Tour de France 2018 preview: Favorites, predictions and picks

The 2018 Tour de France starts July 7 on the island of Noirmoutier. Here are favorites and predictions for each jersey competition in this year’s race.

Entering this year’s Tour de France, the buzz centered on whether defending champion Chris Froome would be allowed to start the race. Froome, current champion in all three grand tours, was awaiting the final verdict on his positive drug test for salbutamol. Finally and definitively cleared of any wrongdoing by the UCI, Froome is prepared to take on the rest of the world’s best.

All of the jersey competitions will provide intrigue over the course of the next three weeks. In addition to the iconic yellow jersey, three other jerseys are up for grabs for various specialists among the peloton. The sprinters and the mountain goats each get their own prizes, as does the best rider under age 26.

Every stage is its own event to behold. And the presence of several types of competition means that every stage can impact several battles at once. While some stages are more highly anticipated than others, there are plenty of reasons to tune in every day.

Several riders in the field will be going for record-tying efforts in the various classifications. The rest of the pack will look to disrupt those chances at making history. Let’s take a look at each of these competitions, looking at the favorite for each jersey and the contenders who will challenge for the prize.