Adam Yates (GBR) – Orica-GreenEDGE

Set to ride his second Tour de France and third Grand Tour in total, Bury-born Adam Yates is one of three protected riders in this year’s Orica-GreenEDGE team.

• Recent winners

  2011: Pierre Rolland
  2012: Tejay van Garderen
  2013: Nairo Quintana
  2014: Thibaut Pinot
  2015: Nairo Quintana

And while the team have been keen to play down expectations of the 23-year-old, Yates’ ability in the mountains means he could be in contention for the white jersey.

– No pressure on Adam Yates for GC result at Tour de France –

He was very much in the mix at the Criterium du Dauphine, missing out on the jersey by just six seconds in the Tour’s traditional form finder and is likely to have bettered his second place at Tirreno-Adriatico but for the removal of the race’s only mountain stage due to adverse weather.

Stage wins are the team’s target, but if Yates finds himself in contention early on, it could well be both Yates and Orica-GreenEDGE launch a challenge for the white jersey.

Warren Barguil (FRA) – Giant-Alpecin

Of the riders still eligible to be crowned best young rider at this year’s Tour de France, Barguil was the highest ranked 12 months ago as he trailed Quintana by a fraction over half-an-hour.

One of the Giant-Alpecin riders caught in the training camp crash with a car over the winter, the Frenchman’s 2016 season has been slow to come to the boil but a third place at the Tour de Suisse proved he is reaching form nicely.

He even spent a day in the leader’s jersey in Switzerland and having been a fixture in the front group for large chunks of last year’s Tour de France will be hoping for more of the same again.

Ultimately he ran out of steam as the race headed into the final week last year, dropping from what was at one point eighth overall to finish 14^th but the 24-year-old returns a year older and a year more experienced and is among the favourites for the white jersey.

Wilco Kelderman (NED) – Team LottoNL-Jumbo

Despite team-mate Robert Gesink missing the Tour de France with injury, Wilco Kelderman has been promised free rein by his LottoNL-Jumbo team.

• 2015 Youth Classification

  1) Nairo Quintana (COL) – Movistar – 84.47.26hrs
  2) Romain Bardet (FRA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale +14.48
  3) Warren Barguil (FRA) – Giant-Alpecin +30.03
  4) Thibaut Pinot (FRA) – FDJ +37.40

It means the team look set to forego any GC ambitions as Kelderman targets stage wins in the mountains – but stage wins in the mountains could have a bearing on his white jersey chances.

– Robert Gesink misses 2016 Tour de France – 

He proved with seventh place at the 2014 Giro d’Italia he can be a GC contender, and this is the 25-year-old Dutchman’s last chance to contest the white jersey should he choose to.

Kelderman briefly led both the Tour de Suisse and Tour of the Basque Country earlier this year too, to further reiterate the point that – should he choose to be – he can be a contender for the white jersey.

Natnael Berhane (ERI) – Dimension Data

Tour de France debutant Natnael Berhane is the latest Eritrean looking to write his name into the Tour’s history books.

Team-mate and countryman Daniel Teklehaimanot pulled on the polka dot jersey for a handful of stages in last year’s race and 25-year-old Berhane – who won the Tour of Turkey during his neo-pro year at Team Europcar – has the chance to showcase his own climbing ability.

The African team are targeting stage wins in all terrain, and while Berhane is an outside bet for the white jersey he could still make an impact on the race from a breakaway.