The Tour de France countdown starts now for the defending champion, Chris Froome (Team Sky). A minor infection cost him a place on the start line in Liege – though his race preparation was hardly ideal anyway after a missed flight – but Froome has been putting the miles in and is raring to get racing again. With Richie Porte by his side and David Lopez and Mikel Nieve among his other domestiques, Froome certainly has the backing – albeit without Vasil Kiryienka, another Sky rider beset by illness – to produce something big if he can recover his racing form.

Kenyan-born Brit Froome led from start to finish in 2013, and with a prologue and time trial to enjoy again this time out, the course will certainly play to his strengths. They key factor will be his form. Injury and illness have restricted him to just two races this season – the Tour of Oman, which he won, and the Volta a Catalunya – where he finished sixth. With Alberto Contador taking a rest from racing however, this is Froome’s chance to start recapturing his phenomenal form from last year.