Away from Vingegaard and Pogacar: These 10 riders to watch out for in the final week of the Tour

Georg Zimmermann (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty)

Zimmermann came very close to winning the stage on the 10th stage to Issoire, but was ultimately beaten by Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious) in the sprint of the breakaway group. "The disappointment of missing out on the biggest goal of my career is currently greater than the joy of second place", said the Augsburg rider after the stage. However, he did not let this discourage him: three days later, Zimmermann was once again in the escape group and fought his way up the Grand Colombier to the finish in 13th place. And Zimmermann is also a promising candidate for breakaway attempts in the third week of the Tour de France.

Apart from Zimmermann's narrowly missed stage win, Intermarche-Circus-Wanty has had few highlights so far. It is quite possible that the 25-year-old will now take on a central role in the team for the final week of the Tour de France - especially as Louis Meintjes, the team's classification rider, is out of the race after a crash. The 18th stage to Bourg-en-Bresse, the 19th stage to Poligny or the mountainous 20th stage to Le Markstein could be good for breakaway groups.

Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroën Team)

After a strong Tour de Suisse in the run-up to the race, Gall also had to be considered for a Tour de France - but not necessarily for a top 10 finish. But with his performance on the 14th stage over the Col de Joux Plane, the Austrian has arrived in the circle of the best classification riders. After the stage, Gall finished ninth and was in the top 10 of the Tour for the first time. But a Tour is characterised by ups and downs, as Gall also had to realise one day later: Due to a defect on the last descent before the final climb, he lost contact with the group of favourites and dropped back to eleventh place in the overall standings.

However, a top ten place in Paris is still realistic, with 21 seconds currently separating Gall from Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) in tenth place. His biggest hurdle is likely to be the individual time trial on the 16th stage to Combloux, which is anything but Gall's favourite discipline. However, as the 22.4 kilometre course is short and partly hilly, his time losses could be limited. And Gall has already proven that he is one of the top 10 on the mountain stages of this Tour.

Guilio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)

The Italian will stand out at the start of the third week due to his clothing alone: In the individual time trial after the rest day, Ciccone will wear the mountains jersey of this Tour of France for the first time. However, he has timed his attack on this special classification well: Until stage 14, Ciccone played only a minor role in the mountain classification, before he collected 36 points from breakaway groups on two consecutive days and equalled Neilson Powless (EF Education EasyPost) on points: Both have 58 points to their credit, but Ciccone won more higher categorised mountain classifications - and is therefore at the top of the rankings.

Ciccone already proved that he can win mountain classifications at the Giro d'Italia in 2019. The 28-year-old should therefore be one of the assets when it comes to places in the breakaway on the upcoming mountain stages. After all, he is not only fighting against Powless in the mountain classification, he also has to keep an eye on Jonas Vingegaard (54 points) and Tadej Pogacar (48). He needs every mountain point he can get.

Neilson Powless (EF Education EasyPost)

On paper, the US-American is Giulio Ciccone's toughest rival in the mountain classification. However, Powless has lost some of his momentum: After an active start, only twelve mountain points have been added to his account since the first rest day. On the 15th stage through the Alps to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, Powless was once again part of the escape group, but dropped back early on. However, he has already announced that he will "focus on the coming mountain stages."

Powless, like Ciccone, should therefore be a sure-fire candidate to target the breakaway groups in the upcoming high mountain stages - the 17th stage to Courchevel alone offers 45 mountain points. He is sure to have the support of his team: After all, winning the mountain classification would save EF Education EasyPost a Tour de France that has so far been lacking in results. Powless was already accompanied by his team-mates Andrey Amador, Magnus Cort and Rigoberto Uran in the escape group on stage 15.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)

The Belgian has been unlucky on the road so far: van Aert took his third podium place as a breakaway rider with second place at the mountain arrival of the 15th stage in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc - but he has yet to record a victory. "I still have a lot of morale and won't give up," van Aert announced at the finish. Jumbo-Visma must now weigh up the options for the third week of the Tour de France: Will van Aert now have to subordinate himself to the battle for the yellow jersey with Jonas Vingegaard or will he continue to be given the freedom to ride for his own results? This decision alone could become a political issue and thus one of the themes of the upcoming stages.

Van Aerts' best chance of a stage win may come after the rest day in the 22.4 kilometre time trial to Combloux. It remains to be seen whether he will continue to attack breakaway groups afterwards. After many failed sprints so far, van Aert will also be targeting the final stage on the Champs Elysees, where he already won the final stage of the Tour de France in 2021.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

The same applies to van der Poel as to van Aert: The Dutchman seemed to be a promising candidate for a stage win, but so far this has failed to materialise. Instead, he has mainly stood out as an outstanding rider for Jasper Philipsen, who has won four sprint stages. Meanwhile, van der Poel has not recorded any results of his own and is obviously lacking a bit of form. Although he tried a few times to get into the breakaway groups, he usually missed the post or didn't have the legs to push through. However, he doesn't seem to have finished with this Tour de France yet.

If breakaway groups get free tickets on the 18th stage to Bourg-en-Bresse or the 19th stage to Poligny, van der Poel is likely to be at the front. And as a somewhat far-fetched thought: Should there be a final sprint on these stages, Alpecin-Deceuninck could possibly even rely on van der Poel - as a thank you for his previous services as a rider. Because sprint captain Philipsen no longer has to fear the competition for the green jersey. With his class, van der Poel is at least not without a chance in the bunch sprint.

Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal - Quick Step)

Alaphilippe hasn't lost his racing instincts, otherwise he wouldn't be in the breakaway groups of this Tour of France so often. What he lacks, however, is the form that saw him win six stages at the Tour de France between 2018 and 2021. After his serious crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège last year, the Frenchman still lacks some of his old class. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that Alaphilippe will continue to fight for every breakaway group in the third week of the Tour.

His chances of winning may not seem huge at the moment, but his team is reliant on the attempt alone: Because after the withdrawal of sprinter Fabio Jakobsen, Soudal - Quick Step has no more options to somehow salvage a disastrous Tour. Riders such as Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert or Remi Cavagna have also hardly stood out so far. For Alaphilippe, this could mean going on the offensive until the end of the Tour.

>> This is the route of the Tour de France 2023

Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious)

Bahrain-Victorious had come to the Tour with ambitions for the overall classification, but the stage race has gone much better so far: after Pello Bilbao in Issoire, Wout Poels took the second stage win for the team at Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc. Matej Mohoric must be considered for a third success. The Slovenian is one of the cleverest breakaway specialists in the peloton and, in addition to stage wins at the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana, has already secured two stage wins at the Tour of France as a breakaway rider.

At this Tour, he was part of the leading group on the stage to Puy de Dome and finished third on the day. For the final week of the Tour, the 18th stage to Bourg-en-Bresse and the 19th stage to Poligny should suit him particularly well if breakaway groups can get through on these days. Mohoric already won a stage on similar terrain two years ago in the last week of the Tour.

Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious)

Or will Bahrain-Victorious take the third stage win in a sprint decision? Bauhaus has already finished on the podium three times in the bunch sprints of this Tour, and one or two more sprint finishes are likely between now and Paris. What speaks in Bauhaus' favour: The sprint competition is somewhat thinned out due to the withdrawals of Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal - Quick Step), Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny), and Bauhaus has so far been one of the sprinters who can cope better with the rigours of the mountain stages.

What speaks against Bauhaus: Sprint dominator Philipsen is still in the race and is also one of the sprinters with the best climbing ability. Nevertheless, Bauhaus has a good chance of achieving further top placings in the coming stages in a tired field of sprinters - perhaps even with a coup on the Champs Elysees?

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ)

The fact that Pinot's last stages in the Tour de France are now approaching is likely to attract a lot of attention. The 33-year-old ends his career at the end of the season. In sporting terms, Pinot has certainly focussed on the second half of the race at this Tour. Since the first rest day, the Frenchman has been active in three breakaway groups, albeit with limited success so far: Pinot finished sixth on the 12th stage to Belleville-en-Beaujolais and up to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc.

His farewell tour is therefore still missing a highlight. However, Pinot may have deliberately saved this for the 20th stage to Le Markstein, when the Tour route leads through the Vosges, his home region. He is unlikely to lack support at the side of the route on this day. A farewell stage win in his home region? For Pinot, it would be a moving end to his career. And his compatriots would go crazy.