Nairo Quintana announced himself on the big stage two years ago, storming to the white and polka dot jerseys and claiming second place overall at the 2013 Tour de France.

Since then, the Colombian has gone on to win the Giro d’Italia and now starts the 2015 race as his team’s bona fide leader ahead of Alejandro Valverde, with a four-way battle with this generation’s finest Grand Tour riders set to commence on Saturday (July 4).

And the bad news for his fellow young riders is the Movistar man is not just in contention for the yellow jersey, either, with the 25-year-old still eligible to win the white jersey too.

Nevertheless, last year’s winner Thibaut Pinot, who finished third on GC, and fellow Frenchman Romain Bardet are just two of the men who will look to upset the odds and prise the jersey from the Colombian’s grasp.

We’ve taken a closer look at their form, and picked out some of the riders in with a chance of claiming the jersey, over the following pages.