2016 Tour De France: Top 5 Contenders
The 103rd edition of the Tour de France will be staged from the 2nd of July, 2016 to the 24th of July 2016. The event will start from the French department of Manche and conclude in Paris. This year’s edition will see the participation of twenty-two teams, with all the eighteen UCI World Teams given an automatic invitation, and they will be taking part in the event with hopes of tasting success by performing up to their optimum level.
Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), the organiser of the Tour announced in March that four UCI Professional Continental teams will be given wildcard invitations: Bora–Argon 18, Cofidis, Direct Énergie, and Fortuneo–Vital Concept. There were be tough competition among the cyclists, and each would try his best to emerge as the winner of Tour de France, 2016. Let us now take a look at 5 contenders for this year’s Tour de France:
Chris Froome
Having won the Tour de France in 2013 and 2015, Chris Froome would be looking to win the event for the third time in his illustrious career, and join an elite club of just seven cyclists who have been victorious in the event at least three times. 31-year-old Froome is the overwhelming favourite to win this year’s edition, and the cyclist is supported by the sport’s best squad, UCI ProTeam Team Sky.
Considered as one of the best cyclists in recent times, Froome has also been twice runner-up in Vuelta a Espana. In 2012, he won a bronze medal in the time trial event at the London Olympics. He began 2014 on a winning note by winning the Tour of Oman, followed by a repeat victory in the Tour de Romandie. He retired from the 2014 Tour de France but made a comeback the following year and finished second in the Vuelta a España. In 2015, he won his second Critérium du Dauphiné and his second Tour de France.