The 102nd annual race of the legendary Tour de France starts Saturday with Slovak Peter Sagan as one of the men of the moment competing. Out of 198 athletes from 22 teams, he will be the only Slovak taking part in the tour. There are 4 favourites - Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana a Vincenzo Nibali.
Peter Sagan will be on the start in Utrecht, the Netherlands as part of the Tinkoff-Saxo team for the first time. The Slovak talent will help Alberto Contador to win the top position. The Spanish star has already managed to win Giro d'Italia this year. He is now challenging to win the French trophy also, aiming to win the arduous combination Giro-Tour. Nevertheless, many cycling groups recommend watching the Tour because of Peter Sagan. The 25 year old Žilina native ranks among top 5 sprinters for the Tour and shows excellent form. He might be able to reach the final in Paris in his 4th green jersey for the highest number of points in the race. The question is if these would fit in the tactics of his current team focused on helping Contador to triumph. According to its sport director Steven de Jongh, the support of the team should be there in the case that Sagan will have the chance for winning a stage. Moreover, the recent rule changes make the sprinters' competition tougher. Rumours are currently circulating that the changes have been made because of this Slovak entrant. "It might do me much better. The changes are not big and I can still win points in the hilly stages too", said Peter Sagan. As he added, he wants to help the team performance by the highest effort. The Slovak has so far won 4 stages on Tour de France.
Running from Saturday July 4th to Sunday July 26th 2015, the Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,360 kilometres. Cyclists will have to come across 9 flat stages, 3 hilly stages, and 7 mountainous stages including 5 summit finishes. The race also includes 1 individual time trial, 1 team time trial and 2 rest days.
