Bradley Wiggins:

The 32-year-old pre-race favourite has already won this season’s editions of Paris-Nice, the Tour of Romandie and the Critérium du Dauphiné. His plan is simple enough – make time on rivals over a total 101km of time trials and then rely on Richie Porte, Michael Rogers and Chris Froome to help him over some of the more challenging climbs – and it may work, although Wiggins is increasingly confident that he now has the acceleration to trouble the best. The follower wants to become a destroyer

Mark Cavendish:

The world road race champion dragged his climb-averse body around this year’s Giro d’Italia only to lose the sprinter’s jersey to Joaquim Rodríguez, a climber of all people. Fatigue will be a major fear for the 27-year-old, whose main priority is to win gold in the Olympic road race, which runs only a week after the Tour’s conclusion. He may abandon early, although he will hope to add to an already impressive career haul of 20 Tour stage wins

Chris Froome:

The Kenyan-born Briton shocked the cycling world by finishing second in last year’s Vuelta a España, one place ahead of Wiggins. This season’s progress has been hampered by illness but he remains the man Sky will most likely turn to challenge on general classification should Wiggins crash or lose form. Under normal circumstances the 27-year-old will be asked to set a fast pace in the mountains and deter attacks from Wiggins’s rivals

Mick Rogers:

Designated as Team Sky’s road captain – the on-road brain and link between Wiggins and the team car behind. Vastly experienced. The days when he won three world time-trial championships had seemed long behind him but the 32-year-old’s career has reached an Indian summer – only last month he finished first overall and won two stages at Bayern-Rundfahrt

Richie Porte:

Porte joined Sky this year on the back of some sterling support work for Alberto Contador and immediately tasted overall victory at this year’s Volta ao Algarve, where he showcased his climbing and time-trialling ability. Like Froome he has the ability to win a grand tour and at 27 his time may come. This year, however, he will be vital to Wiggins, both by pulling his team leader up the steepest climbs and with his experience of playing a part in a dominant team

Edvald Boasson Hagen:

Few riders are as gifted or exciting as the 25-year-old Norwegian – a sprinter who can also climb and time trial. He demonstrated as much in last year’s Tour with two stage wins, one in a bunch sprint and another as a breakaway. He may be asked to work as part of Cavendish’s leadout train but will also be given the freedom to express himself on fast uphill finishes and some of the lumpier stages

Bernhard Eisel:

Cavendish’s best mate and on-road protector, he speaks English with a bizarre Austrian-Manx twang and keeps the world champion company when the fast men are dropped in the hills by the peloton. A classy sprinter in his own right, the 31-year-old will play an important role in ensuring Cavendish stays safe and gets into winning positions. Followed Cavendish from HTC -Highroad to Sky in the close season

Kanstantsin Siutsou:

Another ex-HTC-Highroad man, the Belarusian finished 10th at the 2011 Giro and could probably lead a lesser team. Instead his main task will be act as a domestique to Wiggins, ferrying forward sustenance and clothing and setting the pace on flatter stages. Will also form part of Cavendish’s sprint train, turning up the tempo before the faster men take over

Christian Knees:

An all-round domestique and a proper hard man, whose height and physique make him an ideal rider to place alongside Wiggins or Cavendish when the winds pick up. A former German national road race champion, the 31-year-old could be Sky’s least visible rider but also one of their most important