2023 Tour de France: who are the favourites for the yellow, green and polka dot jersey?

July is the most wonderful time of the year for many cycling fans around the world as that is when the Tour de France, the world's biggest cycling race, begins. Let's see who could be the key figures for the 2023 edition.

The main battle in the Tour is for the GC. Two names are seen as the big favourites for this year's race.

First of all, there is Jonas Vingegaard, who will try to defend his title.

The Jumbo-Visma rider is in excellent form this year and impressed in the Iztulia Basque Country and the Critérium du Dauphiné. But the opposition at the Tour de France will be fierce ...

Tadej Pogacar will try to win his third Tour this year, after surprisingly finishing second in 2022. Will the Slovenian achieve his goal?

Pogacar and Vingegaard have only met once this year, in Paris-Nice. It was the Slovenian who took victory in 'The Race to the Sun', while Vingegaard came third in the GC.

In addition to Vingegaard and Pogacar, there are other riders aiming to make an impact in the GC. France is backing Romain Bardet (pictured) and David Gaudu, while Spain is relying on Mikel Landa and Enric Mas.

INEOS Grenadiers start the Tour with no clear favourite for the overall win, but with Egan Bernal (pictured), Carlos Rodríguez or Daniel Felipe Martinez they could make a big impact in the race.

Other names to take into account for a good GC result are Ben O'Connor, Jai Hindley (pictured), Simon Yates, Richard Carapaz, Mattias Skjelmose, Giulio Ciccone and Louis Meintjes.

The battle for the mountain jersey is always unpredictable, with breakaway riders trying to score points where they can and GC riders traditionally collecting a lot of points in the mountain stages. Who will be wearing the 'maillot à pois' in Paris?

In the battle for the points classification and the green jersey, there are more outspoken favourites.

Belgian star Wout van Aert was the best sprinter at the 2022 Tour and seems destined to excel again this year. But the competition will be fierce.

Van Aert's compatriot Jasper Philipsen also has his eyes on the green jersey. The Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter showed his good form this year by winning the Scheldeprijs, among others races.

Soudal-Quick Step is aiming for sprint glory with Fabio Jakobsen. The Dutchman is one of the fastest cyclists in the world and is keen to show why.

Several other riders will try to make their mark in the points classification. Among them are Biniam Girmay (pictured), Dylan Groenewegen and Mads Pedersen.

And what about Mathieu van der Poel? The Dutch Alpecin-Deceuninck star is in excellent form and could be a contender for the green jersey. However, it is more likely that he will work as a lead-out for Jasper Philipsen and go for stage wins.

The Tour de France is always a great spectacle and this year looks to be no different. Are you ready for three weeks of sprinting, climbing and suffering on a bike?