Tour De France Best Young Rider
Since 1975, the youngest riders in the Tour de France peloton have had a classification fight for the white jersey. Previous winners have included Australia’s Phil Anderson (1982), Laurent Fignon (1983), Greg LeMond (1984), Marco Pantani (1994, 95), Jan Ullrich (1996 – 98), Alberto Contador (2007) and Andy Schleck (2008 – 10). Tadej Pogacar is poised to win the Tour de France ahead of strong favourite Primoz Roglic in one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the race's history. Tour de France jerseys: White – Best young rider classification leader. The least distinctive of all of the classification jerseys – it’s plain white – is awarded to the under-26 rider who. Tiesj Benoot is known as a classics rider but he finished fourth in the Tour de Suisse and was the second-best young rider in Switzerland as well as at the Tirreno-Adriatico earlier in the year. The 25-year old Belgian finished 20th in his maiden Tour de France appearance in.
Due to the cancelation of last week’s Colombia Tour 2.1, we have a host of features, interviews, photo galleries, and other stories to celebrate Colombian cycling as part of “Colombia Week.”
There are over half a dozen Colombian riders that could win a grand tour in the near future.
Of the Colombian riders in the WorldTour, who will be next to win a grand tour? Egan Bernal is targeting the Giro d’Italia alongside teammate Iván Sosa, Nairo Quintana, Miguel Ángel López, and Rigoberto Urán are lining up for the Tour de France.
Of these stars, who is next to win a grand tour? Quintana and Bernal are already grand tour winners, but they are definitely included in this question.
Related:
Fred Dreier, Andrew Hood, and Jim Cotton serve up their takes:
Fred: Egan Bernal
Egan Bernal, but it won’t be the Tour de France, it will be the 2021 Giro d’Italia.
I still believe Bernal to be the best Colombian rider of his generation, and although he may not win the Tour de France in 2021 or 2022, I still believe he’s totally capable of winning a grand tour. This year’s Giro d’Italia route offers a few opportunities for top climbers to soar in the big mountains. And, as we’ve seen already, Ineos Grenadiers have an extremely strong and motivated lineup. I think Bernal will be anxious to prove himself to team management and his peers after his setback at the 2020 Tour de France. He’s going to have a more normal leadup to the Giro than his leadup to the Tour last year, which means he will have plenty of racing in his legs.
Watch out, world, Bernal is coming for the Giro to win.
Jim: Miguel Ángel López
Miguel Ángel López gets it by elimination.
Bernal won’t be in grand tour form by May for the Giro and has no chance at the TT-heavy Tour (if he’s selected) this summer. Daní Martinez and Sergio Higuita could do it one day, but not for a long time. Rigo, Nairo, or Estaban Chaves? Sorry fellas, your time has come and gone.
López has a grand tour victory in his legs, and it could come very soon. Consistently in the top-8 at grand tours he’s finished and twice on the podium, “Superman” has been knocking on the door of greatness for a long time. He’s one of the most explosive climbers out there and can limit his losses in a time trial, and riding with Movistar in 2021 will finally unlock the grand tour that López has had in his sights for so long.
The Spanish team has years of grand tour know-how and two solid co-captains to back López in the form of Enric Mas and Marc Soler. “Superman” won’t be winning a Tour de France any time soon, but I can definitely see him sending Movistar back to the top of the podium on home soil at the Vuelta a España in the next year or two.
Andrew: Richard Carapaz
Richard Carapaz — he’s not Colombia by birth, but he was all but “raised” as Colombian during his development years.
Taking nothing away from his Ecuadorian roots, but it was his racing experiences in the cut-throat and highly competitive amateur scene in Colombia that helped him open the doors to Europe. At 15, he moved to Colombia to chase his racing dreams, and he became the first non-Colombian to win the “Vuelta de la Juventud de Colombia,” a kind of Tour de l’Avenir in Colombia. That piqued the interest of the European teams, he signed with Movistar’s Lizarte team before joining the WorldTour.
Now that he’s on Ineos Grenadiers, he will be a force in every grand tour he starts. Last fall, he was very close to cracking Primož Roglič on the final climb at the Vuelta a España. Team boss Dave Brailsford loves his attacking style, and it won’t be a surprise to see Ineos let him have wings to try to disrupt the Tour this summer. The 2021 course is far from ideal for Carapaz, but as soon as there is another climber-friendly route, I see him winning the Tour before any of the other Colombians in the bunch.
Of all the classifications within the Tour de France, the Best Young Rider competition is the least known and celebrated. Yet, it’s still a tremendous honor to be the best young rider in the sport’s most popular cycling event.
Throughout the three week Tour de France, the leader of this competition will wear a white jersey. This year, there are a handful of competitors that meet the criteria to compete for this classification.
But, can anyone defeat the reigning white jersey winner Egan Bernal of Team Ineos and become the best young rider for the 2020 TDF?
Tour de France betting sites have released their odds for this competition. Let’s take a look at these white jersey betting odds and see if we can predict which cyclist will break from the peloton to become the Best Young Rider of the 2020 Tour de France.
Best Tour de France Betting Sites for 2020
What Is the Best Young Rider Competition?
The Best Young Rider classification, more commonly referred to as the white jersey competition, was first created in 1975 after the organizers of the TDF removed the combination classification, which originally wore the white jersey.
At first, only professionals with less than three years of experience could compete for the white jersey. That criteria changed in 1983 when it was only open to first time Tour de France competitors.
In 1987, the rules changed again and only riders 26 years and younger were eligible for the white jersey. Currently, tt remains a classification where only cyclists under the age of 26 years old, as of January 1st of the year following the TDF, can compete in.
From 1989-1999 the organizers of the TDF didn’t award this competition. However, at the behest of fans and teams, the white jersey competition was brought back in 2000 and remains a fixture within the sport’s Super Bowl of cycling.
The winner of this jersey is the cyclist under 26 years of age who has the best overall time at the end of the three week Tour de France race.
⚪ Top moment maillot blanc Krys ⚪
?? Francesco Moser, double vainqueur d’étape et premier maillot blanc du Tour en 1975.
?? Francesco Moser, two stage wins and the very first white jersey of the Tour de France, back in 1975. #TDF2020pic.twitter.com/1wYSzX4YrO
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 28, 2020
Previous White Jersey Winners
The following is a list of previous white jersey winners dating back to 2010:
- Andy Schleck (LUX) in 2010
- Pierre Rolland (FRA) in 2011
- Tejay van Garderen (USA) in 2012
- Nairo Quintana (COL) in 2013, 2015
- Thibaut Pinot (FRA) in 2014
- Adam Yates (GBR) in 2016
- Simon Yates (GBR) in 2017
- Pierre Latour (FRA) in 2018
- Egan Bernal (COL) in 2019
Officially, Andy Schleck holds the record for most white jersey competition wins with three (2008-2010). Jan Ullrich won it three times as well (1996-1998), but he did it when the jersey wasn’t “officially” awarded. Egan Bernal is the defending white jersey winner.
France has the most number of winning cyclists for this competition at eight. Italy is second with four.
Tour de France White Jersey Betting Odds
The following odds are courtesy of Bet365:
- Egan Bernal (-162)
- Tadej Pogacar (+225)
- Pavel Sivakov (+1200)
- Daniel Martinez (+1200)
- Enric Mas Nicolau (+1400)
- Lennard Kamna (+3300)
- Sergio Higuita (+3300)
- David Gaudu (+4000)
- March Hisrchi (+15000)
Although there are numerous cyclists who can compete for this classification, the reality is that only these five riders have the best shot at winning the white jersey competition for this year’s Tour de France:
Egan Bernal (-162)
At just 23 years old, Colombia’s Egan Bernal is the reigning white jersey winner and is eligible to compete in this competition for the next few years. He competed in his first Tour de France in 2018 and was the youngest rider in the race.
In 2018, Bernal would end up 2nd in the white jersey competition nearly six minutes behind the winner Pierre Latour. Egan was a domestique for Chris Froome and Gerraint Thomas that year. Latour was able to ride for himself.
In 2019, Bernal ended up becoming the overall leader for Team Ineos and not only won the 2019 Tour de France, but he absolutely crushed the competition for the white jersey. Second place rider David Gaudu finished roughly 24 minutes behind Bernal by time they rolled into Paris.
Bernal is the clear leader of Team Ineos this year and a favorite to win the overall yellow jersey for 2020, which should put him in a good position to win the white jersey for the second straight year.
Tadej Pogacar (+225)
Unlike in the 2019 TDF, Egan Bernal is going to have a real battle this year for the white jersey and that competition will come from Tadej Pogacar. The 21 year old Slovenian, is making his Tour de France debut and is one of the cyclists to keep an eye on in this year’s Grand Tour.
Tour De France Best Young Rider
Not only will he contend for the white jersey, but some fans and pundits believe that Pogacar can also compete for the yellow jersey as well.
Tour De France 2020 Teams And Riders
Can Tadej Pogaçar deliver at his debut Tour de France?
Can Alexander Kristoff net a fourth Tour stage win?
Check out our takes on UAE-Team Emirates’ Tour de France team:https://t.co/rCjcEKlGeR
— VeloNews (@velonews) August 22, 2020
Pogacar will be either the top supporter for Fabio Aru on UAE Team Emirates or he will end up as the leader. Last year, he rode in the 2019 Vuelta a Espana and captured the white jersey for that Grand Tour. He also won three stages in his first ever Grand Tour experience.
Pavel Sivakov (+1200)
Pavel Sivakov is a 23 year old Russian cyclist who also rides for Team Ineos. He finished 9th in the Giro d’Italia last year, so he does have some Grand Tour experience.
This year, Sivakov has already won a young rider classification in the Tour Down Under. He also finished 2nd at Route d’Occitanie and 11th at the Criterium du Dauphine.
Sivakov comes into his first Tour de France in good form already. If Bernal falters in anyway, Sivakov will not only leapfrog him in the white jersey competition, but could also become the leader on Team Ineos.
Daniel Martinez (+1200)
Daniel Martinez will make his second appearance in the Tour de France having debuted in 2018. The 24 year old Colombian finished 5th in the Young Rider classification that year, well over 75 minutes back of Pierre Latour. Martinez didn’t compete in the 2019 TDF, but raced in the Vuelta instead.
The Team EF Education First rider has shown good form already in 2020 by winning both the yellow and white jerseys at the Criterium du Dauphine and finishing 2nd overall in the Tour Colombia.
Martinez is overlooked in this competition, which means he does offer some betting value.
Enric Mas Nicolau (+1400)
The 25 year old Spaniard is a “co-leader” of Team Movistar this year along with the veteran Alejandro Valverde. However, you can expect Nicolau to get most of the support as long as he doesn’t crack in the mountains.
Nicolau has competed in three Grand Tours already, with two coming in the Vuelta a Espana where he finished 71st in 2017 and 2nd in 2018.
Usa Tour De France Riders
Last year, Enric finished 22nd overall in his Tour de France debut. He finished 3rd in the white jersey competition nearly one hour behind Egan Bernal.
Hay que sufrir para avanzar.
You have to suffer in order to move forward.@dauphine@Movistar_Team
? @PhotoGomezSportpic.twitter.com/HdB2GXfTHg
— Enric Mas Nicolau (@EnricMasNicolau) August 14, 2020
Nicolau has a strong team alongside him and provides decent value. However, he will have to show solid form in the mountains to have any real chance at this jersey and a Top 15 spot in the overall general classification.
Who Will Win the Best Young Rider Classification in the 2020 TDF?
I’m really looking forward to the battle between Egan Bernal and Tadej Pogacar for this white jersey competition. Not only are we looking at the two best young riders in the sport, along with Wout van Aert, we are also looking at two cyclists who can compete for TDF wins in the near future.
With that said, I’m really surprised that Egan Bernal’s betting odds are this low. We are talking about the reining Tour de France champion and white jersey winner. He’s once again a favorite to win the overall classification, which means that he would easily capture this jersey as well.
I think Pogacar is a year away from being at true contender as this is his first Tour de France. But, I do expect him to keep this jersey competition close until the final week of the 2020 TDF.
Egan Bernal should win the Best Young Rider classification this year and probably over the next three years unless Pogacar upstages him in the next few Tour de France races.