Preview - Green Jersey

The Green Jersey, or maillot vert, is a jersey awarded to the most consistent rider throughout the 3 weeks of the Tour de France, but in reality it is seen as the sprinters jersey. Not since 1995, when Laurent Jalabert took the competition, has the jersey not been worn by a pure sprinter come Paris. Here we took a look at the fast men to beat in the Green Jersey competition this year.

3 - Oscar Freire (4/1) - Last years winner is a sprinter in the classic Zabel mode. Just like the 6 time jersey winner, Freire may bob up for the odd stage win, but his strength lies in consistently finishing in the top 10 on the flat stages. He also has the ability to get over the odd mountain or too to pick up valuable points on the medium-to-high mountain stages. He has a chance of going back-to-back.

2 - Allan Davis (n/a) - 'Alby' as this Aussie is affectionately known will only get a start in the race if his high profile teammate Tom Boonen remains persona non grata at the Tour - pending a judges decision. If he gets a start, I think he is a massive threat for the points jersey. He has been in great form this season since he kicked things off with a win in the Tour Down Under, a race made for the sprinters. Hopefully Alby gets a guernsy. If he does - watch out!

1 - Mark Cavendish (5/4 fav) - Quite simply, the fastest man on a bike. Came of age last year at the Tour when he blasted his way to four stage wins before retiring to save himself for the Olympics. He added another four stages to his name in this years Giro before pulling out before the start of Stage 14 to save himself for the Tour. The 'Manx' man simply has not match at all on the peleton and barring bad luck he should win every stage that finishes in a bunch sprint. If he makes it to Paris - he will be wearing Green.

Best Outsider - Tyler Farrar (35/1) - The young American has burst onto the scene in 2009 winning a sprint finish in Tirreno-Adriatico. He backed that up with a couple of second place finishes at the Giro. If his Garmin team devotes itself to setting him up for a sprint rather than the extremely unlikely GC goals of Christian Van de Velde young Tyler could surprise.

Odds courtesy of Betfair (always gamble responsibly).

Stay tuned for a preview of the polka-dot-jersey competition.