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British hopes at the Tour de France

Britain has a rich recent history at the Tour de France, with Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas winning the yellow jersey six times between them during a golden seven years from 2012 to 2018.

Meanwhile the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, has claimed a record-equalling 34 stage wins to date, while winning the sprinter's green jersey twice.

This year British riders are unlikely to take any of the big prizes, but there are plenty of contenders to nick a stage win somewhere along the meandering road from Bilbao to Paris over the next three weeks.

WhatTour de France
WhereSpain and France
WhenSaturday 1st July - Sunday 23rd July
How to watchEurosport & ITV
OddsJonas Vingegaard 21/20, Tadej Pogacar 23/20, Jai Hindley 14/1, Enric Mas Nicolau 22/1, Richard Carapaz 28/1

Cav aiming to make history

While Cavendish's achievements have sometimes been overshadowed by the general classification heroics of his compatriots, all eyes will be on the Manx Missile in every bunch finish.

He is tied with the legendary Eddie Merckx on 34 career Tour de France stage wins and, having announced his retirement at the end of this season, this is his final shot at claiming the record outright.

Cavendish was not selected by his Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl team last year, despite having claimed four stage wins and the green jersey at the 2021 Tour.

However, after a switch to the UCI WorldTeam Astana Qazaqstan Team, the 38-year-old is back and raring to go.

He finished tied for third in the points classification of the Giro d'Italia in May for his new team and took a comfortable win in the final stage of the race.

A repeat effort would be enough for him to claim the all-time stage wins record, and while he is a 40/1 chance to win back the green jersey, it is 6/4 that Cav wins at least one stage.

Star descender Pidcock hungry for more

Tom Pidcock's descending masterclass on Stage 12 of last year's Tour garnered millions of views on social media, not to mention helping him to earn a hugely popular win on Alpe d'Huez.

The 23-year-old splits his time between cyclo-cross, mountain biking and road racing and has enjoyed huge success in all of them. The Yorkshireman earned an Olympic gold medal in mountain bike cross-country in 2021 and was recognised with an MBE in the 2022 New Year's Honours.

In road racing, Pidcock is seen as a classics specialist, and he is likely to hunt at least one stage win.

He claimed victory in March's Strade Bianche on a rough surface in Tuscany, was second in Liege-Bastogne-Liege and third in the Amstel Gold Race, so he arrives in decent form.

Pidcock is just 4/7 to earn at least one stage win, 5/2 to win at least two, while it is 14/1 that he is the first to grab the yellow jersey by taking victory on the opening medium mountain stage in Bilbao.

Adam Yates chasing elusive stage win

The shortest-priced British rider in the general classification betting at 40/1, Adam Yates is still looking for that elusive first stage victory at the Tour de France.

He came agonisingly close in 2016 when, powering towards the finish with a clear lead on the seventh stage, the inflatable Flamme rouge marker collapsed right in front of him and he crashed out.

Yates still claimed the young riders' white jersey that year and finished fourth overall. That was the first of five top-ten finishes the Bury rider has achieved in Grand Tours, three of which have been at the Tour.

The 30-year-old brings strong recent form to the Tour, having won the Tour de Romandie and finished second in the Criterium du Dauphine this year.

He can be backed at 7/1 to claim a stage win over the next three weeks, but is just 8/13 for another top-ten GC finish.

Simon Yates aiming to bounce back from illness

Unlike his twin brother Adam, Simon Yates has tasted stage victory on the Tour de France, claiming two stages in 2019. However, he finished only 49th in the GC that year and the Tour has historically been his weakest of the three Grand Tours.

The 2018 Vuelta a Espana winner finished fourth in Paris-Nice this year and ninth in the Tour of the Basque Country but pulled out of the Tour de Romandie with a stomach complaint and hasn't competed since.

Yates is 11/10 for his first top-ten finish in the race since 2017 and is a 5/4 chance to win at least one stage.

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