TRAGEDY Cycling legend Tadej Pogačar announces his father Mirko Pogačar committed suicide on Saturday in heartbreaking statement

Chris Froome may have missed out on selection for Israel-Premier Tech’s Tour de France team but the four-time winner will still be following the action as the race unfolds through Italy and France, and what better rider to sit down with Escape Collective to talk through his picks for the top 10 on the general classification.

Froome has gone with three big hitters for the podium, edging Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) ahead of defending champ Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) taking third in Nice. Here they are – and the rest of the contenders – ranked in order of how Froome rates their chances.

My number one favourite, given everything that’s happened in the last few months, has to be Tadej. Even though he’s come off the back of a Giro, and speaking firsthand, and knowing how hard it is, he still has the capacity to win the Tour. He can be in top shape but what stood out for me was how well he handled the Giro. If you compare it to my win in 2018, I had to battle throughout the entire three weeks and just managed to turn the tables in the last few days, whereas Tadej was in complete control of the situation. I don’t want to say that he was riding within himself but he was basically setting the tempo everyday on the climbs.

There’s still a physical and mental element for him to overcome having won the Giro because the double is a massive challenge. On a physical level, during the month of May, when the Giro is on, that’s really the key preparation time for riders trying to build up for the Tour de France. Most teams at that point are doing their altitude camps but if you’re racing the Giro you’re beholden to the speed of the race. You’re not taking rest days as part of your training, and you’re digging yourself into a hole by riding a Grand Tour. Again, my case was different because [the 2018 Tour] was my fourth Grand Tour in a row, and I was mentally and physically tired. I  wasn’t sharp coming into that race, and wasn’t as fresh but the way in which Tadej rode the Giro was very different to what I went through. He was dictating the speed, and everyone was waiting for him to attack. It was all on his own terms and for me, he’s perfectly placed to challenge for this year’s Tour, especially given that his number one rival isn’t at his absolute fighting best.