{"id":41,"date":"2016-06-17T08:42:07","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T08:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/tour-de-france\/wide\/?p=41"},"modified":"2017-02-14T14:48:13","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T14:48:13","slug":"tour-de-france-2016-riders-something-prove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2016\/06\/17\/tour-de-france-2016-riders-something-prove\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Tour is here! Which Riders Have Something to Prove?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Froome dominated Le Tour in 2015. Having missed out on a back to back win in 2014, Froome made a stunning effort in 2015 \u2013 to such an extent that Team Sky decided to release data showing improvements in Froome\u2019s power output, hoping to dispel isolated but persistent accusations of doping.<\/strong>
\n<\/p>\n

Froome\u2019s early retirement from the 2014 tour taught him to exercise patience and wait for the right moment to take the yellow jersey \u2013 in 2015 Froome waited until stage seven to wear the yellow jersey.<\/p>\n

Team Sky closed ranks and they refused to let the lead slip for the remaining 14 stages. Froome has the right team to make history with \u2013 this makes Froome the man to beat in 2016.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BG-EobstWNZ\/?taken-by=teamsky<\/p>\n

Nibali has just won a brilliant victory in the Giro d\u2019Italia, so he\u2019s another rider with history on his mind. Nibali has Astana, a team like Sky that has strength and depth in its squad. Astana is also home to Aru, an exceptional rider in his own right, and certainly more than a Plan B.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BCDqSqEGjz9\/?taken-by=vincenzonibali<\/p>\n

Contador has had a strong start to the season but is no longer the threat that he used to be. Since several of his historical results no longer stand, there\u2019s a question mark hanging over his performance.<\/p>\n

One thing is for sure, despite Contador\u2019s victory in the Giro in 2015, his performance in the mountains is questionable, and the 2016 Tour is all about the mountain stages.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BG8hCVYH-Hr\/?taken-by=acontadoroficial<\/p>\n

Crowd favourite Quintana is a dark horse that shouldn\u2019t be overlooked. He was one of the few cyclists who managed to hold Froome\u2019s wheel in 2015\u2019s mountain stages.<\/p>\n

But Quintana\u2019s performance in the closing time trial of the 2016 Basque Country tour was a sign that he\u2019s been working on this aspect of his technique. No matter how Quintana finishes, he\u2019s guaranteed to add some colour to Le Tour 2016.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/9jObBKHyuW\/?taken-by=nairoquincoficial<\/p>\n

Richie Porte is another cyclist many hope will do well, but he\u2019s failed to impress since leaving Team Sky. With all the talk of Geraint Thomas\u2019s rivalry with Froome, you\u2019d hope that Porte could prove there is life after Sky.<\/p>\n

Porte came first in the Giro del Trentino \u2013 a respectable and hard-earned victory, but it isn\u2019t the Giro d\u2019Italia. And it certainly isn\u2019t the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BEl5TgmiiP1\/?taken-by=richie_porte<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re sensible, you\u2019ll bet on Froome \u2013 but nothing can be taken for granted in the greatest cycling event in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Froome dominated Le Tour in 2015. Having missed out on a back to back win in 2014, Froome made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":146480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[845,846,433,844],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-tdf","tag-tdf-2016","tag-tour-de-france","tag-tour-de-france-2016"],"yoast_head":"\nLe Tour is here! Which Riders Have Something to Prove? - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Froome dominated Le Tour in 2015. 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