The summer of 2010 was packed full of colourful and entertaining sports events, but as the month of July started, the eyes of many sports fans turned towards France (well, actually Holland to begin with) as the largest sports event of the year started off. The roadside audience was expected to be number in the tens of millions. Over the space of three weeks, nearly 200 cyclists will travel 3640 km (2280 miles) from Rotterdam in a clockwise loop around France, ending up in Paris on Sunday 25th July.

The 2010 Tour de France marked a century since the tour first introduced mountains to the race route. The rider’s reaction to having to cope with climbing the unmade Pyrenean tracks to over 2000 meters above sea level was not on the whole positive, with leading rider Octave Lapize calling the organisers murderers. Luckily for fans, in those days, the riders protests were ignored, and so the mountains continued to feature in the race. This year’s tour is set to celebrate this anniversary with four days in the Pyrenees.

Developments since 2009

Despite the massive popularity of the sport, especially in Britain, in the eyes of the mass media, especially the BBC, this is a one event sport, with only two riders worth noting. BBC radio news reports ignored the 2010 Giro D’Italia, the second biggest race of the year, featuring a lot of the biggest names in the sport, instead it mentioned the Tour Of California, a 3rd rate Tour, only notable for having Lance Armstrong and Mark Cavendish racing in it.

And Lance Armstrong is where we begin our round up of the major developments in the sport that affect the Tour. In 2009, the seven times champion made his comeback and rejoined his former Team Manager, Johan Bruyneel, at the Astana team. Unfortunately for Armstrong, the team already had a race favourite in Alberto Contador. The press speculated on team splits, with different camps backing Armstrong and Contador, and on a lack of money to pay the wages. Bruyneel was under pressure to welcome back drug cheat Alexandre Vinokorov after the tour. Bruyneel and Armstrong announced that they were starting Team Radioshack for the 2010 season, and took with them a number of the strongest riders from Astana.

Team Sky are the other big new team for 2010. Basically these guys formed as an extension of Great Britain’s all conquering track cycling empire. Run by the same man, they aimed not only to help develop British talent, but other promising riders from around the world. While they did not capture Mark Cavendish, who would probably have been reluctant to leave a Columbia team built around giving him success at sprint finishes, they did bring in Bradley Wiggins, the surprise of the 2009 tour with the aim of getting a Tour Win with him.

With these two new, high profile, teams in the sport, the Tour de France has allowed 22 rather than 20 teams into the race.

Sadly, the 2009’s experiment with outlawing manager to rider radio communication for one stage was not to be repeated. While the prospect of a true-run race without all the moves being choreographed by team managers and riders being constantly informed of exactly who was ahead and behind them excited fans and commentators, the riders and teams were not so accommodating. Riders like David Miller who enjoyed the experience were in the minority, at least vocally. They protested in the first of the two 2009 stages that were due to run radio free by holding a go-slow with no attacks. Their primary concern was safety, a strange argument considering in the 90 or so years before everybody was miked up, there were no injuries attributed to a grievous lack of radios. Perhaps they all feared getting lost from the well marked road and ending up lost on an island somewhere unable to radio for help. In any case, like with the drug protests of the 1990s, the riders protested in their own interest and not in that of the sport of the fans. A question to be asked is that if the track riders were that well organised would the UCI have been able to rip the heart out of the Olympic cycling program¹?

Any mention of the Tour de France can’t be complete without a mention of the latest drugs scandals. Floyd Landis, the man given the 2006 victory until he was revealed to have failed a drug test, finally admitted that he had cheated and had been lying about it for the best part of four years. While the spotlight was on him once more he went on to accuse a number of other riders of cheating. Landis, now by his own admission a cheat and a liar, should not have been surprised when little attention was paid to his claims.

The biggest name to be hit by drugs scandals in 2010 was Alejandro Valverde, the number one ranked rider in the world. A great all-rounder, able to both climb and sprint, Valverde is not a stranger to controversy. He was first implicated in the Operation Puerto doping investigation in 2007, when the UCI’s ban on him was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He couldn’t ride the 2009 tour because he had a ban from riding in Italy, where the tour passed into, after his DNA was found in a batch of blood also containing the drug EPO. The UCI succeeded in making this a world ban in late May 2010.

Alexandre Vinokorov returned to racing in late 2009 having served a drugs ban. In the 2010 season, the Kazak won the Liege-Baston-Liege Classic, notably beating Valverde. His return to Astana in 2009, a team backed by the Kazahstan government and originally built around him, was one of the reasons for Bruyneel leaving, not wanting to be associated with a tainted rider.

Ivan Basso, although allowed to race in the 2009 Tour chose not to return. 2010 is set be the first Tour after his drugs ban. Having twice finished on the podium in the Tour, the Spaniard must start as a favourite, especially since he won the 2010 Giro.

The Route

It is not untypical for the Tour de France to start from outside France, and for 2010, the Grand Depart was from the Dutch port of Rotterdam. The Tour returns to starting with a short, 8.9km, Prologue Time Trial in the city on the Saturday before heading off onto the open road on Sunday. Those who remembered the chaos that the coastal winds caused in the 2009 Tour, would be glad to know that part of the first stage to Brussels is run over the Dutch coastal dykes. As the race heads into France, the riders encounter some of the notorious cobbles used in the Paris-Roubaix one day race. Their inclusion may explain why some of the big name stage racers were actually seen braving the Belgium Classic races in the spring.

The first mountains up are the Jura, a rare inclusion in the Tour. This year, the Alps are not designed to break the race apart. While there are a few stages in the range, notably marking 150 years since the Duchy of Savoy was annexed by France, there are only five Category 1² and one HC (Beyond Categorisation)³ climbs. Only the stage into Morzine features a climb to the finish.

The race heads to the Pyrenees via the Ardeche and another climb to the finish. Once in the Pyrenees, we have five more Category 1 climbs and 5 HCs to tackle. Twice the race tackles the Col du Tourmalet, once from each side on consecutive stages. On the second time, the race will finish at the summit, one of two summit finishes in the Pyrenees.

The race leaves the mountains and heads through the pine forests of Les Landes to Bordeaux, the Tour’s second most visited city. The 2010 race is notable for not having a proper time trial or a team time trial at some point during the first two weeks. The final Saturday will see the places decided as the riders go against the clock on a ride up the river Gironde to Pauillac. As tradition dictates, the final day will be a ride from the outskirts of Paris, into the city centre with laps around the Champs-Élysées.

Not only was this a Tour going back into its history, it was also, as always, showing off the Country of France. This year, it seems that special attention was being paid to the wine culture, as the race passes by the vineyards of Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Côtes du Rhône, Beaujolais, Jura and Savoie.

The Contenders

While there are nearly 200 riders in the race, only about ten or so are in with a good chance of winning. Of course, like in 2006, contenders can announce themselves on the road, but the 2010 race starts with a strong favourite.

Alberto Contador

The reigning champion is the only man in the field who has won all three of the major Tours: the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. He is looking to become one of the rare breed of men to have also won three Tours de France, and at the relatively young age of 27, who knows how many he can win? He is far and away the best climber in the race, with the power and acceleration on the steep slopes that only a true climber can muster. Unusually, he is also a force against the clock, having won the 2009 Spanish Time trial Championship and a number of Time Trials in stage races.

Contador’s biggest weakness will be his Astana team. While, last year, he had a very strong team, who may or may not have been working against him, they have mostly left him for the 2010 season. Astana have lost most of their 2009 squad, but have added in some strong names. Alexandre Vinokourov returns and can be a massive force in the race, and if he works for Contador, can be devastating, but at 36, his best days are behind him. David De La Fuente is another strong Astana rider. 2006 winner, Oscar Pereiro is part of the Astana team, but has not been picked for the race.

Contador had been in good form in 2010, having won the Paris-Nice as well as a number of other small stage races. He finished second on the Critérium du Dauphiné, winning a pair of stages. Unusually, he popped up on the Spring Classic scene, getting a 3rd place in the Flèche Wallonne.

Lance Armstrong

The seven times champion returned from retirement in 2009 to finish third in the race. With his fairy-tale comeback from injury he became the biggest name in the sport. Arguably, his stragegy of training only for the Tour has sidelined many of the other great races in the sport in the public and media consciousness. A ruthless competitor, his tactical awareness allows him to almost always be in the right place at the right time, as he proved by gaining time on most of his competition last year by staying near the front when the wind split up the field.. However, his race craft may not be as canny as it was, and he has been floored in some crashes, something that never happened in his first career. Perhaps not as strong as he once was, Armstrong remains formidable in the mountains and a one of the best against the clock.

Team Radioshack is one of the strongest teams in the race. Supporting Armstrong will be Andres Klöden and Levi Leipheimer, who have three podium finishes between them. Yaroslav Popovych is another experienced campaigner, not the future winner he once was suggested to be, but a very useful man to have in your team. Janez Brajkovic comes into the race fresh from winning the Critérium du Dauphiné ahead of Contador. Haimar Zubeldia, another top ten finisher in the Tour de France, doesn’t start. The typical tactics of Team Radioshack in the mountain states will be for riders like Popovych to work hard on the lower slopes, with Armstrong’s teammates working hard to put his competitors in trouble and trying to isolate the ones that are left by dropping their teammates off the back of the group. If all works to plan, Armstrong would be accompanied by Leipheimer and Klöden at the latter stages of the climb.

Armstrong’s form was rotten coming into the summer of the 2010 season. In a change from his normal routine, he attempted to race in a number of the Spring Classic one-day races, but gastroenteritis forced him out of three of the four. He withdrew from the Tour of California after a crash but returned to take second place in the Tour of Switzerland, a race that ends just before the Tour and is the fourth largest of the Tours.

Andy Schleck

The 25 year old from Luxembourg has won the best young rider prize in the last 2 Tours. Like his countryman Charley Gaul, he is best in the mountains, able to compete with Contador. He finished 2nd in the 2009 Tour. Although not as strong as Contador against the clock, he has won the 2010 Luxembourg National Time Trial Championship, possibly not quite as presitigous as the Spanish title, but a win is a win.

Team wise, Andy Schleck has probably the strongest group of riders around him. Under the management of Bjarne Riis⁴, Team Saxo Bank has a good record of unearthing talent and making the best of their potential. Chief amongst the support riders will be Andy’s elder brother, Frank, who took 5th in the 2009 Tour. Frank is also the reigning Luxembourg Road Race champion, having taken over from Andy. If Fabaian Cancellara raced for himself rather than for a team leader, he has the abilities to scare all the top professionals. The best time trialist in the race is a very useful man to call on during the flat states and at the bottom of climbs for blasts of speed that few can live with. We will also expect some stage wins. Jens Voigt and Stuart O’Grady are long time professionals who have a long record of success on the flatter roads. Both are seen as some of the teammates to have by your side. Schleck also started as favourite for the White Jersey for Young Riders.

Schleck hadn’t picked up a major victory before the Tour aside from the national championships against the clock, but did get some high placings in some one day races.

Bradley Wiggins

The biggest surprise of the 2009 Tour was the performance of Bradley Wiggins, taking fourth place when the commentators were laughing at the thought he could break into the top twenty. The Olympic Gold Medallist in the Pursuit and Team Pursuit was a specialist over short, flat races against the clock. Prior to the 2009 Tour de France, Wiggins was just a high profile Domestique, a rider who supports the leaders of the team. He had a few wins in time trials, but aside from one stage in 2007 where he was awarded the most competitive rider award, he didn’t show in the Tour de France. Having lost 6 kilos, the new, streamlined, was not only able to hold on in the mountains, but attack. His fourth place finish equalled Robert Millar, the Scottish climber, as the best British tour performance.

Team Sky have a large budget but lack experience in depth. The squad is built around getting a British Tour winner in the shape of Wiggins. Two of this track colleagues, Steve Cummings and the new British Road Race champion, Geraint Thomas, join him as does the number 3 ranked rider in the world, Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagan. What may cost him is the lack of experience that he had alongside him last year in Garmin colours, with Christian Vande Velde and the powerhouse of David Millar.

Wiggins had not had a strong 2010 leading into the Tour. He did win the opening time trial at the Tour of Italy, his first in a major tour, but faded in the race, finishing in fortieth place. That was 30 places higher than in 2009.

Other Race Favourites

• Cadel Evans - With two second place finishes, in 2007 and 2008, you cannot discount the Australian. His strength is in the Time Trials, but is able to cling on to the back of top climbers, but he almost never attacks in the mountains. He finished a poor 30th in 2009, but became World Champion at the end of the season so rides the Tour in the Rainbow Jersey. He finished fifth in the 2010 Giro, winning the points category and the category for most consistent top three finisher.
• Ivan Basso - The Liquigas rider returns to the Tour off the back of his second win in the Giro. His teammate Vincenzi Nibali finished third and together with Roman Kruezinger, they will give Liquigas a strong triple threat .
• Carlos Sastre - At 35 years old, the 2008 winner finished in eighth place in the Giro. He is probably looking for stage wins and a podium finish, using his tactical ability and stamina to best effect.

The Green Jersey

The 2009 contest was a close affair that underlined why this is the race for the most consistent sprinter, not the best sprinter. Mark Cavendish won six stages, including the final stage in Paris, compared to Thor Hushovd’s one, but Thor took the prize in the end. Thor was able to go out on the road in the mountains and collect points, and also pick up minor places on hilly stages where Cavendish wasn’t there to take him on. It could be argued that it would have been different if Cavendish hasn’t been disqualified from one sprint thanks to a bad road layout. Hushovd complained that Cavendish blocked him, forcing him into the barriers, but the replays showed that in Cavendish stayed reasonably straight, but the barriers in fact narrowed the road. Despite this, the officials sided with Hushovd. Cavendish has labelled this as his year to challenge for the green, but has had a poor season. In 2009, he had racked up dozens of victories before the Tour, but in 2010, dental problems and crashes have lead to him only having a three. Former points champion Tom Boonen is out of the race, but a number of other fast finishers will be looking to challenge Cavendish.

King of the Mountains

In recent years few of the big names have won the King of the Mountains Jersey for the best climber. Points are awared for going over the top of every climb, with more points awarded on harder climbs. Often a less high profile rider starts collecting points early in the race and tries to defend it though the mountains. The main bunch and the teams of the favorites normally do not let a big name off the front of the bunch to collect large amounts of points in the mountains, but don't care if somebody well behind on time makes a do or die effort. As such, it is hard to predict who will win the jersey overall, one just hopes they avoid being caught up in a drugs scandle like are too many of the recent winners.

Ready, Steady, Go

No matter how firm a favourite is, or how straight forward a stage looks, nothing is ever certain in the Tour de France. Crashes and illnesses can strike at any time, and the race story and change in a matter of seconds. All eyes look to Rotterdam on 3 July.