PARIS -- Chris Froome has a chance to prove over the next three weeks what some suspected in 2012 -- that he could have won last years Tour de France if he hadnt had to give way for his teammate, Bradley Wiggins. Now Wiggins is out injured and that makes the Kenyan-born Briton the favourite to triumph on a particularly mountainous route this year, one that should suit his climbing skills. The 100th edition of the Tour begins Saturday in Corsica -- Frances "Island of Beauty" in the Mediterranean -- the first time cyclings greatest race has set wheel to road in the land of Napoleons birthplace. Another key plotline: the shadow of Lance Armstrong. This the first Tour since he was stripped of his record seven victories for doping, which he finally admitted after years of denials following a detailed report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. While Armstrong will have no involvement in this years race, fans and media will have a close eye on performance-enhancing drug use in the peloton. That 198-rider peloton, or pack, is to cover 3,479 kilometres (2,162 miles) over three weeks -- 21 stages and two rest days -- before an unusual nighttime finish July 21 on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. The race spends three days on Corsicas winding, hilly roads then begins a counterclockwise run through mainland France along the Mediterranean, into the Pyrenees mountains, then up to Brittany and the fabled Mont-Saint-Michel island citadel before a slashing jaunt southeastward toward the Alps before entering the capital. Long before they knew Wiggins would be out, race organizers gave relatively short shrift to the time trial -- a race-against the clock in which last years champ excels. Theres no opening-day time-trial. The team time-trial returns to the Tour in Stage 4. Two individual time-trials in Stage 11 (33 km, 20.5 miles) and Stage 17 (32 km; 19.8 miles) will count, but the latter one comes before three days in the Alps, which may have more impact on the race outcome. Froome, the 28-year-old Team Sky leader, has ridden in two other Tours. His dazzling start to the season -- winning four of the five races he started -- and his second-place finish behind his British compatriot last year has put him on the top rung of Tour favourites. Last year, Froome was a dutiful, if not always respectful, sidekick to Wiggins. Froome injected drama into the race -- and fanned talk of rivalry -- after he repeatedly outperformed Wiggins in the mountains. At one point, he even gestured at his Team Sky leader to catch up. At the time, Wiggins acknowledged Froome had "talent," but also didnt know what it was like to feel the pressure of being the favourite. Now is Froomes chance, and so far he has seemed to manage the pressure: He won the Tour of Oman, the Criterium International, the Tour of Romandie and the Criterium du Dauphine this year. His only loss this season? Second place in the Tirreno-Adriatico. Two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador is seen as Froomes most likely challenger. The Spaniards career hit a speed bump in 2010 when he tested positive for the banned fat-burning, muscle-building drug clenbuterol at the Tour -- landing him a ban that forced him to sit out last years race. He hasnt yet revived the fear and admiration that his sharp uphill accelerations once inspired. American Tejay Van Garderen, who was a support rider for BMC leader Cadel Evans of Australia last year, will be among the rising stars to watch. The 24-year-old took home the white jersey awarded to the Tours best young rider last year. The question now is whether 2011 Tour champion Evans, now 36, will be in contention enough for Van Garderen to stay in a support role: If not, he could be cut loose. Froome, Contador and Van Garderen are potential contenders for the overall, general classification -- or GC -- victory because they fare well at both mountain-climbing and time trials, the two pillars of todays stage-race competitions. Other would-be contenders include Evans, Jurgen Van Den Broeck of Belgium, a two-time fourth place finisher, Ryder Hesjedal of Canada -- who crashed out last year -- and Joaquim Rodriguez of Spain. The route is among the most mountainous in recent years. Stage 15 on July 14 -- Frances national Bastille Day holiday -- features an uphill finish on the barren Mont Ventoux in Provence. The years "Queen Stage" comes four days later in Stage 18, with not one but two runs up the famed Alpe-dHuez. Froome said Tour planners were "bordering on sadistic" with the selection of the Alpe dHuez stage. Before then, race contenders must emerge unscathed and in contention after the Pyrenees -- including an uphill finish at Ax-3-Domaines ski station in Stage 8 -- and avoid crashes that often bedevil the flat stages. Look for nervous, jostling, and adrenaline-fueled finishes on those days, when sprinters will shine. This years sprinter crop is among the best among recent Tours, headlined by British superstar Mark Cavendish. The 28-year-old native of the Isle of Man, garnering him the "Manx Missile" moniker among fellow Britons and cycling buffs, is the best sprinter of his generation. Cavendish already has 23 Tour stage victories, putting him fourth on the all-time list. Even as cycling tries to get past the doping legacy embodied by the Armstrong saga, the plague of drugs cheats continues. In May, the Italian Giro was marred by three doping cases. Danilo di Luca, who won that race in 2007, tested positive for banned blood booster EPO -- long the designer drug for riders. Fellow Italian Mauro Santambrogio, who won a stage this year, also tested positive for EPO. Frances Sylvain Georges tested positive for Heptaminol, a banned stimulant. Froome said the Armstrong revelations were "a big hit" to both fans and riders, who are now "all being painted with the same brush" -- even if the sport is among the groundbreakers when it comes to anti-doping controls. "I am confident in the testing thats in place," Froome said. "Its up to us to use this as an opportunity to show that the sport has changed and that this is a completely different cycling to that (Armstrong) era." Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys . Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank. Paul Molitor Jersey . Its been two seasons in one for both parties and neither will look back on the first 18 games fondly. 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Lohse pitched seven effective innings for his first win in three weeks, and Milwaukee beat the sloppy Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Friday. "Kyle was a little bit off those first few innings and then he got it going again late," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Probably in the last inning had his best stuff and command." Lohse allowed three runs and seven hits as NL Central-leading Milwaukee won for the fifth time in six games. He retired his last 13 batters in his first win since April 23 against San Diego, ending a streak of three starts without a decision. "It was a weird early going for me. I couldnt get command really much of anything," Lohse said. "But youve been around long enough you figure out how to grind through it and figure out what you need to do physically to get your body in the right spot to make pitches." Jean Segura had three hits and two RBIs for Milwaukee, which improved to an NL-best 13-5 on the road. Elian Herrera doubled twice in a spot start in right field for Ryan Braun, who got the day off as he makes his way back from a right oblique strain. Darwin Barney hit a two-run homer and Junior Lake had a solo shot for the Cubs, who have lost three straight and 10 of 12. Jeff Samardzija lasted five innings after getting off to a slow start, but is winless in his last 15 games dating to last season. "Obviously, I want to win," Samardzija said. "Being a starting pitcher, you have a big say as to how the game turns out. Obviously if my record isnt what I want it to be I need to do a better job." Milwaukee jumped on Samardzija for two runs in each of the first two innings, taking advantage of several early miscues by the Cubs. Segura singled with one out in the first, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Jonathan Lucroys base hit. Lucroy advanced when Lake mishandled his single to left and scored when Lyle Overbay reached on shortstop Starlin Castros throwing error. It was Castros second error in three games and No. 7 in 40 games this season. The 24-year-old Castro had a career-low 22 errors in 159 games last season. Segura added a two-run single in the second as Milwaukee opened a 4-0 lead.ddddddddddddWelington Castillo had a costly passed ball that allowed the runners to move up to second and third before Segura hit a liner into centre field. Samardzija (0-4) allowed two earned runs and six hits in his shortest start of the season. His ERA increased from 1.45 to 1.62. "He didnt have his best stuff today but he grinded out through five," manager Rick Renteria said. "We had a couple plays that maybe extended his innings." Barney connected in the second and Lake went deep in the third, but that was it for Chicago against Lohse (5-1). The veteran right-hander struck out two and walked one while improving to 6-6 in 21 career starts against the Cubs. Will Smith tossed a perfect eighth for Milwaukee and Francisco Rodriguez finished for his major league-best 17th save in 18 chances. It was Rodriguezs first outing since he allowed three runs in the ninth inning of Wednesdays 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh. "I was itching to go yesterday. It didnt work out," he said. "But as long as I get an opportunity to go out there and pitch, theres a better chance that I am going to do better than I did three days ago." Braun was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday and played three straight games against the Pirates. Roenicke decided to rest the 2011 NL MVP for the series opener against the lowly Cubs. Braun, who is batting .316 with six homers and 18 RBIs in 25 games, did not make a rehab start before he rejoined the team. "Youre going on what the player tells you. If he comes out and feels it again, youre in trouble," Roenicke said. "So thats why we try to take it easy so were really protecting ourselves throwing him right out there and something happens and hes right back on the DL again." NOTES: It rained for much of the morning in Chicago, and the gametime temperature was 38 degrees. ... Brewers RHP Matt Garza (2-3, 4.98 ERA) is scheduled to face RHP Edwin Jackson (2-3, 4.56 ERA) on Saturday. It will be Garzas first game at Wrigley Field since he was traded from the Cubs to the Rangers last July. ... Roenicke said he hopes Carlos Gomez will be able to play Saturday. The centre fielder is nursing a sore back while serving a three-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing brawl April 20 in Pittsburgh. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '