Tour de France favourites: Form ranking

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Richie Porte (BMC) put time into Chris Froome on Alpe d'Huez at the Dauphine.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

The Tour de France is now less than three weeks away and after the Criterium du Dauphine, Cyclingnews has updated its form ranking to reflect the racing and results since the end of May.

The truth to this defeat lies somewhere in mist of battle. Porte couldn't chase every attack and in letting Aru and Valverde go he made the right call. Allowing Fuglsang to go was dangerous, but with his team close to regaining control there was no point in panicking. Froome's acceleration atop of the penultimate climb swung the momentum away from Porte but the Australian's final ascent to the line was almost enough to regain the lead. Did everyone race to ensure Porte would lose? Most likely not. This was the final hit-out before the Tour de France, and if Froome, Valverde or Contador had been in yellow, the intent to attack would have still surfaced.

Overview: Froome is still the man to beat come to July but the sheen of invincibility wore off a long time ago, and despite flashes of form during the Criterium du Dauphine, his performance raised several concerns for the Sky management to ponder. Froome crumbled in the second half of the time trial, and on two of the three mountain stages he was dropped by Porte. The narrower the margins blur between these two riders, the quicker they grow apart. As for Froome's form, Patrick Fletcher raised the point in the recent Cyclingnews podcast – if Louis Meintjes is riding away from you, then you've got problems.

Overview: The sight of Contador sitting up on climbs and soft-pedalling to the line isn't one we're familiar with. For a rider who so often throws caution to the wind and attacks with breath-taking regularity it doesn't sync with his typical swashbuckling approach. For that reason alone, it's difficult to predict just where Contador's form lies. At the Dauphine he was ordered not to go too far into the red by his coaching team, and his rivals watched with jaws agape as he dossed around at the back and then sat up on climbs. There was the occasional foray but the question now is whether Trek is gently managing a rider in decline or if the Spaniard is building up to something special for July.

Overview: The Dauphiné didn't tell us much we didn't already know about Romain Bardet. He's not a strong time triallist, but he's capable of gaining time back with adventurous gambles in the mountains. The Frenchman's medium-range attack to Alpe d'Huez revived, for the first real time in what had thus far been an underwhelming and frustrating season, memories of his defining day on stage 19 of last year's Tour, and it delighted the French public. Yet the time trial losses – 1:53 to Porte over 23.5km – were very concerning indeed. The discipline had become an increasing focus since the winter, yet it was his second poor showing from two this season. Bardet's performances in the mountains as a whole – he lost a little ground to Porte and Froome on Mont du Chat and then finished sixth on the final day – were solid enough, though, and represented a steadying of the ship after he hit reset on his season in Sierra Nevada in May. But Bardet set the bar high last year with second at the Dauphiné and second at the Tour. He still has work to do, and more than a little expectation on his shoulders.

Overview: Having not raced since March few – even the man himself – knew quite where he would find himself at the Dauphine. In the end the Italian came through with flying colours, with a fifth place finish and a rousing performance on the final day that helped propel his teammate to the overall win. Last year's Dauphine saw Aru win a stage but this year's performance was more consistent and therefore bodes well for July.

Overview: A new addition to the top 10 after Esteban Chaves failed to make an impression in France, Fuglsang's performance at the Dauphine was nothing short of impeccable. Granted, his time trial was solid rather than spectacular, but two stage wins and a seventh on Alpe d'Huez ensured that he won the race rather than Porte lost it. At 32, Fuglsang has forged a reputation as a super mountain domestique who can be relied upon for consistency, and having worked for the Schlecks and Nibali in recent years it looked as though his career would continue in that vein.

However, when Fuglsang burst onto the WorldTour scene in 2009 he was tipped as one of the most exciting young talents in the peloton. He enjoyed two top-three performances in his Vuelta debut and he had the makings of becoming the latest mountain biker to make the crossover to road. After almost 10 years mainly spent riding in the service of others, the Dane has the win his career needed, and probably deserved.

Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.