The 2020 Tour de France classification fight will be the most interesting in decades given the uncertainty in form after the COVID break and the late season position. With that in mind, we name five of the top GC favorites for the overall victory on the Champs-Élysées and some outsiders/underdogs to cover ourselves.

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Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma)

Roglic nearly saw his 2020 Tour de France appearance escape him, following a crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné that forced him to abandon and give up the GC lead. He is on the mend and enjoying his final week of preparation in the Alps. 

Jumbo-Visma dominated the mountainous Criterium du Dauphine in a manner reminiscent of the Team Ineos playbook until two of the team's leaders were forced to abandon. Neither Roglic nor Steven Kruijswijk made it to the finish, with the latter likely ruled out of the Tour de France roster due to injuries. 

Despite the setbacks, Roglic will have the super domestique power of American Sepp Kuss and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin. Last season the Slovenian won his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España, and finished third at the Giro d’Italia in May.  The time trial specialist will miss the opportunity to gain more time in the TT with only one up-hill time trial en route to Paris, but if Roglic and his team can sustain the form they displayed at the Criterium du Dauphine, the lack of time trials may not hold Roglic back.

Egan Bernal (Ineos)

In 2019, Egan Bernal was the first from Colombia to win the Tour de France and the youngest in the modern era to do so. 

The team sent shock waves when they announced both Tour de France champions, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, did not make the final cut. Instead, Bernal will have Costa Rican Andrey Amador, the 2019 Giro d'Italia champion Richard Carapaz, making his debut, and Michal Kwiatkowski backing him up. 

Thanks to the team's decision to leave out the former British Tour de France champions, Bernal will not have to fight within his team to establish leadership in the 2020 tour, and the aggressively hilly parcours of this year's Tour will further lend itself to the Colombian's strengths. 

Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma)

Tom Dumoulin was a big signing for Jumbo-Visma in 2020, but by his own admission, his form needed some work at the Criterium du Dauphine. 

Dumoulin was seen dropping out of the lead group in the final kilometers of the Dauphine's summit finishes, but he wasn't far off the mark. The Dutchman's final season at Sunweb was plagued by knee problems as a result of a crash at the 2019 Giro d'Italia. The Tour de France will be his first major test in his new team's colors. Whether he is riding for the victory in Paris, or guiding Primoz Roglic along the way, the former Giro d'Italia champion is a crucial asset for the Jumbo-Visma super team.

Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic)

Quintana began proving in early 2020 that fresh air serves well. He won two stage race overalls and the queen stage in Paris-Nice, where a third overall title would have been likely had it not been for an early crash. It all came off the heels of a team change over the winter. 

After years in team Movistar's blue – with overall wins in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and podiums at the Tour de France – he left for French second division team Arkéa-Samsic. It became clear early in 2020 that this is a re-born Nairo who wants to keep the Colombian party going at the Tour with an overall victory in 2020.

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)

It seems crazy to mention a 21-year-old Tour debutant as a race favorite, but these are the times we are living in. Last year unveiled a number of young riders like Bernal and Evenepoel emerged that showed anything is possible. And let's not forget that the Slovenian, then 20, already proved himself in the Vuelta a España with three stages wins and third overall.

And so many others

It is impossible to limit ourselves to five favorites for the overall because with such uncertain times comes looser odds. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) rode for 14 days in the yellow jersey last year, but it still seems that he will not be allowed so much space this year by the big teams Ineos and Jumbo Visma. 

Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) should be followed closely if he is able to recover from his broken collarbone sustained in Il Lombardia. Many bill Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) as the next big German Tour contender, but Schachmann proved to have the staying power in week long stage races that could transfer over to three weeks. Mikel Landa leads a revived Bahrain-McLaren with Wout Poels, and just like Quintana, he will be attempt to show there is life after Movistar.

Besides Alaphilippe, France will once again look to Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) to attempt to rock the status quo. Colombia, however, could be the strongest nation. The country chartered a flight for them in July to arrive in search sporting gold. Along with Quintana and Bernal, Miguel Angel López (Astana) and Sergio Higuita (EF Pro Cycling) should be considered as possible 2020 victors.