Among the most loved jerseys of the Tour de France, there is certainly the polka dot one dedicated to the best climber, a jersey that this year could end up again on the shoulders of one of the men in the ranking.
For example, if Tadej Pogacar were to win the mountain stages as he did in the Giro d’Italia, then most likely together with the yellow jersey he would also win the title of best climber. Also because if we look at the two editions in which the Slovenian won the Tour, we remember that together he also brought home the polka dot jersey. Naturally this does not only apply to him, but also to the other men in the rankings: Vingegaard, Roglic and Evenepoel can also hope to return home with two jerseys.
Looking at the path, with four uphill finishes and a stage where the Galibier is 19km from the finish, it will be necessary to take into account both the pure climbers and the men who race for the yellow jersey. Among other things, there is the unknown factor: Evenepoel is appearing at the Tour for the first time with the aim of fighting for the general classification, but in the event of difficulties in the classification he could do as he did at the last Vuelta, where he won the title of king of the mountains when he dropped out of the fight for the red jersey.
To win this jersey so loved by cycling enthusiasts, we must mention men like Bardet, Ciccone, Barguil or Van Gilswho, not being strong enough to win the Tour, can however return home with the polka dot jersey.
The Abruzzo native was forced to miss the Giro d’Italia and still doesn’t have many days of racing left in his legs, but at the Dauphiné he immediately demonstrated that he is in growing condition, obtaining four placings in the top five, a third place in the ranking points and a seventh place in the best climber ranking. It only remains to be seen whether Ciccone will aim for the polka dot shirt like last year, if he were to go out of the rankings. Romain Bardet, like Pogacar, already has the Giro in his legs but wants to leave a mark in his last Tour de France, given that he will retire next year. Bardet is an excellent climber and by running in his country he will try to leave a good memory.
Then there is Warren Barguil, Bardet’s teammate, who often achieves excellent results in the mountain rankings. In 2017 he was the one who arrived in Paris with the best climber’s jersey and the following year he came close to success too. In the last Dauphiné he came eighth in the mountain classification, but perhaps he reserved all his energy for this Grande Boucle, which will be explosive from the first day.
For France there will also be Mathis Le Berre, the twenty-three year old from Arkea who finished fifth among climbers at the Dauphiné. Then there is also Ben Healy of EF Education Easypost who last year came third in the climbers’ ranking at the Giro d’Italia and this year fourth at the Tirreno-Adriatico, therefore he could be an excellent rival for Ciccone and Bardet and will certainly need to be kept under control.
Belgium will bet everything on Remco Evenepoel, but the extraordinary qualities of him should not be underestimated Maxim Van Gils: last year he showed all his climbing skills at the Tour, finishing second in the Grand Colombier stage, he was a protagonist during the spring of this season, finishing third at Strade Bianche and at the Freccia Vallone and then fourth at the Liège-Bastogne- Liège. The young Belgian will probably aim for some stage victories again this year and has an excellent chance of doing so, but it is not entirely out of the question that he could collect points valid for the polka dot jersey in the mountain stages.
Third in the general classification and fourth in the climbers’ classification, Derek Gee it was the revelation of the Dauphiné. The Israel-Premier Tech rider could surprise at the Tour de France and could do so right in the classification for the polka dot jersey. The Canadian has shown that he is not inferior to many top-level athletes on the climb, although it remains to be seen whether he will be able to maintain good condition for three weeks.
We left him for last, because his hope is to fight for a good position in the general classification: it’s about Egan Bernal: the Colombian who has already won the Tour, but who after the accident in Colombia had to wait many months before being able to race for the top positions again. Two and a half years after that terrible training accident, he probably won’t win the Tour, but the polka dot jersey could be a good goal from which to start again and could be a good alternative for him to the general classification. There will be no shortage of climbs and the spectacle will be guaranteed, but considering the big names present in this edition of the yellow race, with excellent probability the final winner in Paris will also be the strongest in the mountains.
