Brad Wiggins: The Real 2012 Pre-Tour de France Favorite Looking Strong for July

The "experts" have Cadel Evans as the odds on favorite to win this year's Tour de France. Don't believe the hype. From the beginning of this season, it has been Brad Wiggins, not Cadel Evans, who has looked like the favorite for yellow in France in July. Currently lighting up the roadway at the Tour of Romandie, Wiggins looks extremely strong as the time draws nearer to the Grand Boucle.

Not only does Wiggins look strong individually, but his Sky teammates too seem to be primed to hit top form come summer. Michael Rogers is back after an abysmal 2011. Richie Porte is coming along nicely. Thomas Lovkwist is ticking over the pedals. Chris Froome, though sick, is on the upswing. And on and on. The only thing that seemingly could derail Wiggins' shot at the Tour overall is the presence of Mark Cavendish, who will also be a protected rider at the Tour.

So what is Sky management to do? They finally managed to sign Cavendish after the demise of the HTC team last year, and England's fastest cyclist will expect nothing more than full support come Tour time. However, this year is unique in that the Olympics happen just a week after the conclusion of the Tour. Cavendish has already gone on record as saying he will look to ride the entire Tour, but is that to be believed? Assuming Cavendish has the green jersey heading into the final week it is possible that he would choose to ride all the way to Paris. However, if he is out of the running for green are we truly to believe that he'll ride the entire Tour? More likely is he takes 3 to 5 stage wins over the first two weeks and then bows out, letting Wiggins have his day.

Whether Cavendish rides the entire Tour or not is almost moot for Wiggins. The Brit is absolutely flying thus far in 2012, and all the pieces seem to be in place for him to take top honors in France this year. He seems to have marshalled both his mind and body, and seems more prepared than ever for the rigours of the Tour. Now he just needs to stay upright and out of trouble for the next two months.

As this year's tour starts with a 6 kilometer prologue, Wiggins could presumably be in yellow after day one. This could present a problem as it would tax his team early, forcing them to defend attacks from wire to wire. If he can manage to avoid taking the yellow jersey until the first time trial in stage nine, his team will be far fresher for the back half of the race.

The real decider for this year's Tour though will be the final time trial on stage 19, a 52 kilometer test on mostly flat roads. The only person who will be able to challenge Wiggins on the course is Cadel Evans, but with a weaker team and a less than ideal run-up to July, who knows how the defending champion will fare in the high mountains, where he could find himself isolated against the Sky juggernaut? One thing is for sure for Brad Wiggins: If he can't manage to win this year's Tour, he probably never will. With so many kilometers of time trialing and a rock-solid team behind him, 2012 looks more than ever to be "the year" for Wiggins to break through at the biggest bike race in the world.