Another of the youngest riders in the race, Dutch national time trial champion Tom Dumoulin’s skills against the clock have brought him much success this season – fifth at the Tour de Suisse having previously topped the youth classification Baloise Belgium Tour, he has certainly been in good form of late.

At the former he showed he could maintain an overall challenge, though ultimately the mountainous final weekend put paid to his hopes of a podium spot. With a big time trial for Dumoulin to get stuck into on stage 20, however, the ‘race of truth’ could see him challenge the likes of world champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) for the stage.

However, while he proved himself on the undulating Tour de Suisse circuit, the mountainous Tour de France route is another matter entirely. At Tirreno-Adriatico, he was well down the pecking order as Alberto Contador flew up the Guardiagrele.

And with Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb’s sprinting ambitions taking centre stage as far as the team are concerned, the white jersey may be a step too far for the Frenchman.