The riders to watch at Tour de France MyZA

The Tour de France is starting today and according to The New York Times, these are the riders to watch:

Chris Froome of Britain secured four stage-race victories this spring. Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Age: 28
Team: Sky
Last year’s finish: 2nd

Froome’s path to stardom has not been typical. From mountain biking in Kenya, his birthplace, he graduated to collegiate road racing in South Africa. Though he made a quick transition to European racing, riding his first Tour in 2009 at 24, his ascent was slowed by a three-year battle with bilharzia, a parasitic infection he contracted during a trip to Africa in 2010. Since then, he has improved.

2. Alberto Contador, Spain

Age: 30
Team: Saxo-Tinkoff
Last year’s finish: Did not ride

Called El Pistolero, Contador is an aggressive rider known for attacking in the mountains. In Stage 17 of last year’s Vuelta a España, he broke away from his main rivals with 30 miles to go, winning the stage and eventually the race. It was his first victory since returning from a doping ban that kept him out of last year’s Tour and stripped him of his 2010 title.

Tejay van Garderen of the U.S. Photo: Arno Balzarini/European Pressphoto Agency

3. Tejay van Garderen, U.S.

Age: 24
Team: BMC
Last year’s finish: 5th

In last year’s Tour, van Garderen became the first American to win the young riders competition since Andy Hampsten in 1986. He cemented his standing as the best American rider by winning the Amgen Tour of California in May, his first stage-race victory. Raised in Bozeman, Mont., he is capable in the mountains but strongest in the time trials.

4. Cadel Evans, Australia

Age: 36
Team: BMC
Last year’s finish: 7th

Evans entered last year’s Tour as defending champion but rode more like a star in decline as he failed to keep pace with Bradley Wiggins and Froome on crucial climbs. He has reversed course somewhat this season, riding to a third-place finish at the Giro d’Italia in May, and will benefit from veteran savvy. But it is unclear if he has truly regained his 2011 form.

5. Richie Porte, Australia

Age: 28
Team: Sky
Last year’s finish: 34th

Wiggins may have garnered more headlines, but Porte’s performance this spring vaulted him ahead of Wiggins, the 2012 Tour champion, in Sky’s pecking order. Porte, a Tasmanian, revealed his form at Paris-Nice in March, clinching the title with a masterful time trial performance, and finished runner-up at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Canada’s Ryder Hesjedal, right. Photo: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

6. Ryder Hesjedal, Canada

Age: 32
Team: Garmin-Sharp
Last year’s finish: Withdrew after a crash in Stage 6

A victory in last year’s Giro d’Italia put Hesdjedal on the short list of grand tour contenders, but he has had a difficult time capitalizing on the newfound status. After leaving the Tour early last year, Hesdjedal, a British Columbia native, limited his action this spring to focus on repeating as Giro champion — but a virus forced him out halfway through the three-week test in May.

7. Joaquim Rodríguez, Spain

Age: 34
Team: Katusha
Last year’s finish: Did not ride

Perhaps the most versatile of all the favorites, Rodríguez is as comfortable in one-day spring classics like La Flèche Wallone, which he won in 2012, as he is in grand tours. Purito, as he’s known in the peloton, finished on the podium in both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España last season. But the Tour is unfamiliar territory.

8. Andrew Talansky, U.S.

Age: 24
Team: Garmin-Sharp
Last year’s finish: Did not ride

On paper, Talansky shouldn’t be a good pro cyclist. He started racing at 17, late by most standards, and is from Miami, better known for beach cruising than lung-crushing climbs. But his performance in the last year — seventh at the 2012 Vuelta a España, runner-up at Paris-Nice in March — has established him as one of the sport’s rising stars.

Mark Cavendish of Britain. Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

9. Mark Cavendish, Britain

Age: 28
Team: Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Last year’s finish: 142nd

Cavendish won three stages in last year’s Tour, including the finale in Paris for the fourth consecutive year. Yet with 23 career Tour stage victories, fourth most all time, he believes he could do better; hence his move this year from Sky to Omega Pharma-Quick Step, a team built around him. He has little to prove, having won points jerseys in all three grand tours. But he seems determined to reclaim the green in this year’s Tour and perhaps wear the yellow, if only for a day — something he has never done.

10. Peter Sagan, Slovakia

Age: 23
Team: Cannondale
Last year’s finish: 42nd; winner (points)

In his first Tour appearance last year, Sagan won the first stage, becoming the youngest stage victor since Lance Armstrong in 1993. He eventually took two more stages and captured the green jersey. Though he is perhaps not the fastest sprinter, his strength lies in tactical smarts. He has 13 victories this year. – The New York Times