These words, spoken aloud or whispered, are running through every rider’s mind this year. No Froome, no Dumoulin, and a big question mark over the reigning champion’s form, the Tour de France crown is up for grabs as never before.
The riders
The Ineos pair, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas, to whom the eponymous dilemma doesn’t apply, top the list of Tour de France favourites. When the cycling world found out about our local boy’s training crash and the broken collarbone just before this year’s Giro, the overwhelming reaction was disappointment. Ironically, in hindsight that may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The Colombian wonderkid had enjoyed a very successful season to that point, having won Paris-Nice and the third position in the Volta a Catalunya. After a speedy recovery he comfortably won the Tour de Suisse showing again his credentials as a leader.
