Tour de France Logo

LONDON, Jul 6 (CP) – The Tour isn't all about one man's quest for the yellow jersey. In the finale to our special three part series, Cylingpost.com previews the sprinters, king of the mountains and young rider classifications.

While most attention focuses on the duel for the overall classification, the adage that Le Tour is many races within the race is certainly true when it comes to the Green, Polka-dot and White jerseys. So who can we expect to see in the mix for these jerseys?

Green Jersey

The fight for the green sprinters jersey should again be a fascinating battle that could go down to the wire on the Champs-Élysées. The beauty of this competition is the contrasting mixture of personalities and riding styles that all the favorites posses.

On numbers alone, Robbie McEwen will start as favorite. Already the pocket rocket has won eleven stages at the Tour – three in both 2005 and 2006 – and has three Green Jerseys to his name. McEwen is in his element on French roads in July.

Each year the Australian starts out with the objective of getting an early stage win. McEwen believes an early victory boosts the morale of his team which can be translated into further stage wins. Don't expect to see him fight it out for the intermediate sprints though – he prefers to save his strength for the mad dash to the line each day.

Of marvel too, is how the Belgium based rider gets his wins. With little in the way of fanfare, McEwen invariably springs forth from nowhere to storm home – and with little in the way of team support.

2005 Green Jersey winner Thor Hushovd is in stark contrast to McEwen. There is nothing subtle about his sprint – power is the order of the day. The Crédit Agricole rider can not be underestimated though.

Last year the big Norwegian had a mixed Tour. Between the highs of winning the opening prologue and the final stage – the first man since 1982 to do so, and having a spell in yellow, Hushovd couldn't take a trick. In stage one he infamously cut his arm on some advertising paraphernalia and in a later stage was relegated for dangerous sprinting – costing him any chance of defending his jersey.

If Hushovd has a good prologue, he'll look to the time bonuses in both the intermediate sprints and stage finishes to get him the leader's jersey once again.

For Tom Boonen, 2007 will be a back to basics race. Despite getting to wear the Yellow Jersey in his homeland, Boonen's frustration was plain to see as each day he missed out on a stage win. Therefore he will be initially more concerned with getting himself a win than fighting it out for the sprinters jersey.

With his Quickstep team entirely dedicated to Tornado Tom's cause, the 2005 World Champion will have no excuses if he fails to deliver. If Boonen can get over the Pyrenees and gets his killer instinct back, the Green Jersey is not out of the question.

Spanish rider Oscar Freire is another rider with legitimate claims on the Green Jersey. Along with McEwen, the three time world champion was the most consistent sprinter in the 2006 Tour. Winning two stages, both top quality sprints, was a welcome return to form for the much maligned – and often injured – rider.

The Rabobank rider possesses similar attributes to McEwen – he needs very little team support and can read a sprint as well as anyone else in the peloton. Though he may be considered fragile property, if the 31 year old can get to Paris then he'll definitely be a big chance of being in green.

Though many others will be looking to rack up points consistently and therefore feature highly in the race for the sprinters classification, expect the 2007 winner to come from one of these four riders.

Polka-dot Jersey

If there is any such thing as a safe bet in the Tour de France then put your money on Michael Rasmussen winning the King of the Mountains competition.

If the 33 year old gets to ride his own race and gives limited support to team captain Denis Menchov, the Dane could prove unstoppable. Rasmussen will be aiming for his third straight title and will likely use his time proven strategy to do so.

For the former mountain biker, the tour is really a game of numbers. No doubt Rasmussen will have already penciled in a stage or two in which he will make an all out attack to gain maximum mountain points. To achieve this though the Rabobank rider will ensure he is far enough down on the general classification to allow his breakaway attempt to go unchallenged. Expect him to make his charge during one of the three stages in the Pyrenees.

But Rasmussen isn't the only one looking to win the Mountains competition and several top quality riders will stand in his way.

After mysteriously spending four years in the cycling wilderness, Iban Mayo has made somewhat of a comeback in 2007 whilst riding for Saunier Duval.

In 2003 many considered Mayo to be as good as climber as anyone in the peloton and was seen as Lance Armstrong's major threat to the 2004 Tour. Though the Spanish rider has never reached such heights since, this year could see that all change. With strong team backing and no great expectations placed on him, Mayo could get under the guard of those who quickly dismiss his chances.

Mayo's former teammate, Haimar Zubeldia has the dubious honor of consistently finishing with a high overall place but doing so virtually unnoticed. The Euskaltel-Euskadi rider is unlikely to be a serious threat for the Yellow Jersey and would be a strong contender if he were to focus on the mountains competition instead.

White Jersey

The White Jersey is awarded to the best rider aged 25 or under in the Tour de France, and provides some insight into the future of cycling.

A standout candidate for this year's jersey is Luis Léon Sánchez. The Spanish rider will be expected to work hard as a domestique for his Caisse d'Epargne teammates in the mountains and this should automatically give him a high placing.

But Sánchez's biggest threat comes from his ex-teammate and close friend, Alberto Contador. 2007 has been a stellar year for Contador; winning Paris-Nice is just one highlight. Many see the Discovery rider as a more than capable sidekick to Levi Leipheimer if the American falters.

Discovery Channel are bringing a very young squad to the Tour this year, and another rider whose goal may be of wearing white into Paris is Slovenian Janez Brajkovic.

Conclusion

So all in all, the 2007 edition of the Tour de France promises to again captivate and fascinate us during July. On Saturday the action finally kicks off with much anticipated prologue around the streets of London.

© Michael Holden