Central, Pyrenees
and Alps, to a challenging
time trail in the Vosges, we
highlight the key challenges of
a mountainous Tour
74 THE WOMEN: La Course
by Le Tour de France opens
the action in Nice
90 THE ÉTAPE DU TOUR: The
30th edition takes amateurs
along the Tour’s second stage
through the hills behind Nice
92 THE REGULATIONS: The
key jerseys and prizes, plus
the all-important bonus points
94 THE STAGES: Race director
Thierry Gouvenou talks us
through key action points,
plus all the stage maps and
profiles from Paris HQ
138 THE TEAMS: Two-time Tour
winner Bernard Thévenet
looks at who’s targeting stage
wins, jerseys and overall GC
44 THE PALMARÈS: Past
winners of the yellow, green,
white and polka-dot jerseys
PHOTOGRAPHS: ASO/ALEX BROADWAY, BREITLING SQUAD, PHILIP KANTOR
8 | TOUR DE FRANCE 2020