2013 Tour de France team and the oldest. The teams entering the race were: UCI ProTeams UCI Professional Continental teams In the run up to the 2013 Tour de France, Chris Froome () was widely considered as the top pre-race favourite for the general classification, with his closest rivals thought to be Alberto Contador () and Joaquim Rodríguez (). 's Vincenzo Nibali was also a possible contender after getting his first Tour podium in 2012 but he had focused on the 2013 Giro d'Italia. The other riders considered contenders for the general classification were riders Cadel Evans and Tejay van Garderen, Richie Porte (),
2013 Tour de France Sagan (), André Greipel (), Matthew Goss () and riders Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb. Cavendish won the points classicfication at the 2013 Giro and had shown his form with thirteen wins in the season. In the previous year's Tour, Sagan won the points classification and had won the same at the Tour de Suisse in the month preceding the Tour. Greipel, whose team manager Marc Sergeant claimed he had the best sprint train, came into the Tour with nine wins in the season, including three at the Tour Down Under. Goss only had one victory in the season, but