The 40th anniversary of the polka-dot King of the Mountain jersey will this year be celebrated in the 102nd edition of the Tour de France. With seven mountain stages and five summit finishes, including the infamous Alpe d'Huez featuring in the penultimate stage, this year's race may prove to be one for the climbers.
Another 40-year anniversary will be marked on the final stage, 22 days after the Grand Depart in Utrecht, Holland, as it will be the 40th year since the the Tour's first finale on the Champs Élysées.
With the race starting in The Netherlands, the 20 Dutch riders starting in Utrecht will have great desire and enthusiasm to please their home crowds. Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) is a favourite amongst bookies to take the yellow jersey in the opening stage which is a time trial, in his home country; if Dumoulin was to acquire the renowned yellow jersey, he would be the second Dutch rider to do so in two years - the other being Lars Boom, stage five, 2014 - after a nine year drought for the Netherlands.
After the opening day time trial in Utrecht, the race will move on through the typically flat Dutch countryside to Zeeland, where a bunch sprint beckons for the riders. Nerves will be tested, as they always are during the opening road stage of any Tour, due to the myriad of road furniture and the riders playing things safe to ensure no damage is taken early on.
The low land is then forgotten as stage three from Antwerp to Huy in Belgium brings minor hills. The stage is set to finish on the short (1.3km) but extraordinarily steep (15%) Mur de Huy, which will bring about the general classification riders' spirits to secure a promising position in the table before travelling to France the following day.
Various other obstacles follow for the 180 riders over the next six days; 13km of Paris Roubaix pavé in stage four, the Mûr de Bretagne hill finish in stage eight and the team time trial the following day prior to the first rest day. The time trial will prove particularly interesting for spectators and team standings; with nine days racing in their legs, fatigue will begin to show. The favourites and their domestiques will have fought hard the previous day for the hilltop finish, so the time gaps will be larger than usual. This, combined with the innevitable loss of riders due to the crashes that occur in the first week of racing, could be influencial as to who will claim the yellow jersey at the end of the race.
Tour De France general classification contenders
But who are the main contenders for the Maillot Jaune? Form-wise, going into the race, Tinkoff-Saxo's Spanish frontman and two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador looks to be the favourite. Despite dislocating his shoulder half way through, Contador's unstoppable form rightfully earned him the Maglia Rosa in the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, and returned to win the Route du Sud in June.
However, yellow jersey holder Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) will be looking to stop the Spaniard from winning two grand tours in two months and retain his status. He has failed to show his best form so far this year, but will undoubtably look for a win in his first grand tour of the year.
Sky's Chris Froome and Movistar's Nairo Quintana could also prove to be strong contenders to steal the famous yellow jersey. Froome has one Tour de France to his name compared to Quintana's two awards for Mountains Classification and Young Rider in 2013. Froome's two wins at the Vuelta a Andalucía and the Critérium du dauphiné beat Quintana's one win at Tirreno-Adriatico, showing that the Brit looks stronger on paper.
Tour De France 2015 mountainous stages
Three days in the Pyrenees in stages 10, 11 and 12 give the peloton a taste of the upcoming mountain action they're to face. Stage 12 holds the toughest challenge for the riders, with two first-category climbs followed by the super-category climb with ascent finish, Plateau de Beille. Lesser mountain stages feature all the way up to the second rest day on the 21st of July.
After this much needed intermission, the riders are soon headed towards the Alps in which they will face three gruelling mountain finishes, the first of which brings yet another 40-year anniversary; Bernard Thévenet ended Eddie Merckx's reign on the second category Pra Loup. The penultimate mountain finish comes on La Toussuire, a first-category climb suited for Quintana. Finally, the notorious Alpe d'Huez, where once again, Quintana can overshadow and perhaps confirm his first Tour de France victory.
The nine flat stages, three hilly, seven mountainous with five summit finishes spread over 3,360km will shape a compelling and engaging race for the GC contenders, who will all be raring to go this Saturday.