Froome’s rival Quintana favourite to be King of the Mountains

Britain’s Chris Froome will also be in contention for the mountains jersey. The 2013 Tour de France champion narrowly came second to Quintana in the mountains classification that year, impressive considering he was not targeting that competition. Froome is bound to use the mountains to attack and gain time on his rivals and will rack up many King of the Mountains points in the process.

Another overall contender, Spanish cycling legend Alberto Contador, is also likely to feature in the battle for the polka-dot jersey. Although Contador has never won the mountain classification in any of the three Grand Tours (in France, Spain, and Italy) he has won the overall competitions in all multiple times with his explosive attacks in the mountains. Contador has already won the Giro d’Italia this year, and if he finds himself too fatigued for the yellow jersey he is sure to target the King of the Mountains. He stands at 10/1 to be wearing polka-dots at the finish.

One rider in the running for the King of the Mountains is not a serious contender for the yellow jersey. Pierre Rolland is the best cyclist to come out of France in recent years, finishing in the top 10 in the 2011 and 2012 Tours and third in the 2013 mountains competition. The Frenchman also came fourth in the 2014 Giro d’Italia but skipped the race this year to focus on the Tour de France, and will be in good form to challenge for the polka-dot jersey. He sits third in the odds at 17/2.