Tour de France 2021: Favourites

Mark Cavendish Tour - Tour de France 2021: Favourites fotobureau Cor VosThe 2021 Tour de France was a fascinating battle from start tot finish. Not so much for the GC victory - Tadej Pogacar was in a class of his own -, but virtually all stages were intriguing in itself. Mark Cavendish won four sprint finishes to match the all-time record of 34 stage wins held by Belgian legend Eddy Merckx since the 1970's.

Read about the pre-race favourites or click on the links in the table below for our prognosis regarding the individual stages. Obviously, all these articles were written before the start of the race(s).

Tour de France 2021 favourites - per stage

	date	favourites	km	type
1	26-6	Van der Poel for maillot jaune	187	hills
2	27-6	Punchers at Mûr-de-Bretagne	182	hills
3	28-6	Fast finishers showdown #1	182	flat
4	29-6	Sprinters in Fougères	152	flat
5	30-6	Specialists on rolling route	27	ITT
6	1-7	Back to the fast men	144	flat
7	2-7	Late attack or strong sprinters	248	hills
8	3-7	Climbers with fast descent	151	mountains
9	4-7	First high altitude finish	145	mountains
	5-7	rest day
10	6-7	Bunch sprint in Valence	186	flat
11	7-7	Up and down the Ventoux	199	mountain
12	8-7	Sprint after crosswinds	161	flat
13	9-7	Sprinters or attackers	220	flat
14	10-7	Fast descenders in hilly race	184	hills
15	11-7	Downhill finish in Pyrenees	192	mountains
	12-7	rest day
16	13-7	Breakaway day	169	hills
17	14-7	GC clash at the Portet	178	mountains
18	15-7	Last chance for climbers	130	mountains
19	16-7	Sprinters or attackers	203	flat
20	17-7	ITT with yellow lining	31	ITT
21	18-7	Cavendish for his 35th	112	flat