The return of the largest annual sporting event carries a very familiar looking cast list, with Britain’s Chris Froome set to attempt a rare defence of the Grand Tour title. Removing the now asterisked era of American Lance Armstrong and the victory stripped from Spain’s Alberto Contador in 2010, the last successful defence came back in 1995, when Spaniard Miguel Indurain secured the last of his five victories in the race.

Froome will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2014 edition of the race, when as the clear favourite, he found himself in a team car on stage five, after being battered and bruised by a series of crashes on an eventful day on the cobblestones.

Often viewed as a quiet man off the bike but a fearsome competitor on it, Froome will send an effective warning shot to his rivals by securing a third victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné, last month. Success at the race has preceded his previous Tour triumphs in 2013 and 2015, while with the support for future Grand Tour contenders Spain’s Mikel Landa and fellow Briton Geraint Thomas in the wings, it is no surprise to see him as the favourite.

There is a nagging feeling, however, that another quiet man could finally be set to usurp the Team Sky rider, with Colombia’s Nairo Quintana having edged ever closer in recent seasons and comes in fresh from Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Romandie wins. Froome’s former right hand man Richie Porte of Australia, Italy’s Fabio Aru and Spain’s Alberto Contador, albeit now in the twilight of his career, are expected to also provide a threat.

On the face of it the victor looks set to come from those five names, unless Aru’s team-mate and 2014 winner Vincenzo Nibali attempts something of a Michael Govian coup of his team leader. Should French footballing dreams come crashing down at the Euros, expectancy will likely shift to their talented trio of Thibaut Pinot, Warren Barguil and Romain Bardet, as the wait for a first home winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985 goes on.

However the Tour has continually thrown up unpredictable moments. Just ask the Orica-GreenEdge bus driver at 2013 edition of the race, whose vehicle found itself wedged under the finish on the opening stage, causing chaos for the peloton.

The sprints are set to be the most unpredictable element of the forthcoming race, which will begin with a 188 kilometre jaunt from Mont-Saint-Michel to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, with the first yellow jersey set to be claimed by Utah Beach, one of the key landing points on D-Day.

After last year’s sprints were largely dominated by Andre Greipel, fellow German Marcel Kittel and Britain’s Mark Cavendish will be seeking to reassert themselves. Kittel having proved the dominant force in 2013 and 2014 has sought to recover his form after a nightmare season last year, while Cavendish’s form is an unknown quantity having spent his year honing preparations to compete in the men’s omnium at Rio 2016.

The Olympics will undoubtedly be in the mind of several key members of the peloton throughout the duration of the race, which will draw to a close on July 24, less than a fortnight away from the men’s road race in Rio on August 6.

Success at the Tour has often proved the springboard for success at the Games, with Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara having won the individual time trial at the 2008 edition of the race, before going on to secure gold in the event in Beijing. Britain’s Sir Bradley Wiggins, similarly, secured the time trial title at London 2012 after being crowned the Tour de France winner a matter of days earlier.

With the Rio 2016 road race and time trials featuring hilly profiles, the overall contenders for victory at the Tour have been forced to alter their preparations to target success on two separate fronts. Similarly with Slovakia’s world road race champion Peter Sagan competing in the mountain bike event while Cavendish looks for gold on the track at the Games, their priorities could prove an interesting sup-plot. Ahead of Beijing 2008, when Cavendish burst onto the Tour de France scene with four stage wins, the Briton was repeatedly questioned regarding when he would depart the race to head to the Games. A similar hassling could be on the cards again.

On aspect which the organisers will hope does not become an issue during the race, which will include 28 climbs and four mountain finishes, is security. With the current state of emergency in France following the Paris terrorist attacks in November, around 23,000 police and special forces have been recruited to provide additional security.

With the force aimed at providing reassure to spectators and riders, off the bike teams have also been able to breathe a sigh of relief in the build-up over the future of the Tour de France on the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) WorldTour, after an agreement was struck days ago with organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).

ASO had informed the UCI in December that they would opt to register their events for the second tier Hors Classe (HC) status for 2017 season, rather than the top tier WorldTour, in protest at the UCI’s reforms, which were unveiled last September.

What could have amounted to a civil-war like scenario between the two organisations looks to have been averted after the UCI agreed to alter their initial idea to award WorldTour teams three-year licences, instead of two, as well as introducing a relegation style format.

The latter notion, which will effectively see the lowest ranked team on the WorldTour and the top Pro Continental Team, the second tier of teams, be promoted or relegated, had long been touted by ASO. The UCI, however, have finally succeeded in their aim to extend WorldTour licences in an effort to boost stability and prosperity for teams, have argued that one year licences had created economic uncertainty.

In this sense the agreement, which will see all ASO races feature on the WorldTour next year, appears to have be a comprise suiting both parties. With the relationship between the UCI and ASO having been frosty in the past, it could perhaps be argued that the governing body knew comprise might need to be made to push through the reforms, back when they were first unveiled. Whether the entente cordiale reached by UCI President Brian Cookson and ASO chief Christian Prudhomme will continue in the future remains to be seen. But for now the unpredictability will be on the road.