{"id":20756,"date":"2013-06-28T11:10:49","date_gmt":"2013-06-28T09:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/where-are-last-years-tour-de-france-top-10\/"},"modified":"2013-06-28T11:10:49","modified_gmt":"2013-06-28T09:10:49","slug":"where-are-last-years-tour-de-france-top-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/where-are-last-years-tour-de-france-top-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Where are last year\u2019s Tour de France top 10?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t \"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Tour de France and the federal transportation bill legislative process have much in common. Photo: Wayfaring<\/p>\n

The 100th Tour de France will start on Saturday, June 29. Cycling Weekly has compiled this list that takes a look at last year\u2019s top 10 to see what the riders have been up to the last few months and, if they are riding, what their chances are this year.<\/p>\n

1. Bradley Wiggins<\/a>
\nInjured
\nAfter talk of a potential Giro-Tour double, very little has gone right for Wiggins this year. Perhaps the highlight of his season was during the Giro del Trentino when he had a mechanical problem with his bike, got off it and threw it so precisely that it parked itself against the wall next to the roadside. His injuries and losing the Giro adds up to Wiggins missing the Tour this year.<\/p>\n

2. Chris Froome<\/a>
\nBookies\u2019 favourite
\nBy contrast, almost everything has gone right for Froome this season. Victory at the Tour of Oman, second place at Tirreno-Adriatico then victories at Crit\u00e9rium International, the Tour of Romandy and Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 make Froome the man most likely to win the yellow jersey in July.<\/p>\n

3. Vincenzo Nibali<\/a>
\nSkipping the Tour
\nThe Italian dominated a cold, difficult Giro d\u2019Italia. Although the mountain stages were truncated because of the weather, Nibali asserted himself decisively on the few occasions when the opportunity presented itself. However, the Tour is not part of his plans this season. He will ride the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a later this summer instead.<\/p>\n

4. Jurgen Van den Broeck<\/a>
\nKeeping his powder dry
\nIt\u2019s been a steady rather than spectacular season for the Belgian. Last year, he would have been a bigger threat overall had he not punctured on the approach to La Planche des Belles Filles, where he lost almost two minutes. The Belgians have high hopes of the podium this time.<\/p>\n

5. Tejay van Garderen<\/a>
\nImproving all the time
\nThe young American won the white jersey at his first Tour and will go into this Tour as joint leader of the BMC team with Cadel Evans \u2013 fourth at Paris-Nice, third at Crit\u00e9rium International and victory at the Tour of California suggests he\u2019s building nicely for the Tour.<\/p>\n

6. Haimar Zubeldia<\/a>
\nHiding in the shadows
\nZubeldia is a rider you rarely notice but he\u2019s often there, just behind the overall leaders, quietly riding his way into a high position. He\u2019s plotting his way towards the Tour in the usual fashion \u2013 anonymously. But he could again be RadioShack\u2019s best rider.<\/p>\n

7. Cadel Evans<\/a>
\nRefusing to go quietly
\nCadel Evans never knows when he\u2019s beaten. He rode an excellent Giro d\u2019Italia, finishing third overall, to stake a claim to BMC\u2019s leadership role at the Tour. In the absence of the Froome-Wiggins dynamic, the focus on Evans and his young team-mate Van Garderen will be that bit sharper.<\/p>\n

8. Pierre Rolland<\/a>
\nUnder a cloud
\nReports that the French rider\u2019s cortisol levels were unusually low on the final day of the Dauphin\u00e9 and, according to the guidelines set down by the group of teams making up the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling), Rolland should not have started. A low cortisol level could be explained by using exogenous cortisone, meaning Rolland may have some questions to answer.<\/p>\n

9. Janez Brajkovic
\nWaiting for the Tour?
\nThe Astana rider has done nothing so far this season to suggest he can be a contender in the Tour but that doesn\u2019t mean he won\u2019t pop up with a good result.<\/p>\n

10. Thibaut Pinot<\/a>
\nBuilding on success
\nThe young Frenchman gave us one of the images of the Tour last year. When he won the stage at Porrentruy, his team director Marc Madiot was leaning out of the following car\u2019s window, slapping on the side of the door, roaring encouragement. Pinot is a talent but the question is whether he can cope with the increased level of expectation. – Cycling Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n

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