A Rookie’s Guide to the Tour de France – Expect the Unexpected

Professional cycling is a fast moving and unpredictable sport, and last night one of the more unexpected pieces of news in recent memory came out. Eight time Tour stage winner and green jersey contender Marcel Kittel will not ride the tour this year.

On Tuesday, we nabbed Kittel as one of the favorites for the green jersey competiton, you can read that post here, but it appears there will be no Tour at all for the big German. His team did not select Kittel for its nine man Tour squad, due to lack of fitness and ongoing illness.

This surprise announcement will have a number of consequences in July. First and foremost, the flat finishes just got easier for the likes of Mark Cavendish, Alexander Kristoff, and Andre Greipel without the most prolific winner in the race from the last two seasons. Secondly, Kittel’s teammate John Degenkolb will now have free reign and team support to go for the green jersey and stage wins. This immediatley puts Degenkolb in with Peter Sagan and Kristoff as favorites to win the jersey because of his ability to hang tough over smaller climbs. Additionally, this may help Mark Cavendish’s chances to win green because Degenkolb, Kristoff, and Sagan will all be there in the hillier finishes, and hopefully compete for the same points.

This morning’s surprise announcement that Marcel Kittel will not race the Tour is certainly an impactful one and is a major shakeup for the sprint finishes and the green jersey competition.

Other Parts of The Series:
Part 1 – Introduction – Click Here

Part 2 – Races within the Race – Click Here

Part 3 – Basic Bike Race Strategy – Click Here

Part 4 – Types of Stage – Click Here

Part 5 – Types of Rider – Click Here

Part 6 – Yellow Jersey Breakdown – Click Here

Part 7 – Green Jersey Breakdown – Click Here

Part 8 – White Jersey Breakdown – Click Here