Racing

Tour de France 2014: King of the Mountains contenders

RCUK looks at the men who could challenge for the polka dot jersey

Winner of the polka dot jersey in 2012, Thomas Voeckler has been in typically active form in 2014 as he targets a first victory of the season.

Pierre Rolland, on the other hand, spent much of last year’s Tour in the polka dot jersey – and matching shorts – before his challenge to Chris Froome and eventual winner Nairo Quintana faded in the last week.

Pierre Rolland went full polka dot at last year’s Tour, but could not hold the jersey into Paris (pic: Sirotti)

No strangers to the Tour de France stage, Team Europcar have been active at all of the WorldTour races this season, regularly getting up the road to challenge in the break.

Voeckler is certainly going to be at it again at the Tour – particularly if he were to lose any time overall in the first week. Rolland, on the other hand, put in a strong fight for GC at the Giro d’Italia, narrowly missing a podium place after some impressive riding.

If he has the legs, he may well enjoy a bit more freedom at the Tour, allowing him the chance to be reacquainted with those shorts.