Tour de France 2015 preview: King of the Mountains favourites

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Tour de France 2015 preview: King of the Mountains favourites

The men who could wear the polka dot jersey as the Tour de France starts climbing for the first time this year

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)

  • Rafal Majka, Tinkoff-Saxo, Polka Dot Jersey, Tour de France, 2014, salute, climb, pic; Sirotti

    Rafal Majka won the polka dot jersey 12 months ago, but who will be crowned King of the Mountains in 2015? (pic: Sirotti)

  • Pierre Rolland, polka dot jersey, podium, stage three, Tour de France, Europcar

    Pierre Rolland went full polka dot in 2013, when he led the classification for a large part of the race (pic: Sirotti)

  • Louis Meintjes, 2015, MTN-Qhubeka, climb, standing, pic: Sirotti

    Louis Meintjes disappointed his MTN-Qhubeka bosses when he chose to sign for Lampre-Merida (pic: Sirotti)

  • Ryder Hesjedal, Cannondale-Garmin, Giro d'Italia, 2015, pic: Sirotti

    Ryder Hesjedal climbed well in the final week of the Giro d'Italia to finish fifth overall (pic: Sirotti)

  • Joaquim Rodriguez, Katusha, polka dot jersey, Tour de France, 2014, stage ten, pic: Sirotti

    Joaquim Rodriguez wore the polka dot jersey last year and could be in contention again (pic: Sirotti)

  • Julian Arredondo in the blue King of the Mountains jersey at last year's Giro d'Italia (pic: Sirotti)

  • Warren Barguil, Giant-Alpecin, 2015, pic: Sirotti

    Warren Barguil could be the man to lead Etixx-QuickStep's GC hopes (Pic: Sirotti)

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha)

Written off for the general classification against the Big Four, Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) has a point to prove and, having worn the polka dot jersey for several stages last year, a bid to be crowned King of the Mountains could be the way to do that.

Already nearly three minutes down overall after the opening two stages, winning the yellow jersey seems an even tougher task for the 36-year-old now than it did at the start of the Tour.

But Purito can climb almost peerlessly on the steepest pitches of the WorldTour’s most fierce climbs, so a bid for the polka dot jersey is firmly within reach.

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Tour de France 2015 Tour de France Features

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