The 2019 Tour de France is a race of the unknown. The Tour’s all-star lineup of contenders has been weakened by unfortunate injuries and crashes. Three of the top-four riders from 2018 will not compete: Chris Froome (Team Ineos), and Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) are both out with injuries, and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) is resting after his attempt to win the Giro d’Italia.

Organizers have built a course that is heavy on climbs and light on time trials. Riders blaze a 27.6km team time trial on stage 2, and then a short 27.2km individual time trial on stage 13. Rather than emphasize TT kilometers, organizers have focused on high-altitude battles: there are multiple trips above 2,000 meters in elevation, making 2019 the race with the highest average altitude in history.

Organizers have also build a course to keep fans waiting until the final week for the major action. A flat and hilly opening week gives way to three mountainous Pyrenean stages in the second week, including the short (117.5km) and unpredictable summit finish atop the Col du Tourmalet on stage 14. The knockout punch comes in the Alps, with stages 18, 19, and 20 featuring high-altitude climbing along some of France’s most fearsome climbs, including the Col d’Iseran, Col d’Izoard, and Col du Galibier.

As always, the winner of the Tour will need to be an all-around champion, capable of soaring through the high mountains, surviving the chaos of the flats, and blazing a fast race against the clock.

Teams again come to the Tour chasing a variety of goals. We have analyzed and arranged all 22 teams by their respective goals at the 2019 Tour de France.

There are opportunist teams that will look to win from breakaways and surprise the field. Then, there are the sprint teams that will try to set up their fast men for the flat stages. Finally, the GC contenders are squads that want nothing more than to finish on the final podium in Paris.

Is this the most open Tour de France in years?

I’ve heard some complaining that this Tour has lost its luster, due to Chris Froome’s absence. The historical weight of Froome’s quest for a fifth title has lifted, after all. Why watch pro cycling’s grandest tour if the grandest tour rider of this generation is absent?

It’s a valid critique, I suppose. And yet, I believe that the gaping hole within the list of GC contenders is precisely what makes this Tour de France one to watch. I have embraced this Froome-less Tour, because, to be perfectly honest, I have no clue who is going to win.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Tour de France lacks a bonafide pre-race favorite. It’s a wide-open race.As we’ve seen in previous Tours, editions that lack a true favorite produce dramatic moments of unpredictable glory. Who here remembers Carlos Sastre’s Hail Mary on l’Alpe d’Huez in 2008, or Cadel Evans’s heroics on the Galibier in 2011?

We can argue for days about Froome and Team Sky’s racing tactics over the past seven Tours, and whether the controlled strategy they pursued sucked the life out of the race, or elevated the tour by achieving some form of tactical perfection. In his four Tour victories, Froome was about as close to perfect as any rider can be.

One thing I know is that we will not see perfection in 2019. When I look at the GC contenders and the lineup of teams, I see a cast of extremely talented and capable riders, all teeming with glorious, wonderful flaws. Come, let us embrace our contenders and their imperfections.

Our defending champion, Geraint Thomas, has all of the physical skills to win another Tour. There’s just one problem: Thomas has sucked this year. He started five stage races, finished three, and won zero. On Monday, Thomas crashed out of the Tour de Suisse before the race even entered the high mountains, meaning his legs will miss out on hard racing efforts in those crucial weeks leading into the Tour. That is an enormous red flag, in my eyes.

Then, there is Thomas’s teammate, Egan Bernal. The most lauded young climber in the WorldTour has been collecting Strava KOMs across Europe this year, and dazzling fans with his speed on steep climbs. Bernal may someday win grand tours, but he is unquestionably green. Bernal has never led a team at a grand tour, and he has completed just one three-week race in his young career. How Bernal deals with the psychological stresses placed on a Tour de France contender is yet to be seen. We’ve never seen him exist in pro cycling’s pressure cooker.

The winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Jakob Fuglsang, has only once finished inside the top-10 of a grand tour, and has admitted to journalists that he lacks the legs to compete in the third week at the Tour de France. Fuglsang is on the form of his life this season, but whether that is good enough to win the Tour de France is an enormous unknown.

Vincenzo Nibali has three weeks of Giro d’Italia efforts in his legs, and is unquestionably tired. Romain Bardet is a feared climber with a weak team. Nairo Quintana hasn’t won a grand tour since before the last U.S. presidential election.

And Thibaud Pinot, Rigoberto Uran, Richie Porte, and Adam Yates always seem to suffer the dreaded One Bad Day during a grand tour.

And yet, all of these riders have undoubtedly convinced themselves that they can now win the Tour de France. And one of these riders will overcome his shortcomings to win. I believe this blend of flaws and ambition could produce bold moves, dramatic moments, and yep, even an unforeseen winner. I cannot wait to watch.

After years of watching Froome and Sky chase perfection, I am ready to embrace a Tour de France of imperfection, a tour of flawed heroes. We are unlikely to see the very best at their very best, and that fact opens the door to the unknown. Perhaps cycling’s most prestigious race needs a year in which an imperfect champion rises above the others.So, while we all write our Get Well Soon letters for Chris Froome, let’s fire up the livestream and watch the Tour de France. I have no idea what is going to happen.

Can Geraint Thomas defend his title?

All eyes will be on defending champion Geraint Thomas when the Tour kicks off on Saturday, July 6 in Brussels. Thomas rode a near perfect race in 2018, avoiding early crashes and setbacks to emerge as Team Sky’s best GC contender as the race came into the second week. Thomas then capped off his victory with emphatic performances in the mountains and in the individual time trial.

Will Thomas enjoy similar good fortune in the opening weeks of this year’s Tour?

Thomas’s leadership also depends on the efforts of his teammate, Egan Bernal, who recently won the Tour de Suisse. Throughout 2019 Bernal has blossomed into the most fearsome climber in the WorldTour. On paper, this year’s course should cater to Bernal’s strengths on long high-altitude climbs.Whether Thomas or Bernal emerge as Ineos’s leader is perhaps the most compelling question of this year’s Tour.