While much of the Tour de France focus will be on the battle for the yellow jersey, there is also the prestigious green jersey to race for, with Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan leading the chase.
Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE)
One of the peloton's nearly men, the Australian's best chances of green-jersey success may have already passed given that a younger generation of sprinters is now coming through. Goss has been through his share of troubles this year, mainly with untimely falls, but he took a stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico and still has the speed to snatch victories.
John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano)
The second but by no means lesser of the two Argos-Shimano sprinters, Degenkolb might not have the raw speed of his rivals, but he does have Grand Tour pedigree. The German won five stages of last year's Vuelta a Espana and went on to claim his first Giro d'Italia stage at this year's race. The German will now have his eyes on opening his Tour de France account and could have designs on the green jersey as well.
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
Always considered a member of the second rank, the Norwegian has really upped his game this year and his form over the last couple of months has been impressive. He took three victories at the Tour of Norway, in which he finished second overall, and beat Sagan in one of few bunch finishes in the Tour de Suisse. This will be his first Tour, but he could be a lively outsider for a stage win at the very least.
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky)
Another Norwegian who can finish with the best of them, Boasson Hagen will be looking to add to two previous stage wins in the Tour. You would expect him to be more prominent in the early stages of the race, most of which have flat finishes, or include climbs he will be able to get over, but then it will be time to revert back to Team Sky domestique duty and support the general classification riders over the mountains.
Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ)
The 2012 French champion polarises opinion in the cycling world. There are those who love his all-action, all-elbows style and there are those (mainly other sprinters) who would happily see him out of the way. Not as regular a winner as you would think given his talent, but a stage victory would not be a massive surprise.
