Cycling: The fans agree. The most beautiful jersey of the Tour de France is the mountain jersey. The white jersey with the red dots is coveted but difficult to win. While the class riders constantly involuntarily collect points when they finish on a mountain, the true contenders for the dotted jersey have to break away on numerous stages. Accordingly, it is difficult to discover favorites at all. We have identified five possible winners.
Julian Alaphilippe: The defending champion is the favourite
Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) must be the favorite for the mountain jersey. The Frenchman won last year's classification and will be keeping an eye on it this year as well. His team rides for Elia Viviani on flat stages and Enric Mas is hoped for on mountain stages. However, Julian Alaphilippe is a guarantee of a stage win on hilly and mountainous terrain. The explosive and therefore also strong sprinting all-rounder will automatically collect a few points for the mountain jersey. It shouldn't be easy to defeat the 27-year-old.
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Warren Barguil: The form has been lacking for months
Two years ago, Warren Barguil (Arkéa – Samsic) won two stages and the mountain jersey in the Tour de France. After that, he changed teams and his performances declined. So far in 2019, Warren Barguil has not been able to convince - at least until the French championship. Although he should actually be much stronger in the high mountains than Julian Alaphilippe, he let himself be boiled off in the Tour de France last year without a chance. The same is to be feared this time. Or will the French championship jersey give him wings after all? If he doesn't suddenly conjure up his top form out of a hat again, it will probably be a hopeless fight. But Warren Barguil has no other choice, because hardly anyone seriously counts on him for the overall ranking.
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Giulio Ciccone: Porte decides about his freedoms
The Trek – Segafredo team will not have John Degenkolb in the 2019 Tour de France because they want to do everything for Richie Porte’s overall victory. Accordingly, there are numerous good climbers and all-rounders in the team. Giulio Ciccone is one of them. The Italian has constantly improved in recent years and made a good impression, especially at the Giro d'Italia. In the high mountains he definitely has what it takes to ride the mountain jersey. The only question is whether Captain Richie Porte will give him the necessary freedom or whether he will rely on Giulio Ciccone as a precious helper.
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Fabio Aru: mountain classification instead of general classification
A Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) should actually ride on the yellow jersey in a Grand Tour and not on the mountains classification. But this year the Italian's ambitions could actually shift. Having recovered from an injury just in time, he certainly won't be in top form. We therefore assume that he will recognize relatively early on that he cannot compete in the overall standings. Alternatively, he then relies on stage victories and mountain points - with a corresponding deficit. If he takes the fight for the mountain jersey seriously, Fabio Aru can only wear the jersey to Paris with 90 percent top form.
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Ilnur Zakarin: His team needs a sense of achievement
The Katusha – Alpecin team has been chasing their own claims for quite some time. In 2019, too, there have been hardly any notable successes for the racing team from Switzerland. Actually brought in as a classification driver, Ilnur Zakarin also disappointed recently. With the Giro d'Italia under his belt, the Russian won't make it into the top 10 in the Tour de France. Like Fabio Aru, he will then have to look for alternative targets. This will be reflected in a stage hunt. Known as a fighter, Zakarin has a good hand in the high mountains to survive against the competition in breakaway groups. Two stage victories and a good portion of mountain points could easily jump out of it. However, the team leader must target the target early enough - otherwise it might be too late to collect.
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