In theory, those four are the fastest men in the Tour de France-peloton. Kittel seems to be best armed. In the Giro he outsprinted Greipel on the first two occasions (Cav and Kristoff were not in the mix)). In a later stage Greipel outperformed him once, yet this was on a route unlike today’s. Kittel is fastest when it comes to pure speed. In the course of his season he won nine stages, plus the overall in the unsurpassed sprinter’s race, Dubai Tour.
For comparison: André Greipel took seven races, Mark Cavendish three, and Alexander Kristoff. Until La Grande Boucle the big names rarely went head-to-head, except Kittel and Greipel in the Giro (2-1 for Kittel) and the German National Road race Championships (1-0 for Greipel), while Kristoff and Cav did get head-to-head in Qatar and California (5-2 for Kristoff).
Peter Sagan has six victories under his belt in 2016, yet he is a different type of rider. He is so much more than a sprinter, just remember the way he won the Tour of Flanders after a brilliant solo.
Favourites 1st stage Tour de France 2016:
*** Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish, André Greipel
** Alexander Kristoff, Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb
* Michael Matthews, Dylan Groenewegen, Bryan Coquard, Davide Cimolai
Tour de France 2016 stage 1: Route maps, height profiles, etc.
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Related articles Riders - Tour de France 2016 Favourites - Tour de France 2016 GC Favourites - Tour de France 2016 More articles Tour de France 2024: The Route
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 1: Florence - Rimini
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 2: Cesenatico - Bologna
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 3: Piacenza - Turin
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Saint-Vulbas
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 7: Nuits-Saint-Georges - Gevrey-Chambertin
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 8: Semur-en-Auxois - Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 9: Troyes - Troyes
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 11: Evaux-les-Bains - Le Lioran
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 12: Aurillac - Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 14: Pau - Pla d'Adet
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 15: Loudenvielle - Plateau de Beille
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 16: Gruissan - Nîmes
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 17: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Superdévoluy
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 18: Gap - Barcelonnette
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 19: Embrun - Isola 2000
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 20: Nice - Col de la Couillole
Tour de France 2024 Route stage 21: Monaco - Nice
Giro 2024: The Route
Giro 2024 Route stage 1: Turin - Turin
Giro 2024 Route stage 2: San Fransesco al Campo - Oropa
Giro 2024 Route stage 3: Novara - Fossano
Giro 2024 Route stage 4: Acqui Terme - Andora
Giro 2024 Route stage 5: Genoa - Lucca
Giro 2024 Route stage 6: Viareggio - Rapolano Terme
Giro 2024 Route stage 7: Foligno - Perugia
Giro 2024 Route stage 8: Spoleto - Prati di Tivo
Giro 2024 Route stage 9: Naples - Naples
Cycling Calendar 2024