Cycling: All riders who are 25 or younger and who are good climbers want to win the white jersey. The position in the overall ranking is decisive for the junior classification. The winners of the past two decades impress with well-known names and almost all of them have had a successful career afterwards: Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, Tejay Van Garderen, Thibaut Pinot and last year's winner Nairo Quintana - to name just a few.
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Warren Barguil (Team Giant Alpecin)
With a total of seven successes, the French lead the list of winners in this ranking. Most recently, Pierre Rolland 2011 and Thibaut Pinot 2014 won the junior ranking. This year, too, the top favorite is a Frenchman: Warren Barguil. The 25-year-old rider from Team Giant-Alpecin is also John Degenkolb's team-mate and, together with Tom Dumoulin, captain in the mountains. While he's yet to win this season, finishing third overall at the Tour de Suisse has shown he'll be in good shape in time for the Tour de France. If he doesn't have to help John Degenkolb or Tom Dumoulin, then hardly anyone will be able to challenge him for the white jersey. If he achieves his goal - the top 10 - then he should automatically win the junior ranking this year.
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Adam Yates (Team Orica-GreenEDGE)
Although Adam Yates could hardly show any results worth mentioning this year, he ended up seventh overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné. During this tour he finished in the top 8 in four stages and thus claimed the white jersey in the Tour de France. Last year he made his breakthrough with the pros when he was able to achieve respectable results, especially at the end of the season. He won Clasica San Sebastian and finished second at the GP de Montréal. The former track cyclist from Great Britain turns 24 after the Tour de France and is considered Warren Barguil's biggest opponent in the fight for the white jersey. He will be given some freedom in his Orica-GreenEDGE team, but at the same time he will also have to work for his teammates on certain stages. Adam Yates particularly likes the hilly stages, but he has also been able to prove his class in the high mountains. If he has planned his form well and avoids accidents in the Tour de France, he could be a contender for the white jersey and a stage win.
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Louis Meintjes (Team Lampre-Merida)
Team Lampre-Merida has secured the services of top talent Louis Meintjes for this season. The South African previously rode for the MTN Qhubeka team and was able to draw attention to himself in his early professional years. In 2014 he finished second in the Giro del Trentino behind Mikel Landa and in 2015 he won the Tour of Settimana Coppi e Bartali. However, he has been known to most cycling fans since his third place finish in a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2015, when only Chris Froome and Tejay Van Garderen finished ahead of him. That year he finished ninth overall in the French preparatory race for the Tour de France. The Lampre team mainly drives for Rui Costa, but experience has shown that he will get his chances as a strong climber. It would come as no surprise if Louis Meintjes becomes the laughing third in the battle for the white jersey, gaining time on his rivals with a successful breakaway in the high mountains
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Wilco Kelderman (Team Lotto-NL Jumbo)
Dutchman Wilco Kelderman is also among the favorites for the white jersey. He was particularly convincing in three round trips this year. With fourth place at the Vuelta a Andalucia and eighth place at the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour de Suisse, he repeatedly demonstrated his climbing qualities. In the past few seasons, the now 25-year-old has presented himself above all as a good time trialist. However, his development indicates that he wants to try his hand at rankings. Whether it will be enough for a top place in the Tour de France this year is anyone's guess. The only thing that is certain is that this will be his last chance to win the white jersey as next year he will - quite literally - have outgrown the white jersey. Since his team Lotto-NL Jumbo is often in breakaway groups and usually gives drivers a lot of freedom, his chances of being able to drive on his own cap in some stages are not bad at all. However, the few time trial kilometers are inconvenient for him, because it is precisely in this discipline that he has clear advantages over most of his competitors.
You can find even more information about the 2016 Tour de France, the route, TV broadcast times and much more on our overview page.