Bike Ping
From the Telegraph:
This year's Tour de France is the 100th edition of cycling's most famous grand tour. Despite 100 editions over the past 110 years - the event was halted during the wars - the Tour has never visited France's territorial island of Corsica, where it begins on Saturday.
Corsica will host three race stages, with the traditional prologue abandoned in an attempt to make the most of the island. Then the Tour packs up and ships to France, where for the first time in ten years it will remain within the country's borders until its finish in Paris three weeks later.
The favourite for the winner's maillot jaune, or yellow jersey, is British rider Chris Froome. Froome has been in great form so far this season, winning several shorter stage races including the Criterium du Dauphine earlier in June, traditionally a bellwether race for the Tour.
Froome will face competition from Spaniard and two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador, riding for the Saxo-Tinkoff team following a doping suspension. Contador, a climbing specialist nicknamed 'the Pistolero' for his attacking prowess, who won last year's Vuelta a Espana, has had an underwhelming season but will be seen as Froome's closest rival.
A resurgent Cadel Evans, who finished on the podium at this year's Giro d'Italia, and his young teammate Tejay van Garderen, who outclassed his leader in last year's Tour, will also have an eye on the general classification. As will Katusha's attacking leader Joaquim Rodriguez, and Ryder Hesjedal, who will be hoping to forget a lacklustre performance at the Giro. Belkin's Robert Gesink and Movistar's Alejandro Valverde are also ones to watch.
This year's parcours takes in eight flat or rolling stages, three in the low mountains, six in the high mountains (with four summit finishes), two individual time trial stages and one team time trial stage, and covers a total of 2,115 miles (3,403 kilometres). In a break with tradition, the riders roll in to Paris on the final day at dusk.