Simon Yates (Orica-Scott)

While this will be Simon Yates’ third Tour de France appearance, this is the first time the 24-year-old is riding for a GC result.

Replicating his brother’s performances last year – fourth place overall and the white jersey – are a decent target to aim for, and Simon proved what he can do with sixth place overall and a stage win at last year’s Vuelta a Espana.

He has shown good form this year too, with three wins to his name – stages of Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie, and the GP Miguel Indurain.

He was off the pace at the Criterium du Dauphine, finishing 13^th overall and fourth in the youth classification, but with Johan Esteban Chaves as a foil, and the experience of Roman Kreuziger to back the two young riders up in the mountains, Yates has plenty of chance to prove himself at the Tour.

Age: 24
Tour de France starts: two
Grand Tour highlights: Vuelta a Espana 2016 – sixth overall, stage win
2017 best results: Paris-Nice – stage win, ninth overall; GP Miguel Indurain – winner; Tour de Romandie – stage win, second overall

Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe)

Emanuel Buchmann was third in the youth classification at last year’s Tour de France, but was never really a contender – finishing more than 40 minutes behind Yates and Meintjes.

But a year on, the former German champion – who was second in the nationals this year – arrives at the Tour in good form.

Aged 23 at the time, 21^st overall at last year’s Tour is nothing to be sniffed at and his form in the week-long stage races this year show he is well capable of bettering that this time out.

A top-ten finisher at the Tour of the Alps, Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphine before his second place behind team-mate Marcus Burghardt at the German nationals, Buchmann is a very real white jersey contender this time out.

Bora-hansgrohe have many hands to play at the Tour, with Peter Sagan bidding for stage wins and the green jersey and Rafal Majka their main man for the mountains.

But if they back Buchmann, his white jersey at the Dauphine shows what he is capable of.

Age: 24
Tour de France starts: two
Grand Tour highlights: Tour de France 2016 – 21^st overall
2017 best results: Tour of the Alps – seventh overall; Tour de Romandie – tenth overall, third on final mountain stage; Criterium du Dauphine – seventh overall, best young rider

Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal)

Though establishing himself as a future Classics star, Tiesj Benoot will make his Grand Tour debut on the back of a 12^th-place finish overall at the Criterium du Dauphine.

That saw him beat Simon Yates, and while a three-week race is a very different kettle of fish – especially for a 23-year-old debutant – it has marked Benoot as an outsider for white jersey.

Lotto-Soudal are hunting stage wins in truth, in the sprints with Andre Greipel and in the mountains with the likes of Thomas de Gendt, Tony Gallopin and Tim Wellens.

But Grand Tour debutant Benoot is likely to have a free hand, and a continuation of the form he showed at the Dauphine could at least put him in the ball park for the white jersey.

More realistically, this year will be about experience, however – he has time on his side if he is to challenge for the maillot blanc in future.

Age: 23
Tour de France starts: none
Grand Tour highlights: N/A
2017 best results: Volta ao Algarve – eighth overall, best young rider; Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – fourth; Strade Bianche – eighth; Dwars door Vlaanderen – seventh; De Brabantse Pijl – third; Baloise Belgium Tour – seventh overall; Criterium du Dauphine – 12^th overall