Andre Greipel channels his inner Pavarotti in Tour de France song

For better or for worse, Pavarotti or no Pavarotti, Andre Greipel has taken to the microphone for the second year running in the run-up to the Tour de France.

Last year he rapped; this year he warbles. The Lotto-Soudal rider has created another song and music video combination ahead of this year's great race, this time in collaboration with German music producer Enrico Muax.

The song, which you can watch above, features lyrics revolving around Greipel's experience on the Tour, his reluctance to leave his family behind for a month, and the camaraderie he feels between himself and his team mates.

>Read more: road.cc's People's Choice award for the best cycling song

Highlights include: 

“Once in France I’ll do my best, to make my dreams come true / To win a stage at the Tour de France for my family, my team and you.”

"I must leave my family for eternities, simply to do my job / I'm a cyclist at the biggest race and the target is over the top"

"Six months of our preparation, just for these three weeks / Together we're the best mates ever, we fight for kisses on our cheeks."

A press release from Enrico Muax issued alongside the video release told watchers of the video not to "expect a perfect 'Pavarotti'."

While we won't go into too much detail about how much of an understatement that might or might not be, we agree with the statement that followed: "simply expect a guy who loves music and who accepts the challenge.”

Muax went on to write "This one may sound a bit different than the one last year, and [I'm] very happy to present you [my] latest piece of music together with André Greipel, one of the fastest sprinters in the world.

"Once more it was fascinating to see how André can focus himself on a target and improves step by step to reach a goal"

Muax is responsible for a number of cycling related songs, most of which you can find on YouTube. One of our favourites - for the name alone - is his song "Die Lance Armstrong Blues."

That's 'die' as in the German word for 'the,' not a death threat.