The Tour de France’s polka-dot jersey is one of the most iconic in all of sports. The winner of this competition must be daring and aggressive, and must have plenty of luck as well.
There are essentially two ways to claim the polka dot jersey, and both have been employed plenty of times in the past. The “conventional” way is to go on long range breakaway raids and rack up mountain points over successive summits in a stage. While this is a good way to bag maximum points, it drains precious energy and depletes a rider for the stage finish, where mountain points are doubled. The other strategy is to sit and wait for the final few climbs before launching precisely timed attacks and taking points while conserving energy. While this strategy can be productive, it leaves a lot of points on the course for other riders.
Most times, the KOM (King of the Mountains) competition is a battle between opportunistic breakaway specialists employing the first strategy and GC candidates employing the second. That being said, this post will focus on five breakaway specialists who could claim the jersey, with the understanding that the top guns on GC will also be in the mix.
Pierre Rolland
Rolland has been a top climber in the Tour for the last 4 or 5 years, and he is somewhat of a French hero. Rolland has a unique style that often includes seemingly poorly thought out long range attacks. Although this strategy can lead to some highs and lows, the highs are often brilliant, including two top 10 finishes on GC at the Tour (plus 11th last year), two stage wins, one white jersey, and 4th in the 2014 Giro d’Italia. Rolland’s tendency for breakaway rides also can lead to bundles of KOM points. Although he has never won the dots, he has worn the jersey several times in his career and is always near the top of the leaderboard. Expect to see Rolland going wild in the mountains as always, and he may well be wearing polka dots while doing so.
Julian Arredondo
Arredondo is a classic diminutive Colombian climber, and he will be active when the Tour hits the high altitudes. Arredondo won a stage and the mountains jersey in last year’s Giro d’Italia, and he will try to repeat that success in France this time around. He is somewhat of an unknown, but like many other Colombians, he can fly up the mountains and will be in the mix on any summit. Look for Arredondo in breakaways during mountain stages at the Tour, collecting points for a serious run at the KOM competition.
Ryder Hesjedal
Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro d’Italia champion is another rider who likes the long range breakaways. Like Rolland, Hesjedal often launches puzzling attacks, although he has had quite a bit of GC success in his career. At 34 years of age, Hesjedal’s GC days are behind him, and he has resorted to being a stage hunter and KOM extraordinaire. Hesjedal and his Cannondale-Garmin team love to “animate the race,” and Hesjedal should be animating the KOM competition in July.
Warren Barguil
Barguil is another pure climber, although he has yet to show his full potential in grand tours. Although he does have a pair of grand tour stage wins, Barguil shares a team with Marcel Kittel, and he has never had any support to speak of in his GC ambitions. Because his team is very weak in the mountains, Barguil will turn his focus away from the yellow jersey and towards the polka dotted one, trying his best to win the KOM title. Unlike many of the other riders on this list, Barguil will probably try to wait and go for the plethora of KOM points offered on summit finishes, rather than going for long range breaks.
Yates brothers
The Yates brothers, Simon and Adam, have been budding at the professional cycling level for a few years now. Between them, they have only a single Grand Tour appearance, but this year’s Tour should be a coming out party for the brothers. I expect to see a lot of them in mountainous breakaways, and they should both be in the mix for the KOM competition. They both ride for the opportunist Orica-Green Edge team, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some team tactics between the brothers to earn valuable KOM points in breakaways. The Yates bros are certainly dark horse contenders for the polka dots.
These are the 5 best non GC candidates for the polka dot jersey, but there are many GC riders who will be in the mix. Nairo Quintana won the jersey in his only Tour appearance in 2012. Joaquim Rodriguez almost did so last year, and Chris Froome has come close in the past as well. Alberto Contador is ideally suited to win the jersey with his attacking style as well. Thibaut Pinot, Romain Bardet, and Vincenzo Nibali will also be in the conversation for the KOM. For more on all of these riders, read our yellow jersey preview here.
Also worth a mention is Rafal Majka, last year’s winner. Majka won with long range attacks last year, and certainly could repeat in 2015. However, he will spend most of his time working for Alberto Contador, and probably won’t have the freedom to go after KOM points.
All in all, the KOM battle is one of the most exciting and unpredictable in the tour. The race is wide open and should be fun to watch in July!
Thanks for reading this installment of A Rookie’s Guide to the Tour de France. Check back tomorrow for a breakdown of the remaining Tour de France competitions.
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
Part 9 – Expect the Unexpected – Click Here
The 5th Quarter 
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