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The win is probably beyond Valverde's reach but if he is to ever finish on the podium, 2013 could very well be the year to do it

Photo: Sirotti

TOUR DE FRANCE

RACE PROFILE
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NEWS
26.06.2013 @ 16:15 Posted by Emil Axelgaard

This year's best stage racer, the most decorated grand tour rider during the past 7 years and the man that was once seen as his most likely challenger go head-to-head in the 100th edition of the Tour de France, and they will be challenged by another former Tour winner, a duo of Spanish attackers, last year's Giro winner and a bunch of young talents that are ready to make their impact on the biggest cycling scene. Tour organisers ASO have attracted a formidable line up for what promises to be a truly spectacular edition of the sport's leading cycling event and the entire cycling world look forward to finding out if anyone has what it takes to beat the seemingly invincible Chris Froome. CyclingQuotes.com takes a thorough look at this year's favourites and outsiders and finds out all about their strengths and weaknesses.

 

Last year's Tour de France evolved into a one-sided affair as the Sky team proved superior to the rest of the field. This year the British super team once again lines up the race's biggest favourite Chris Froome who will be backed by a formidable team, but a host of aggressive and offensive contenders should make it a much more entertaining affair.

 

Former arch-rivals Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck will be back to try to take back the crown that has eluded the duo since 2010, former champion Cadel Evans wants to prove that he still has what it takes to win the world's biggest race and Alejandro Valverde, Joaquin Rodriguez and Ryder Hesjedal are eager to show that they are capable of repeating their Giro and Vuelta performances on the biggest scene.

 

At the same time, young riders like Nairo Quintana, Thibaut Pinot, Pierre Rolland, Andrew Talansky, Rui Costa, Rein Taaramae and Tejay Van Garderen are knocking on the door and eager to make an impression in the race that counts most.

 

CyclingQuotes.com has taken an in-depth look at the race's favourites, assigning 5 stars to the race's biggest favourite, 4 to his two biggest rivals, 3 to three other potential winners, 2 to four of the podium contenders and 1 to 5 of the race's minor outsiders. In this article, we take a look at the race's 9 outsiders while we analyzed the 6 favourites here.

 

Alejandro Valverde (**)

No one can take away from Alejandro Valverde that he is a classy grand tour rider who has made a huge impact on the Vuelta a Espana ever since his breakthrough 3rd place as a young Kelme rider back in 2003. Since that year he has finished in the top 5 whenever he has lined up at his home grand tour, having only missed the event in 2005 and in 2010 and 2011 due to his doping suspension, and he even won the race in 2009.

 

However, the Spaniard has been unable to make the same impact on the Tour despite making the French grand tour a major target whenever he has had the chance to do so. His best finish is a surprisingly low 6th in 2007 and three stage wins can't make up for the fact that he had hoped to achieve much more on GC.

 

However, his lack of results come as little surprise. The Tour is a different beast than the Vuelta and the nature of the race makes it much less suited to Valverde's characteristics. Firstly, the number of flat time trialling kilometres have always seen the Spaniard lose too much time to contend for the victory and he missed the only edition where time trialling played no crucial role in 2009 due to his ban from racing on Italian soil (the Tour passed through Italy during one of its stages). At the same time, the long, gradual climbs are much less suited to Valverde than the shorter, irregular ones in Spain and since 2008 he has even been robbed of his opportunity to pick up bonus seconds by virtue of his fast finish.

 

Nonetheless, Valverde has continued to make the Tour de France the focal point of his season, this year maybe more than ever before. The mountainous route and relatively short time trials have seen him avoid the temptation to race as much as he usually does throughout the spring season in an attempt to give the podium a completely dedicated shot.

 

This time he even has a better chance of reaching that target than he has had in the past. When he came back from suspension early last year, he clearly lacked the racing kilometres and endurance to make an impact in the longest races. That all changed with his participation in the Tour in which a crash saw him fall out of contention before he bounced back with a beautiful win in the final Pyrenean stage. When he returned to competition at the Vuelta later that year, he climbed better than ever before, almost matching Contador and Rodriguez in the mountains, and had he not lost time due to a crash in stage 4, he would have been very close to actually winning the race.

 

If he can find back that level, he should up there with the best riders at the Tour. Throughout the early part of the season, he has given indications that he will be able to do that. As usual, he was amazingly strong in the early part of the season and would probably have won the Volta a Catalunya, had he not been taken out by a crash while clad in the leader's jersey. He was the most consistent rider in the Ardennes, finishing on the podium twice, and while he was not at his best at the recent Dauphiné, that could be a blessing in disguise, the Spaniard having often been too strong at that event earlier in his career.

 

At the same time, he will be favoured by the route. He has never been a man for the flat time trials and his abilities in that discipline has even deteriorated since he came back from suspension. Hence, he will undoubtedly lose plenty of time in the first long time trial. On the other hand, he has always performed splendidly on hilly, technical routes, winning a race against the clock at the 2008 Dauphiné and finishing 2nd in a similar stage at the 2010 Vuelta al Pais Vasco. He even finished 4th in the difficult time trial at last year's Vuelta, and he could not have designed a route more to his liking that the one used for this year's second individual stage. He forms part of a formidable Movistar line-up which has multiple cards to play, thus offering Valverde the chance to also rely on team tactics in his podium quest.

 

The win is probably beyond Valverde's reach - after all he was mostly unable to match Rodriguez and a below-par Contador on the climbs at last year's Vuelta and we see no reason that it should be any different this time - but if Valverde is to ever finish on the podium, 2013 could very well be the year to do it.

 

Cadel Evans (**)

When Cadel Evans finished 22nd and 51st at the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Criterium International respectively, nothing suggested that the veteran Australian would be a serious podium contender at this year's Tour. The BMC captain had just come off an illness-plagued 2012 season and had hoped that his adversity was behind him when he finished 3rd at the Tour of Oman in February. His Tirreno performance came as a bad shock at a time where he had expected to once again be in contention for the win and in a recent interview with Cyclingnews, BMC performance director Alan Peiper did nothing to hide that Evans had a mentally tough time at that point of the year.

 

BMC knew that it would take something unusual to bring Evans back up to speed and regain his confidence. That unusual element was the decision to line up the veteran at the Giro d'Italia despite his previous failed attempt to make the Giro-Tour double in 2010. Just as many had started to write off the 36-year old veteran, he proved that there is still life in the old legs as he finished a splendid 3rd at the Italian grand tour and still claims that he could have finished 2nd, had he not had a mechanical on the Tre Cime di Laveredo climb in the penultimate stage.

 

As it is often the case for Evans, that 3rd place was not taken by virtue of him being one of the three best climbers in the race but by exploiting his consistency, tactical savvy and experience. Those are the attributes that should once again land him on the Tour podium and it would be a huge mistake to discount Evans. His rivals know that and are always wise enough to mention the veteran as one of the danger men.

 

Besides his experience and consistency, team support is a crucial weapon for Evans. While most GC riders have been involved in a crash during the first week of the two previous Tours, the Australian has always avoided the carnage. His team knows the importance of getting safely through the first nervous week and has once again given classics rider great priority in the line-up. While George Hincapie will be missing this time, Marcus Burghardt, Michael Schär and Manuel Quinziato will make sure that Evans once again arrives safely at the foot of the Pyrenees with complete piece in mind. At the same time, Steve Morabito, Amael Moinard and especially Tejay Van Garderen should provide better support in the mountains for the often isolated Evans and it is clear that the Australian is very comfortable in his BMC surroundings.

 

Much has been said about the internal rivalry between Van Garderen and Evans but there is no bluffing when the team claims Evans to be the undisputed leader. In the Cyclingnews interview, Peiper ventured some frustration over the public perception that the team was not telling the truth when it offered Evans the complete backing, and reality is that it would be an unreasonable choice to put Van Garderen over Evans in the internal hierarchy. The American may have won the Tour of California but his climbing ability has so far been too insufficient to put him onto the podium at a WorldTour race. Instead, the team has vowed to put the youngster into the captaincy role next year and thus we can expect him to remain loyal towards Evans.

 

What speaks against Evans is of course his huge racing burden. No rider has finished on the podium of the Giro and the Tour in the same season since the late Marco Pantani made the double in 1998 and when Evans last made an attempt in 2010, he started strongly but fractured his elbow in a crash and finished a modest 25th. On that occasion, he had also finished the Giro ill and he claims to feel better this time. He is certainly also aided by an easier Giro course than the excessively tough 2010 version and many of the hardest climbs were even taken out of the race.

 

However, Evans is not the rider he once was. At his peak, he was known as the most consistent rider in the peloton, always fighting for the win when he lined up at the race. That hasn't been the case since the 2011 season. At the same time, his time trialling ability has also decreased and the race against the clock is not the asset it previously was. Finally, he was not even close to matching Nibali in the Giro mountains. How should he then have a chance to go head to head with Froome at the Tour?

 

The days where Evans can win the world's biggest race are probably gone but it would be no surprise if he steps onto the podium in Paris for the fourth time in his career.

 

Nairo Quintana (**)

Ever since his 2010 Tour de l'Avenir win, it has been evident that Nairo Quintana would once start a grand tour as a podium candidate. In his just second year at WorldTour level, the tiny Colombian already finds himself in that position - even in his Tour debut.

 

Quintana has been mentioned as a dark horse not only by cycling pundits but also by the GC contenders themselves. Everybody seems to be a little cautious when assessing his possibilities and he is certainly one of the exciting unknown elements of this year's Tour.

 

His rivals certainly have a reason to fear this outstanding young climber. Already last year, he astounded the world by winning the Vuelta a Murcia, taking his first WorldTour win in the queen stage of the Dauphiné and simply crushing the opposition at the Route du Sud before going on to win the late autumn semi-classic Giro dell'Emilia on the tough San Luca climb. At that point he had finished the Vuelta as one of the race's 4 best climbers, offering Valverde formidable support in the final hard mountain stages.

 

This year he has stepped up his game a further notch by distancing the likes of Valverde, Rodriguez and Wiggins in the first mountain stage of the Volta a Catalunya. His good condition saw him make a last-minute change to his race schedule by lining up at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. That proved to be a wise decision as the Colombian went on to win the race ahead of Porte, Henao, Spilak and Contador! He was clearly fatigued and suffered from illness at the Ardennes classics and so was unable to make an impact on that occasion and since then he has not raced at all, instead training on his own in his native Colombia.

 

Quintana's main asset is of course his outstanding climbing ability. Long climbs, short climbs, steep climbs, gradual climbs: Quintana has the ability to handle any kind of ascent. The climbs at the Tour should be well-suited to his characteristics but as a Colombian he would probably have preferred ASO to have included more high-altitude mountains. The highest point of this year's Tour is the top of the Port de Pailheres at 2001m and so Quintana will not benefit from his natural ability to handle high altitudes.

 

At the same time, Quintana is a better time triallist than his tiny build would suggest. He will never be a man for the flat races against the clock but last year he proved at both the Vuelta a Murcia and the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid that he knows how to defend himself on such courses. On hilly routes, he is much better off and his Pais Vasco win was mostly founded on an impressive 2nd place in the very difficult final stage in Beasain where he even came close to beating world time trial champion Tony Martin. He also finished 3rd in the Col d'Eze time trial at the Paris-Nice, and there is no doubt that he will find the final time trial of this year's race to his liking.

 

A big question mark lingers over Quintana' current level. As said, he hasn't raced since April, instead preparing his Tour campaign in Colombia. He was allowed to do the same in the build-up to his grand tour debut at last year's Vuelta and had a terrible start to the race, falling put of GC contention already in the first mountain stage. He gradually rode his legs up to racing speed and finished the race strongly but if he wants to contend for the podium, he needs to be better prepared this time.

 

At the same time, he has not much grand tour experience and still needs to show that he can be consistent throughout a three-week race. Hence, it is no surprise that his team keeps a cautious approach, allowing him to race without any pressure. Finally, he probably still lacks the ability to match the best climbers in the world. When he won in the Basque Country, he was not the strongest climber in the race - that honour should be given to his compatriot Henao - but he took the win by virtue of his outstanding time trial. If he is unable to distance his rivals in the Basque Country, he won't be in the Tour either. At this point in his career, a shot at the white jersey is probably a more realistic target than the podium - and he should be the big favourite to ride into Paris as the best young rider.

 

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (**)

Jurgen Van Den Broeck is one of those riders that are very unlikely to ever win the race but could very well take a podium spot at some point of his career. The Belgian is fully aware of this fact and has never claimed to target the win. Instead, he has made it a career objective to become the first Belgian to step onto the podium in Paris since Lucien Van Impe finished 2nd in 1981.

 

Van Den Broeck's greatest asset is his reliability and consistency. Whenever the Belgian is asked to turn up for an event in top form, he always manages to time his peak at the right time. He emerged as a grand tour contender when he finished a surprising 7th at the highly competitive 2008 Giro and finished 14th at his debut Tour one year later after having fallen out of GC contention due to a crash in the team time trial. He took over team leadership duties from Evans in 2010 and promptly delivered on his promises by finishing 5th in Paris (which was later changed to 4th due to Contador's disqualification). In 2011, he appeared to be in splendid condition until a crash took him out of the race, leaving him with a pneumothorax, broken ribs and a fractured shoulder. Nonetheless, he managed to build up sufficient condition to finish 8th at the Vuelta two months later and last year he took a career best 4th at the Tour.

 

First and foremost, Van Den Broeck is a climber without much explosion but an ability to sustain a hard tempo for a long time and to recover well. Surprisingly, he is a former junior world champion in the time trial but the individual discipline has been his weak point ever since his emergence as a grand tour contender. He has done a tremendous amount of work to improve in the discipline and on numerous occasions he has given signs of huge improvements. Last year, he did outstanding time trials at the Volta ao Algarve and the Criterium du Dauphiné and this year he once again exceeded expectations at the Tour de Romandie. However, he has been unable to transfer this positive development to the grand tours and if he wants to realistically target the podium, he has to succeed in doing this.

 

For the first time, some question marks linger over Van Den Broeck's head prior to this year's Tour. He had high ambitions for the early part of the season but those were never fulfilled. He started strongly by finishing 2nd in Andalucia in February but a missed split on a descent saw him only manage 9th at the Volta a Catalunya. His best performance came at the Tour de Romandie where he finished 7th after having been taken out of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco due to a crash. For the first time in recent years, illness made him unable to make an impact on the Dauphiné but he bounced by a strong showing at the recent Belgian championships.

 

Besides being hugely reliant and consistent, Van Den Broeck is an aggressive rider who is not afraid of attacking from a long distance. In this year's highly competitive Tour line-up, his best chance of reaching his podium target may come by taking some risks. And if he dares to bet everything on one card, he is certainly not a rider to allow too much leeway.

 

Thibaut Pinot (*)

Thibaut Pinot has long been regarded as the next big thing in French cycling but his performance at his debut Tour de France last year probably exceeded even his wildest expectations. A stage win, 10th overall and 2nd in the young riders' competition on a route that was completely unsuited to his characteristics as a pure climber proved that there is much more to come from the 23-year old Frenchman.

 

Everything indicates that Pinot has stepped up his game even further this year. His spring season was far better than ever before and while he has mostly been either trying his hand in long-distance breakaways or struggling to keep up with the favourites at WorldTour races in the past, he has now developed into a rider who is capable of taking things into his own hands by launching dangerous attacks late on the final climbs.

 

He had an aggressive performance at both the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Romandie and was clearly one of the 5 best climbers at both events. Only a missed split on a descent in Catalonia and a flat time trial in Romandy saw him finish in modest 8th and 12th places respectively. However, the Tour de Suisse revealed the true extent of his improvements as he finished 4th in a race where only Rui Costa appeared to be able to match him on the climbs.

 

While he is an outstanding climber, his weakness has always been his time trialling ability. Nonetheless, his 14th place on a mostly flat course in the Bayern Rundfahrt gave signs of hope and he even performed solidly in the first flat part of the Tour de Suisse time trial. In a recent interview with Cyclingnews, he claimed to feel much better on his time trial bike and he will find this year's short races against the clock and the hilly nature of the last one to his liking.

 

Many young French riders have been unable to deal with the immense pressure that follows from the status as the next big French Tour hope. Luckily, Pinot shares the media attention with Rolland and his team has made a wise decision by mostly keeping him away from his big home races. He appears to be mentally at peace with his role and he could be the rider to finally break the French podium drought in the coming years. It may be a little too early this season but his recent improvement certainly suggests that he has what it takes to win the white jersey and we are sure to see much of aggression from the offensive young Frenchman.

 

Pierre Rolland (*)

When 21-year old Pierre Rolland finished 13th at the 2008 Paris-Nice, the Frenchmen started to hope that they had finally found the man to succeed Bernard Hinault in the role as the most recent French Tour winner. However, his progress appeared to stall until it finally flourished when he finished 11th, won the white jersey and took a memorable stage win by dropping Alberto Contador and Samuel Sanchez on the Alpe d'Huez at the 2011 Tour de France. Last year he confirmed his potential by taking 8th on GC and bagging another big solo win in an Alpine stage.

 

Unfortunately, Rolland is unlikely to fulfill those ambitious winner expectations. He is certainly a solid climber but he has never showed the potential to match the best. Strangely, his best performances have always come at the Tour and with the exception of an 8th place at the 2010 Dauphiné, he has never managed to finish in the top 10 of another WorldTour race, his only other top 10 stage race results coming in smaller French stage races. That is of course partly due to his team's status as a professional continental team but Rolland has always been unable to contend for the win when he has had the chance to line up at and target a foreign WorldTour race, and his spring results have also been rather modest this year.

 

Thus, Pinot is more likely to emerge as the country's leading grand tour rider and Rolland will have to make a huge leap forward realistically contend for the Tour podium. What still makes him an interesting prospect is his aggressiveness and ability to turn long-distance attacks in the mountains into success. It is no coincidence that he has taken solo wins in the Alps twice in a row and that aggressive attitude could very well  earn him a higher placing that he would have taken, had he just stayed with the favourites. At the same time, he has a good ability to recover, always getting stronger as a grand tour goes on.

 

However, he also has two main weaknesses that could both cost him dearly. First of all, he hates to battle for position during the flat stages and it was no wonder that he lost time by being caught up behind the crash in the stage to Chateauroux in 2011. At the same time he lacks a team with the ability to position him well in the most hectic moments, thus making him even more vulnerable through the very hectic first week of the race. Finally, his time trialling certainly has room for improvement and unlike Pinot, there are few signs of him getting better in the discipline.

 

Like Pinot, Rolland also has the burden of expectations from the Frenchmen but he showed last year that he is able to handle it. In this regard, he is also able to draw on the support from veteran teammate Thomas Voeckler who thrives in the spotlight and could take some of the attention away from his younger teammate. Whether that is enough for Rolland to finally crack the top 5 is doubtful but we are sure to see the Frenchman bet everything on one card with a long-distance attack in the mountains.

 

Rui Costa (*)

Movistar has no less than three realistic top 10 candidates at this year's Tour and while most attention has been focused on Valverde and Quintana, it would be a mistake to discount Rui Costa. Being just 26 years of age, he has already participated in 4 Tours de France, performing modestly in 2010 and 2011 before going on to win a tough stage in Massif-Central in 2011 and finishing 18th overall last year.

 

Those performances may not sound overly impressive but what suddenly turns Costa into a genuine GC contender is the huge progress he has made during the early part of this season. Like last year, he lines up at the Tour with a recent Tour de Suisse win in his pocket but there is a world of difference between his two wins. Last year he used a strong performance in the first mountain stage to ride himself into yellow but he was evidently not the best climber in the race and only took the win by virtue of a solid time trial, strong help from teammate Valverde and a rather easy route.

 

On the contrary, he was clearly the strongest rider in the race when he repeated his win earlier this month. A long absence from competition saw him struggle a bit in the first mountain stage but as his legs started to come around, he just got stronger and stronger. In the queen stage, he and Pinot were clearly the strongest riders and he simply crushed the opposition in the final uphill time trial.

 

The performance not only showed that he has made a general leap forward, it also showed that he has changed as a rider. Until now, his best performances have come in shorter stage races and hilly one-day race with his main asset being a fast finish and his ability to handle shorter climbs. This year's Tour de Suisse saw him getting stronger and stronger throughout a 9-day event and he handled the long climbs and high-altitude climbing of the queen stage splendidly. If he can transfer those characteristics to the Tour de France, he could be a danger man.

 

He is an extremely versatile rider and while he is not a time trial specialist, he is better than most on hilly courses. He will probably lose some time to the best in the first flat time trial but should shine in the difficult final one. At the same time, he is part of an extremely strong team with a number of opportunities and the squad is not unlikely to use the Costa card to put pressure on their rivals. That could be a double-edged sword for the Portuguese: on one hand he could lose plenty of time due to a failed attack, on the other hand it could allow him to make an unexpected time gain that could see him finish high on GC.

 

What he still lacks to prove is consistency in a three-week race and that his level is good enough to contend with the best. Last year he tried his hand as GC rider for the first time and an 18th place is certainly not overly impressive. The line-up at the Tour de Suisse was also not as strong as at the Dauphiné and so he still owes to show us that he can stand up against the world's best riders day after day in a stage race.

 

Andrew Talansky (*)

The Americans may have most of their attention turned towards Tejay Van Garderen but another one of their young talents could very well ride away with the white jersey ahead of his more famous compatriot. Andrew Talansky has gradually developed as a stage race rider and now finds himself at a point where he can realistically contend for a top result in his debut Tour.

 

During his first year in the professional ranks in 2011, the Garmin-Sharp rider had difficulties in the mountains while he immediately showed that he has what it takes to battle the best in the time trials. A 9th place at the Tour de Romandie did, however, give indications of his all-round talents and those finally flourished during the 2012 season.

 

His first outstanding result came at the Tour de Romandie when he finished within a second of Bradley Wiggins in the uphill time trial (Wiggins had had a mechanical earlier in the stage), sealing 2nd overall in the process. That he is much more than just a time triallist became even more obvious in the Tour de l'Ain in August when a stage win in the mountains laid the foundations for his first ever overall stage race win as a professional. Finally, he finished 7th at the Vuelta in his first ever attempt as a GC rider in a grand tour.

 

His steady progress has continued this year as he won a stage on his way to second overall behind Richie Porte at March's Paris-Nice. 6th at the Criterium International should just be a prelude for his final early-season target in Romandie but he fell ill and had to settle for 16th at the Swiss event.

 

Illness struck again at his most recent race, the Criterium du Dauphiné, taking him out of overall contention in stage one, but he gradually recovered and it was his performance in the final stage to Risoul that made him get onto our list of outsiders. Having carefully nurtured teammate Rohan Dennis during the first mountain stages, he was given free reins in the final summit finish when Dennis had all but secured his white jersey and top 10 overall. At that point, Chris Froome and Richie Porte had left the likes of Valverde and Rodriguez behind, Froome clearly slowing down to wait for his teammate. Impressively, Talansky simply rode his way back up to the Sky duo. He was defeated by Froome in the sprint for second behind lone leader De Marchi but managed to drop Porte in the process, thus underlining his climbing potential.

 

What makes Talansky truly interesting is his great all-round capabilities. While his compatriot Van Garderen appears way too restricted in his climbing to reach his lofty promises, Talansky is much more at ease on the ascents. His improvements in that area appear to have cost him a bit in the time trials but have made him a better athlete overall. As he has also proved that he can handle the strains of a grand tour, he could very well be one of the surprise packages of this year's Tour.

 

Finally, he won't bear the weight of expectation from his team which is mostly focused on Ryder Hesjedal and has plenty of other options in a strong line-up that is also expected to include Daniel Martin, Tom Danielson and Christian Vande Velde. There won't be any pressure on Talansky and he could very well ride himself into white in the first long time trial. If that happens, it will be very hard for his rivals to take it off his shoulders again.

 

Rein Taaramae (*)

Based on his previous grand tour performances and early-season results, it may appear unjust to name Rein Taaramae in our discussion of outsiders. However, the 26-year old Estonian is a huge talent whose past proves that he has what it takes to compete with the best stage racers in the world.

 

Despite being just 26 years old, Taaramae has already 5 full seasons as a professional in his legs and before turning 20, he had already finished in the top 10 in the 2008 Circuit Cycliste Sarthe. One year later, he made himself known on a larger scale by finishing 3rd in the Tour de Romandie, 8th in the Tour de Suisse and winning the Tour de l'Ain - at just 21!

 

He made similar impressive results in 2010 - 7th in the Paris-Nice, 3rd in the Volta a Catalunya - but somehow he failed to make an impression in his first two grand tours, the 2009 Vuelta and the 2010 Tour.  He claimed fatigue to be the reason for his below-par performance at the latter event and so limited his early-season racing in 2011. He still finished 4th in the Paris-Nice and 3rd in the Criterium International before going on to finally contest the GC at a grand tour, finishing 11th in the world's biggest bike race.

 

Last year he suffered from mononucleosis and a fractured elbow during the early part of the season but it was his performance in the early part of the Tour that revealed the true extent of his potential. In the first summit finish to La Planche Des Belles Filles, he finished an outstanding 5th behind Froome, Evans, Wiggins and Nibali and left behind almost the entire field of Tour favourites. As often before, he faded later in the race but his performance in the early part will not be forgotten.

 

This year he has struggled with illness and injury and has not posted a top result at all. However, he indicated a return to form with a solid showing in the time trial and the first mountain stage of the Dauphiné before - once again - fading towards the end. He was most recently  beaten - only by 6 seconds -  by the outstanding time triallist Tanel Kangert at his national time trial championships before going on to winning the road race.

 

Taaramae's main asset is his strength as a climber but he is a truly versatile athlete who also time trials solidly. He has a very aggressive mindset and it would be no surprise to see the young Estonian on the attack towards the end of the mountain stages. If he can rediscover the climbing legs he had in the early part of last year's Tour and combine them with the ability to recover he showed two years ago, this could be the year when Taaramae finally moves into the world elite of grand tour 

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