Predictions in cycling are never a good idea. No matter who lines up at the start of the Tour de France  tomorrow, there is no guarantee that they’ll finish in Paris, three weeks and several thousand kilometres later. Anything from injury to bans and suspensions can affect riders who have been gearing their preparations towards this race all season.

As long as you don’t look at them again after the event has finished, predictions can also be good fun. Fellow columnist Marco De Luca and I thought it would be a nice idea to combine forces and give you our predictions for this year's race. Unlike Marco, I stick to just one name per category, but if I'd been sensible I'd have hedged my bets too!

Fred Grand:

'Anything from injury to bans and suspensions can affect riders who have been gearing their preparations towards this race all season'


Podium:  1: Alejandro Valverde; 2: Alexander Vinokourov; 3: Carlos Sastre.
Assuming that he gets to Paris in three weeks time, then of course Vino is a very good bet, but with so many clouds hanging over him I’ve had to go for the slightly less risky option of Valverde, the best all-rounder in the race after the Kazakh.

Green Jersey: Robbie McEwen
This may be Robbie McEwen’s last chance for green, and he’ll be even more aggressive than usual.

King of the Mountains: Michael Rasmussen
I can’t see anybody holding on to the coat tails of Rasmussen when he launches his big attack.