Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
No man has won more times this year than Norwegian Alexander Kristoff this year, who now boasts 17 victories to his name, including overall victory at the Three Days of De Panne.
Indeed, his form was so good on the cobbles this spring that he must be a strong contender for the cobbled stage, and he has repeatedly proved he can handle moderate climbs too.
Katusha’s loyalties may be split, with Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) an outsider for the overall classification, but if the likes of Luca Paolini work for Kristoff he has a great chance of claiming the green jersey.
He was second last time out, though some way behind Sagan, but with two stage wins to his name he proved he can out-sprint the best.
He was bettered by Cavendish at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, but Kristoff showed at the Tour de Suisse that he has the strength on the medium-mountain stages too.
Much will depend on how Katusha approach the race, but a couple of stage wins at the very least are very much on the cards for the peloton’s in-form sprinter.
Form guide
Tour de France stage wins: two
2015 wins: Tour of Qatar (three stages, points classification); Tour of Oman (one stage); Paris-Nice (one stage); Three Days of De Panne (three stages, points classification, overall winner); Tour of Flanders; Scheldeprijs; Tour of Norway (two stages, points classification); Tour des Fjords (three stages, points classification); Tour de Suisse (one stage)