Chris Froome. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/KRISTOF VAN ACCOM
Chris Froome. Picture: GETTY IMAGES/KRISTOF VAN ACCOM

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CHRIS Froome will go up against familiar faces when he attempts to win a third Tour de France title in July, after the same 22 teams from last summer were named by race organisers yesterday.

The route seems perfect for Briton Froome, with individual time trials set to play a much bigger part in deciding the winner of the general classification than in previous editions.

The Team Sky man edged out Colombian Nairo Quintana by one minute and 12 seconds last year, having also taken the 2013 title. Froome, Quintana and Alberto Contador, all look likely to line up alongside each other once more, with Sky, Movistar and Tinkoff all unsurprisingly on the team list.

"It’s a selection without surprises," Tour general director Christian Prudhomme said of a list that includes four invitees, three of them French and one German (Bora-Argon).

"Bora is a very strong team that will be in the Tour for the third time. "They have the German champion, the young Emanuel Buchmann, who did an excellent climb at Cauterets last year (he finished third), and a good sprinter in Irishman Sam Bennett," he said.

Giro D’Italia 2014 champion Quintana is expected to be one of Froome’s main challengers for the yellow jersey again this year, with the mountain finishes at Mont Ventoux and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains expected to produce exciting battles.

For the second year in a row, bonus seconds will be handed to the top three on each stage, after seven years with no seconds on offer for stage finishes. That did not prevent Slovakian Peter Sagan from winning the points classification for the fourth year in a row last summer, despite not winning a stage.

Sagan will face competition for the green jersey from the in-form Marcel Kittel and Norway’s Alexander Kristoff, while Mark Cavendish will be competing with Team Dimension Data in the Tour for the first time.

The South African outfit impressed as the first African team to race the Tour de France last year under their previous guise of MTN-Qhubeka, and they are ready to return for a second attempt.

Teams announced by race organisers yesterday to contest this year’s Tour de France, which takes place from July 2-24: AG2R La Mondiale (FRA), Astana Pro Team (KAZ), BMC Racing Team (USA,) Cannondale Pro Cycling Team (USA), Dimension Data (RSA), Etixx-Quick Step (BEL), FDJ (FRA), IAM Cycling (SUI) Lampre-Merida (ITA), Lotto Soudal (BEL), Movistar Team (ESP), Orica GreenEDGE (AUS), Team Giant-Alpecin (GER), Team Katusha (RUS), Team Lotto NL-Jumbo (NED), Team Sky (GBR), Tinkoff (RUS), Trek-Segafredo (USA) Invited teams: Bora-Argon 18 (GER), Cofidis (FRA), Direct Energie (FRA), Fortuneo-Vital Concept (FRA)

AFP