Tour de France 2022: Final Teams (Men)

It wasn’t until countless thousands of raucous Danes clogged Copenhagen’s famed Tivoli Gardens on Wednesday evening to greet the 22 teams of the 109^th Tour de France that we (almost) knew the final composition of all those teams. Covid-19, sickness, injuries, and some marketing decisions prevented a handful of riders from appearing on the stage—they included Team Astana’s Alexandr Riabushenko, who was on his way from Belarus after a teammate tested positive for Covid earlier in the day; UAE Emirates’ Matteo Trentin, another Covid victim, replaced by Swiss hope Marc Hirschi; and the absent-for-the night Bob Jungels of AG2R-Citroën, who’d tested positive but later passed the Tour’s Covid protocol, and Daryl Impey Israel-Premier Tech, who has had to be replaced by Guy Niv. Overnight, Cofidis sprinter Bryan Coquard was another Covid victim and has been replaced by Pierre-Luc Périchon.

The biggest omissions from the expected lineups were those of the Quick-Step team’s Julian Alaphilippe and Mark Cavendish. World champion Alaphilippe expressed his disappointment at not being selected even though he proved his fitness with a strong ride in last Sunday’s 240-kilometer French nationals, his first race back since his horrendous Liège-Bastogne-Liège crash. As for Cavendish, who won the British road title in an impressively aggressive performance, he was denied a shot at becoming the winningest-ever Tour stage winner by a marketing decision (the selection of three Danish teammates because of the Grand Départ’s location) and the presence of Dutch super-sprinter Fabio Jakobsen. Other surprise omissions were the non-selections of AG2R’s 2016 Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet and Alpecin Deceuninck sprinter Tim Merlier, who won the Belgian national title last Sunday.

Despite such absences, the Tour will again be an unforgettable experience for all those involved—riders, team staff, race officials, journalists, sponsors, and spectators. In fact, when the team presentation closed on Wednesday night, after being asked if it were more important for him to win at all costs or have some fun, two-time defending champ Tadej Pogačar opted for the latter, saying, “We’re going to smile until the end.”

So, here’s the final rundown on the 22 teams and their prospects for the Tour’s 21 stages, which start with a time trial on Friday in the Danish capital.

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AG2R CITROËN TEAM [ FRANCE ]

Big hopes for O’Connor

Australian climber Ben O’Connor caused a sensation last year by finishing one place away from the podium in Paris, and he has confirmed that result this year by winning a mountain stage at the Tour of Catalonia, taking a victory in the Tour du Jura classic and placing third overall at the Tour de Suisse. He will be ably supported on the climbing stages by the young French riders Benoît Cosnefroy, Aurélien Paret-Peintre and Geoffrey Bouchard; while the experienced Bob Jungels and Oliver Naesen will be there to help O’Connor negotiate the trials of opening week.

AG2R CITROËN TEAM

TEAM LEADER:
Ben O’Connor (Aus), 26

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Geoffrey Bouchard (F), 30
Mikaël Cherel (F), 36
Benoît Cosnefroy (F), 26
Stan Dewulf (B), 24
Bob Jungels (Lux), 29
Oliver Naesen (B), 31
Aurélien Paret-Peintre (F), 26

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: BMC
DRIVETRAIN: Campagnolo
WHEELS: Campagnolo

GENERAL MANAGER
Vincent Lavenu
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Insurance corporation; French car manufacturer
TEAM FOUNDED: 1992

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ALPECIN – FENIX [ BELGIUM ]

Stage wins guaranteed?

Led by Dutch phenom Mathieu van der Poel and Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen, this Belgian squad will be fighting for stage wins from the very first day. Van der Poel hasn’t raced since May’s Giro d’Italia—where he wore the maglia rosa the first day and took four podiums—so he’ll be fired up to be as successful as he was in the 2021 Tour, when he wore the yellow jersey for six days. The team’s powerful domestiques will do everything to create openings for van der Poel and Philipsen throughout the opening week. Once into the mountain stages and beyond, Alpecin-Deceuninck will focus on making it into the breakaways.

ALPECIN – FENIX

TEAM LEADERS:
Mathieu van der Poel (Nl), 27
Jasper Philipsen (B), 24

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Silvan Dillier (Swi), 31
Michael Gogl (A), 28
Alexander Krieger (G), 30
Edward Planckaert (B), 27
Kristian Sbaragli (I), 32
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (B), 31

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Canyon
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Shimano

GENERAL MANAGER
Christoph Roodhooft
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
German shampoo producer; Italian innovative design company
TEAM FOUNDED: 2009

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ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM [ KAZAKHSTAN ]

Stages and polka dots?

The absence of Astana’s most experienced GC riders Vincenzo Nibali and Miguel Ángel López leaves Astana Qazaqstan with no hopes for the podium and puts pressure on Alexey Lutsenko (a Tour stage winner two years ago) and Gianni Moscon (who has yet to fulfill his potential as the next great Italian) to create some surprises. López was starting to find good form in April when he won a stage at the Tour of the Alps, but a thigh injury forced him to withdraw on the fourth day of the Giro, while Nibali made the Giro his final grand tour. This very mountainous Tour might well suit American Joe Dombrowski, who is making his Tour debut after competing seven times at the Giro (with a stage win last year) and four times at the Vuelta a España. Stage wins and perhaps the polka-dot jersey will be as far as Astana will go this year.

ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM

TEAM LEADER:
Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz), 29

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Joe Dombrowski (USA), 31
Fabio Felline (I), 32
Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz), 36
Gianni Moscon (I), 28
Alexandr Riabushenko (Bls), 26
Simone Velasco (I), 26
Andrey Zeits (Kaz), 35

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Wilier
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Corima

GENERAL MANAGER
Alexandre Vinokourov
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Kazakhstan conglomerate
TEAM FOUNDED: 2007

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BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS [ BAHRAIN ]

Multiple goals

Winner of the team classification at the Tour and Vuelta a España last year, Bahrain Victorious will again be keen to showcase its collective strength. For the overall, Bahrain will get behind Italian veteran Damiano Caruso and the up-and-coming Aussie Jack Haig. In his mid-30s, Caruso is riding better than ever since placing second at last year’s Giro, while Haig was fifth overall at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné, his best performance since placing third at the 2021Vuelta, a race he will again be targeting later in the year. Bahrain will also be shooting for stage wins, notably with Dylan Teuns (who this year has won the Flèche Wallonne and a Tour de Romandie stage) and the solid Matej Mohorič (winner of Milan–San Remo).

BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS

TEAM LEADERS:
Damiano Caruso (I), 34
Jack Haig (Aus), 28

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Kamil Gradek (Pol), 31
Matej Mohoric (Slo), 27
Luis León Sánchez (Sp), 38
Dylan Teuns (B), 30
Jan Tratnik (Slo), 32
Fred Wright (GB), 23

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Merida
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Vision

GENERAL MANAGER
Milan Eržen
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Kingdom of Bahrain
TEAM FOUNDED: 2017

B&B HOTELS-KTM [ FRANCE ]

Confirmation for Bonnamour

This second-tier French team impressed everyone in the 2021 Tour when the talented Franck Bonnamour was selected as the most aggressive rider over the three weeks of racing. This year, there will be high expectations on the rider from Brittany, but his team has the resources to help him. By establishing a plan for long-distance attacks with old campaigners Pierre Rolland and Cyril Lemoine, as well as Alexis Gougeard, who relishes a breakaway, they can ensure that Bonnamour doesn’t spread himself too widely but focuses on the stages that suit him. A stage victory is the objective.

B&B HOTELS-KTM

TEAM LEADER:
Franck Bonnamour (F), 27

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Cyril Barthe (F), 26
Alexis Gougeard (F), 29
Jérémy Lecroq (F), 27
Cyril Lemoine (F), 29
Luca Mozzato (I), 24
Pierre Rolland (F), 35
Sebastian Schönberger (A), 28

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: KTM
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: DT Swiss

GENERAL MANAGER
Jérôme Pineau
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Brittany-based hotel chain;
Austrian bike company
TEAM FOUNDED: 2018

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BORA – HANSGROHE [ GERMANY ]

The podium for Vlasov?

Following the departure of Peter Sagan, this German team has changed its goals and there are plenty of good reasons to think it will have a great Tour. Aleksandr Vlasov has been outstanding in weeklong stage races this year; he won the Tour of Valencia and Tour de Romandie and was leading the Tour de Suisse before Covid stopped him starting stage 6. This is Vlasov’s first Tour but fourth overall at last year’s Giro shows his potential, and a podium spot in Paris is the target. Also, let’s not forget that Nils Politt, Patrick Konrad. Lennard Kämna and Max Schachmann are all capable of exploits. It would be surprising if this team were to come out of the Tour without a stage win—or perhaps a lot more.

BORA – HANSGROHE

TEAM LEADER:
Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus), 26

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Felix Grosschartner (A), 28
Marco Haller (A), 31
Lennard Kämna (G), 25
Patrick Konrad (A), 30
Nils Politt (G), 28
Max Schachmann (G), 28
Danny Van Poppel (Nl), 28

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Specialized
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Roval

GENERAL MANAGER
Ralph Denk
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Manufacturer of cooktop, extractor hoods; bathroom faucet producer
TEAM FOUNDED: 2010

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COFIDIS [ FRANCE ]

Targeting a stage win

For Cofidis general manager Cédric Vasseur, a former Tour yellow jersey, there are twin objectives: to win a stage at last (something the Cofidis team hasn’t done in 12 years) and to confirm the progress of team leader Guillaume Martin, who was eighth overall last year. At the same time, Martin’s prospects will have to be protected in the opening week, especially after he comes off a debilitating Giro where he repeatedly got into long-distance breakaways but picked up just four top 10s. Bearing in mind his steady progress at the Tour and by racing exactly as he knows how the French rider will likely shoot for a mountain stage win rather than focus on the GC.

COFIDIS

TEAM LEADER:
Guillaume Martin (F), 29

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Simon Geschke (G), 36
Ion Izagirre (Sp), 33
Victor Lafay (F), 26
Anthony Perez (F), 31
Pierre-Luc Périchon (F), 35
Benjamin Thomas (F), 26
Max Walscheid (G), 29

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: De Rosa
DRIVETRAIN: Campagnolo
WHEELS: Fulcrum

GENERAL MANAGER
Cédric Vasseur
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Online credit corporation
TEAM FOUNDED: 1996

EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST [ UNITED STATES ]

Full of possibilities

This U.S.-based team could make a mark on the Tour in all kinds of ways. It will once again rely on the consistent Colombian climber Rigoberto Urán for the overall—although American hope Neilson Powless’ recent fourth place overall at the Tour de Suisse confirms his growing reputation in mountainous terrain. The opening time trial is a goal for Swiss specialist Stefan Bissegger; Denmark’s Magnus Cort will aim for the road stages in his homeland; Portugal’s Ruben Guerreiro, after winning the recent Mont Ventoux Challenge, will be looking to repeat the breakaway stage win he scored at the Giro two years ago; and Italy’s Alberto Bettiol will be seeking success in the classics-style stages in northern France. In other words, EF Education-EasyPost is full of possibilities.

EF EDUCATION-EASYPOST

TEAM LEADER:
Rigoberto Urán (Col), 35

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Alberto Bettiol (I), 28
Stefan Bissegger (Swi), 23
Magnus Cort (Dk), 29
Owain Doull (GB), 29
Ruben Guerreiro (Por), 27
Neilson Powless (USA), 25
Jonas Rutsch (G), 24

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Cannondale
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Vision

GENERAL MANAGER
Jonathan Vaughters
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Provider of language training, cultural exchange & educational travel; multi-carrier shipping ap
TEAM FOUNDED: 2005

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GROUPAMA – FDJ [ FRANCE ]

Stage wins most likely

After the big disappointment of Thibaut Pinot’s tearful abandon at the 2019 Tour, and setbacks in 2020 and 2021, this French team has announced its objective to fight for the podium; but stage wins look more likely. To give itself an opportunity in the GC, sprinter Arnaud Démare has not been selected and the team will rely on Pinot, who is back to a very good level after the emotional stage wins at the Tour of the Alps and Tour de Suisse, and David Gaudu, who has scored hilltop stage wins this year at the Tour of the Algarve and Critérium du Dauphiné. They will have good support on the climbing stages from Aussie Michael Storer and Frenchman Valentin Madouas, while Swiss hero Stefan Küng should provide them with great protection through the difficult opening week—after he shoots for the time trial stage victory in Copenhagen. Then we’ll see what happens with Gaudu and Pinot at La Planche des Belles Filles on stage 7.

GROUPAMA – FDJ

TEAM LEADERS:
David Gaudu (F), 25
Thibaut Pinot (F), 32

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Antoine Duchesne (Can), 30
Kevin Geniets (Lux), 25
Stefan Küng (Swi), 28
Olivier Le Gac (F), 28
Valentin Madouas (F), 25
Michael Storer (Aus), 25

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Lapierre
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Shimano

GENERAL MANAGER
Marc Madiot
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
French insurance corporation;
Paris lottery
TEAM FOUNDED: 1997

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INEOS GRENADIERS [ GREAT BRITAIN ]

Highly ambitious

When a team is used to winning multiple Tours, it’s hard to scale back its ambitions. And with Welshman Geraint Thomas and Colombian Dani Martínez both on good form this season, INEOS Grenadiers will again strive to take a leading role. Thomas, the 2018 Tour winner, won the recent Tour de Suisse in convincing fashion, while Martínez, winner of the 2020 Dauphiné, rode support for Thomas in Switzerland after convincingly winning the difficult Tour of the Basque Country. The British team has so much talent available that Paris–Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle, climber Adam Yates and Tour debutant Tom Pidcock are all capable of winning stages. For his part, world time trial champion Filippo Ganna is dreaming of taking the yellow jersey on the opening stage in Copenhagen.

INEOS GRENADIERS

TEAM LEADERS:
Geraint Thomas (GB), 36
Dani Martínez (Col), 26

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Jonathan Castroviejo (Sp), 35
Filippo Ganna (I), 25
Tom Pidcock (GB), 22
Luke Rowe (GB), 32
Dylan van Baarle (Nl), 30
Adam Yates (GB), 29

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Pinarello
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Shimano

GENERAL MANAGER
Sir Dave Brailsford
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products
TEAM FOUNDED: 2009

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INTERMARCHÉ-WANTY-GOBERT [ BELGIUM ]

Looking for a stage win

After a promising start to his Tour career (eighth in 2016 and 2017), South African climber Louis Meintjes had a rough patch but is slowly getting back to the level of his best (14th in 2021). He has improved even more this year by winning his first race in seven years (Italy’s Tour of the Apennines), finishing third at the Tour of Sicily and placing sixth at the more competitive Dauphiné. So a top 10 at the Tour is possible. The Belgian team’s first goal though is to win a stage, which would be great. Intermarché can count on its veteran Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff, winner of the Nice stage in the 2020 Tour. On more rolling terrain, the solid Dutchman, Taco van der Hoorn, winner of a stage at the Giro in 2021, could spring a surprise.

INTERMARCHÉ-WANTY-GOBERT

TEAM LEADERS:
Alexander Kristoff (N), 34
Louis Meintjes (SA), 30

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Sven Erik Bystrøm (N), 30
Kobe Goossens (B), 26
Andrea Pasqualon (I), 34
Adrien Petit (F), 31
Taco van der Hoorn (Nl), 28
Georg Zimmermann (G), 24

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Cube
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Newmen

GENERAL MANAGER
Jean-François Bourlart
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
French supermarket chain; construction company; building materials supplier
TEAM FOUNDED: 2008

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ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH [ ISRAEL ]

Woods, Fuglsang can shine

Four-time Tour winner Chris Froome goes into this Tour with no real hope of matching the five wins of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin. The whole cycling world admires what the Briton is attempting in his slow return from debilitating injuries, but time is running out. In his place, Canadian climber Michael Woods and Danish allrounder Jakob Fuglsang—who have both had big wins this year—can aim for the top 10. Depending on how things pan out, the team’s ambition to win a stage could be achieved by Woods or Fuglsang. So, chasing stage wins seems like the best plan for Israel-Premier Tech.

ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH

TEAM LEADERS:
Jakob Fuglsang (Dk), 37
Michael Woods (Can), 35

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Guillaume Boivin (Can), 33
Simon Clarke (Aus), 35
Chris Froome (GB), 37
Hugo Houle (Can), 31
Krists Neilands (Lat), 27
Guy Niv (Isr), 28

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Factor
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Black Inc

GENERAL MANAGER
Kjell Carlström
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Israeli non-profit innovator; Canadian tech innovator
TEAM FOUNDED: 2014

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JUMBO – VISMA [ NETHERLANDS ]

Roglič seeking revenge

All eyes will be on Primož Roglič, who keeps missing out on victory at the Tour. Beaten on stage 20 in 2020 and forced to retire after a crash in 2021, the Slovenian will be out for revenge and knows that he can count on a strong team, notably on Denmark’s latest star Jonas Vingegaard (second overall in the 2021 Tour), who will keep his position as the team’s wild card. Wout Van Aert, who is capable of all kinds of exploits, will have his own role to play, but the Jumbo-Visma riders know how to work together, and they have an impressive armada for the whole race with such strongmen as Tiesj Benoot, Steven Kruijswijk and Sepp Kuss. The hope is that everything goes well for three-time Vuelta champion Roglič, who often crashes, but this year he has already won two French stage races (Paris–Nice and the Dauphiné) and prepared for the Tour’s cobbled stage by racing impressively at the Grand Prix de Denain in March.

JUMBO – VISMA

TEAM LEADERS:
Primož Roglič (Slo), 32
Jonas Vingegaard (Dk), 25

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Tiesj Benoot (B), 28
Steven Kruijswijk (Nl), 35
Sepp Kuss (USA), 27
Christophe Laporte (F), 29
Wout Van Aert (B), 27
Nathan Van Hooydonck (B), 26

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Cervélo
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Shimano

GENERAL MANAGER
Richard Plugge
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Dutch national lottery; Norwegian business software and services company
TEAM FOUNDED: 1994

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LOTTO SOUDAL [ BELGIUM ]

Ewan dreams of green

Belgian workhorse Thomas De Gendt is not starting because of Covid, but the oldest Belgian team still has the firepower to support its Aussie sprinter Caleb Ewan, who already has five Tour stage wins to his credit. He’ll be one of the favorites in the bunch sprints and he has also demonstrated his ability in hilltop finishes—like the one waiting at Longwy on stage 6 this year. So the green jersey can be an objective for Lotto-Soudal that hasn’t won the points title since Robbie McEwen claimed it in 2006. This Tour will be the last for superstar Philippe Gilbert, who has good form after winning the Four Days of Dunkirk in May; maybe he can score a final stage win to epilogue his long career.

LOTTO SOUDAL

TEAM LEADER:
Caleb Ewan (Aus), 27

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Frederik Frison (B), 29
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (SA), 33
Philippe Gilbert (B), 39
Andreas Kron (Dk), 24
Brent Van Moer (B), 24
Florian Vermeersch (B), 23
Tim Wellens (B), 31

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Ridley
DRIVETRAIN: Campagnolo
WHEELS: Campagnolo

GENERAL MANAGER
John Lelangue
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Belgian national lottery; manufacturer of sealants, adhesives and foams
TEAM FOUNDED: 2012

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MOVISTAR TEAM [ SPAIN ]

All for Mas

Alejandro Valverde is not starting the Tour in his final season, so his Movistar team will focus on a double objective: the team classification, as usual, and above all a high GC finish for Enric Mas, its sole leader, who has twice been runner-up at the Vuelta a España. At last year’s Tour, the rider from Majorca finished sixth overall. He’s not yet won a big race and he crashed out of the recent Dauphiné—but if he can regain his best form by the Alps a top five is still within his reach. Mas will be counting on the powerful Gorka Izagirre and Nelson Oliveira for support in the mountains, along with upstart American Matteo Jorgenson on his Tour debut.

MOVISTAR TEAM

TEAM LEADER:
Enric Mas (Sp), 27

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Imanol Erviti (Sp), 38
Gorka Izaguirre (Sp), 34
Matteo Jorgenson (USA), 23
Gregor Mühlberger (A), 28
Nelson Oliveira (Por), 33
Alberto Torres (Sp), 32
Carlos Verona (Sp), 29

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Canyon
DRIVETRAIN: SRAM
WHEELS: Zipp

GENERAL MANAGER
Eusebio Unzué
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Mobile phone operator
TEAM FOUNDED: 1980

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QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL [ BELGIUM ]

Jakobsen’s time has come

With Julian Alaphilippe, who crashed heavily at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April, not fully recovered and with defending green jersey Mark Cavendish not selected, Quick-Step will count on its rapid young sprinter Fabio Jakobsen for stage wins. The Dutchman has had a string of 10 victories since the start of the season, including one at Paris-Nice and two at the Tour of Hungary. Although he’ll be making his Tour debut, Jakobsen gained a lot of confidence in winning five stages over the last two editions of the Vuelta, where he also claimed the points title in 2021. He’ll be backed up by teammates who are well drilled when it comes to bunch sprints, particularly the team’s three Danes, Kasper Asgreen, Mikkel Honoré and Michael Mørkøv. Late replacement Florian Sénéchal, who won last week’s French road nationals, will target the cobbled stage 5 in his backyard.

QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL

TEAM LEADER:
Fabio Jakobsen (Nl), 25

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Kasper Asgreen (Dk), 27
Andrea Bagioli (I), 23
Mattia Cattaneo (I), 31
Mikkel Honoré (Dk), 25
Yves Lampaert (B), 31
Michael Mørkøv (Dk), 37
Florian Sénéchal (F), 28

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Specialized
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Roval

GENERAL MANAGER
Patrick Lefévère
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Belgian manufacturer of vinyl windows & doors; laminated flooring producer
TEAM FOUNDED: 2003

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TEAM ARKÉA – SAMSIC [ FRANCE ]

Quintana seeks redemption

This second-tier team from Brittany will start with the GC in mind for Nairo Quintana, who’s finding his best form since his last grand tour podium five years ago. The Colombian remains an excellent climber and he’s rarely caught out on the flat stages. He knows how to position himself and won’t be afraid of the traps during the first week. But a new podium remains a long shot so this team must focus above all on trying to win stages with Quintana and Warren Barguil.

TEAM ARKÉA – SAMSIC

TEAM LEADER:
Nairo Quintana (Col), 32

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Warren Barguil (F), 30
Maxime Bouet (F), 35
Amaury Capiot (B), 29
Hugo Hofstetter (F), 28
Matis Louvel (F), 22
Lukasz Owsian (Pol), 32
Connor Swift (GB), 26

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Canyon
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Shimano

GENERAL MANAGER
Emmanuel Hubert
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
Banking corporation;
business service provider
TEAM FOUNDED: 2013

 

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TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE-JAYCO [ AUSTRALIA ]

Sprint wins targeted

This Australian team will be focusing almost exclusively on the sprint stages. Dylan Groenewegen is dreaming of a win in the road stages in Denmark to go with those he took in the 2018 and 2019 Tours, while Michael Matthews is the equal of the best in the uphill finishes when he’s at 100 percent. With regular team leader Simon Yates not starting, the team’s GC hopes are non-existent, leaving the domestiques to ride hard on the sprint stages and try to instigate breakaways elsewhere.

TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE-JAYCO

TEAM LEADERS:
Dylan Groenewegen (Nl), 29
Michael Matthews (Aus), 31

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Jack Bauer (NZ), 37
Luke Durbridge (Aus), 31
Amund Jansen (N), 28
Chris Juul-Jensen (Dk), 32
Luka Mezgec (Slo), 34
Nick Schultz (Aus), 27

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Giant
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Cadex

GENERAL MANAGER
Brent Copeland
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Global cycling marketplace; manufacturer of RVs
TEAM FOUNDED: 2011

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TEAM DSM [ NETHERLANDS ]

A revived Bardet

Team DSM’s GC hopes rest firmly on the shoulders of Romain Bardet, a two-time Tour podium finisher, who has revived his ambitions this year by winning the Tour of the Alps and challenging for the win at a very demanding Giro d’Italia until sickness took him out of the race. This Dutch team is taking a chance by fielding four riders under 25, but Italy’s Alberto Dainese and Norway’s Andrea Leknessund, have won stages of the Giro and Tour de Suisse respectively, while American Kevin Vermaerke is starting his first grand tour at age 21. He will no doubt learn a lot from John Degenkolb—who’ll be aiming for a repeat win over the cobblestones on stage 5.

TEAM DSM

TEAM LEADER:
Romain Bardet (F), 31

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Alberto Dainese (I), 24
John Degenkolb (G), 33
Nils Eekhoff (Nl), 24
Chris Hamilton (Aus), 27
Andreas Leknessund (N), 23
Martijn Tusveld (Nl), 28
Kevin Vermaerke (USA), 21

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Scott
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Shimano

GENERAL MANAGER
Iwan Spekenbrink
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Multinational active in nutrition, materials and innovation
TEAM FOUNDED: 2005

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TOTAL ENERGIES [ FRANCE ]

New start for Sagan

The arrival of Peter Sagan in TotalEnergies general manager Jean-René Bernaudeau’s team has brought a new dynamic to this second-tier French squad. The first week, with the wind, cobblestones and uphill finishes, is perfectly suited to the Slovakia champion’s qualities. After health problems early in the year and coming off a long altitude training camp in Utah, Sagan rediscovered his top form by winning a rolling stage of the Tour de Suisse in June; so the seven-time Tour green jersey has the incentive for another Tour stage win with the help of, notably, Anthony Turgis and Edvald Boasson Hagen, along with his veteran henchmen Maciej Bodnar and Daniel Oss. Pierre Latour, at his best, can do well in the overall classification.

TOTAL ENERGIES

TEAM LEADER:
Peter Sagan (Svk), 32

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Maciej Bodnar (Pol), 37
Mathieu Burgaudeau (F), 23
Edvald Boasson Hagen (N), 35
Pierre Latour (F), 34
Daniel Oss (I), 35
Anthony Turgis (F), 28
Alexis Vuillermoz (F), 34

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Specialized
DRIVETRAIN: Shimano
WHEELS: Roval

GENERAL MANAGER
Jean-René Bernaudeau
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
Electric and gas utility
TEAM FOUNDED: 2000

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TREK – SEGAFREDO [ UNITED STATES ]

Shining everywhere?

The first week will be very important for Trek-Segafredo. It has the riders to try something every day, starting with 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen, who’s had a great start to the season and will be inspired to contend the opening stages on home soil, especially the one that starts in his hometown of Roskilde. Classics specialist Jasper Stuyven had a slow start to the year, but he should be strong on all the flatter stages. Then there’s hope for the team’s climbers: Giulio Ciccone, who wore the yellow jersey in 2019, and Bauke Mollema, the stage winner into Quillan last year. As for the others, French veteran Tony Gallopin always rides well at the Tour, while American newcomer Quinn Simmons, the youngest starter in this Tour at age 21, showed in June’s Tour de Suisse that he can perform strongly on any terrain.

TREK – SEGAFREDO

TEAM LEADERS:
Giulio Ciccone (I), 27
Bauke Mollema (Nl)), 35

SUPPORT RIDERS:
Tony Gallopin (F), 34
Alex Kirsch (Lux), 30
Mads Pedersen (Dk), 26
Quinn Simmons (USA), 21
Toms Skujins (Lat), 31
Jasper Stuyven (B), 30

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Trek
DRIVETRAIN: SRAM
WHEELS: Bontrager

GENERAL MANAGER
Luca Guercilena
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
U.S. bike manufacturer;
Italian espresso coffee brand
TEAM FOUNDED: 2011

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UAE TEAM EMIRATES [ UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ]

Pogačar is well supported

Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar will have a stronger group around him this year, all of them totally dedicated to his winning a third Tour and without any other distractions. He’ll have to come through the first week in good shape and avoid being isolated like he was sometimes last year. As well as climbers Rafal Majka and Brandon McNulty, who were already part of the setup, the Slovenian can count on newcomers Marc Soler and George Bennett in the mountain stages. For the opening week, the team will call on Copenhagen native Mikkel Bjerg for the stages in Denmark, while Marc Hirschi, a last-minute replacement for Matteo Trentin, is still seeking the top form that earned him a solo stage win two years ago.

UAE TEAM EMIRATES

TEAM LEADER:
Tadej Pogačar (Slo), 23

SUPPORT RIDERS:
George Bennett (NZ), 32
Mikkel Bjerg (Dk), 23
Marc Hirschi (Swi), 23
Vegard Stake Laengen (N), 33
Brandon McNulty (USA), 24
Rafal Majka (Pol), 32
Marc Soler (Sp), 28

EQUIPMENT

BIKE: Colnago
DRIVETRAIN: Campagnolo
WHEELS: Campagnolo

GENERAL MANAGER
Matxin Joxean Fernandez
PRINCIPAL SPONSOR
United Arab Emirates
TEAM FOUNDED: 2017