TOUR DE FRANCE
Undercooked Chris Froome tipped as hottest Tour de France rider
Duesseldorf — Chris Froome may look far from his best and might say the 2017 route does him no favours, but the Briton is the overwhelming favourite to win his fourth Tour de France crown in July. His main rivals — an ageing Alberto Contador, a too-cautious Nairo Quintana and an unreliable Richie Porte — all seem short of the combination of ingredients needed to unsettle Froome’s Team Sky machine, and Romain Bardet looks a little green to become France’s first Tour champion since 1985. The route will suit the most aggressive riders. Only four mountain-top finishes mean the peloton’s opportunists will aim to launch long-range attacks and cause chaos — of the kind that Contador used to eliminate Froome in the 2016 Vuelta. Team Sky’s conservative approach to the race might expose the Briton, who has not won a race this season and was bested by Porte in the time trial and the mountains in June’s Criterium du Dauphine. "Richie has been amazing this season. I think this year’s Tour suits ...
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