Tour de France Prize Money 2017: Purse Payouts and Predictions Triple-Crown Race

Team Sky's Chris Froome will try to win his fourth Tour de France in five years, as La Grande Boucle kicks off its 104th edition on Saturday in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The 32-year-old is widely seen as the favourite once again, but only just following a disappointing 2017 campaign so far.

Per John MacLeary of the Daily Telegraph, the peloton will do battle for a total purse of €2,280,950 (roughly £2 million). Based on last year's numbers, €500,000 (roughly £440,000) will go to the winner.

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Team Sky has been an unstoppable juggernaut in recent editions of the iconic race, but the unconventional profile of this year's Tour, combined with Froome's spotty form, means another win is far from certain.

Froome has yet to win a single stage this year and was soundly beaten in the Criterium du Dauphine, a race that usually works as a fine indicator for Tour de France form.

Per the race's official Twitter account, he maintained his form is fine ahead of the first stage:

"

"Je suis en pleine forme" / "I'm in a very good shape" @chrisfroome #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/AEyGjbhCgH

— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) June 28, 2017"

Competition for the yellow jersey will be fierce. Former winner Alberto Contador and climbing star Nairo Quintana are regular contenders, while Astana field the sensational duo of Fabio Aru and Jakob Fuglsang. Romain Bardet was a breakout performer last year, and younger riders like Esteban Chaves and Simon Yates are ready to follow in his footsteps.

Dan Martin impressed in this year's Dauphine, finishing third behind Fuglsang and BMC's Richie Porte. The Australian appears to be the form rider entering the race, and Global Cycling Network rightly put him on their list of riders to keep an eye on:

Michael Hutchinson of BBC 5 Live Sport has been impressed with his numbers of late:

Porte spent years as a super-domestique for Froome and has struggled with the transition toward team leader. He's never finished on the podium at a Grand Tour, with pressure getting the best of him in the past.

His time-trial form has been superb of late, however, and Porte could land in the yellow jersey as early as Saturday. There won't be too many uphill finishes, negating Quintana's explosiveness somewhat, and the unconventional nature of the course means it might be easy for other contenders to be caught out.

Sky often race smarter than their opponents and will try to use the course to their advantage. If Froome's form is as good as he claims, he could target the penultimate stage to make his move for the yellow, pitting his time-trial abilities against Porte's.

Prediction: It's hard to look past Froome's experience and Sky's dominance in the Tour. BMC and Movistar will give the team a serious challenge, but barring crashes or mechanical issues, Froome is likely to add a fourth title.