2 hours ago
Alpecin-Premier Tech
Two strings to nan Dutch team’s bow: Jasper Philipsen to adhd to his 10 shape wins and repeat his 2023 points jersey, Mathieu van der Poel to do VDP things: crazy breaks, forceful lead-outs, sniffing retired openings. Philipsen has conscionable won nan Tour of Belgium; his co-leader hasn’t won since March but was a unit successful nan outpouring Classics, past aft clip retired from racing, ran Pogacar adjacent successful nan Tour de Suisse clip trial. He besides copped a good for going topless successful nan leader’s basking seat; not galore make headlines simply for sitting down, but that’s charisma for you.
Team Ramses Debruyne, Silvan Dillier, Tim Marsman, Jasper Philipsen, Edward Planckaert, Mathieu van der Poel, Jonas Rickaert, Emiel Verstrynge.
Main man Mathieu van der Poel: nan man pinch nan aureate Lamborghini, nan champion motorcycle handler successful cycling, a threat anyplace extracurricular nan precocious mountains.
Bahrain Victorious
Only 8 victories this twelvemonth seems a meagre return, positive Bahrain person mislaid nan Tour mainstay, Pello Bilbao, to illness. However, they led nan Giro d’Italia for 9 days pinch Alfonso Eulalio, and chalked up a shape wins for Alec Segaert. Lenny Martinez besides won a shape astatine Paris-Nice. The pouch climber Martinez is maturing nicely, but they besides request Antonio Tiberi to rediscover his shape of 2024 erstwhile he was 5th successful nan Giro. The seasoned Damiano Caruso hasn’t ridden nan Tour since 2022, but astatine 38, has capable acquisition to transportation nan squad successful nan last Grand Tour of his 17-year career.
Team Phil Bauhaus, Damiano Caruso, Kamil Gradek, Lenny Martinez, Vlad van Mechelen, Matej Mohoric, Robert Stannard, Antonio Tiberi.
Main man Lenny Martinez. Diminutive French climber pinch a pedigree: grand-père Mario was King of nan Mountains successful 1978. Any upland shape will do.
Caja Rural
This year’s debutants. They person a agelong history, and precocious showed good successful nan Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps pinch José Félix Parra successful ninth, while Joel Nicolau won metallic successful nan Spanish nationalist title past weekend, aft nan squad sewage 5 riders successful nan winning move. They will purpose to get successful nan breakaways each day, and arsenic a Plan B, dream nan 31-year-old sprinter Fernando Gaviria produces a occurrence successful a wide finish.
Team Abel Balderstone, Sebastian Berwick, Fernando Gaviria, Alex Molenaar, Joel Nicolau, Stefano Oldani, Jakub Otruba, José Félix Parra.
Main man Fernando Gaviria: nan Colombian hasn’t won for much than 2 years, but landed seven Tour and Giro stages backmost successful nan day.
Cofidis
Almost 30 years sponsorship for nan telephone in installments company’s team, who dropped into section 2 aft a mediocre 2025, and is not mounting nan world alight this year. Most of nan squad travel pinch a proviso: Milan Frétin is rapid, but not arsenic accelerated arsenic nan best; Benjamin Thomas is determination personified but underpowered astatine this level; Ion Izagirre has won 2 Tour stages, but is agelong successful nan tooth. Just occasionally, personification bucks nan inclination and crosses nan statement first; nan sprinter, Alex Aranburu, aliases Izagirre – victor successful April of nan GP Miguel Induráin – are nan champion bets.
Team Piet Allegaert, Alex Aranburu, Jenthe Biermans, Milan Frétin, Ion Izagirre, Alex Kirsch, Hugo Page, Benjamin Thomas.
Main man Alex Aranburu: A accelerated man who tin climb, pinch shape wins successful Itzulia Basque Country and nan Tour of Belgium this year.
Decathlon-CMA CGM
Decathlon are forging up aft 2025’s restructuring and bet heavy by plunging prodigy Paul Seixas into nan “big bath” astatine 19 years old. His results and racing style warrant it, but he suffered a dense clang astatine nan Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 3 weeks ago; nan adage “if you’re bully capable you’re aged enough” will beryllium tested to nan limit. Wisely, sprinter Olav Kooij is fixed a tally out, guided by Mark Cavendish’s erstwhile aviator Cees Bol; he has regained shape aft a disc cognition and a shape triumph whitethorn fto nan Baby Badger relax a bit.
Team Tiesj Benoot, Cees Bol, Daan Hoole, Olav Kooij, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Nicolas Prodhomme, Matthew Riccitello, Paul Seixas.
Main man Paul Seixas: The precocious younker will carnivore 41 years of disappointment French hopes connected his 19-year-old shoulders. Quite nan test.
EF Education-EasyPost
Middle-ranked US squad who traditionally punch supra their weight, arsenic a shape triumph and spell successful nan leader’s jersey astatine nan Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps for Alex Baudin showed successful June. If Kingswinford’s finest Ben Healy and nan 2021 Olympic champion Richard Carapaz are connected song, shape wins, a podium spot and nan mountains jersey are morganatic targets; Healy has had wounded and unwellness issues this year, but Carapaz was precocious nan champion quality being successful nan Tour de Suisse down Tadej Pogacar. Trivia-lovers statement No 1: Georg Steinhauser is nan nephew of nan 1997 Tour victor Jan “der Kaiser” Ullrich.
Team Kasper Asgreen, Alex Baudin, Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy, Sean Quinn, Georg Steinhauser, Michael Valgren, Max Walker.
Main man Richard Carapaz: nan punchy Ecuadorian has a distinguished grounds – a Giro, an Olympic title – and could repetition his beardown 2024 Tour showing.
Groupama-FDJ United
A bladed twelvemonth pinch conscionable 1 World Tour triumph – a shape astatine Tour de Suisse for Romain Grégoire – thing from nan erstwhile leader David Gaudu who misses nan Tour again and very small from back-up GC leader Guillaume Martin. Grégoire’s triumph astatine nan French nationalist title was timely to opportunity nan slightest but FDJ person leaned heavy connected nan 23-year-old and nan arsenic youthful Ewen Costiou this season, and hoping they tin transportation them done nan Tour is perilously optimistic. If they stutter, FDJ will person to grit their teeth and watch Paul Seixas getting nan location crowd’s love.
Team Clément Berthet, Clément Braz Alfonso, Ewen Costiou, Lorenzo Germani, Romain Grégoire, Quentin Pacher, Clément Russo.
Main man Romain Grégoire: caller French champion tin target immoderate of nan Tour’s hilly stages, but will beryllium a marked man successful that tricolore jersey
Jayco-Alula
Stage wins are nan target for nan Australian squad but their caller shape suggests this whitethorn beryllium a large ask: nary of 7 victories this twelvemonth has been astatine WorldTour level. However, Ben O’Connor wins a upland shape triumph successful a Grand Tour astir years, while Matthews’ return aft a horrific training mishap adds a invited action connected nan hillier days, though astatine 35 he’s winning only sporadically and it’s a lengthy 9 years since he won greenish astatine nan Tour. Schmid could beryllium nan acheronian equine – he was flying successful nan outpouring pinch 4 wins and a drawstring of adjacent misses.
Team Pascal Ackermann, Luke Durbridge, Felix Engelhardt, Michael Matthews, Kelland O’Brien, Ben O’Connor, Luke Plapp, Mauro Schmid.
Main man Ben O’Connor: consistently inconsistent Australian climber who has won four Grand Tour stages but hasn’t challenged wide successful nan Tour since 2021.
Lidl-Trek
It’s been a thin twelvemonth for nan German squad compared to nan biggest squads though they did triumph 7 nationalist titles past weekend; they’ve ditched nan head Luca Guercilena, and will bring successful Grischa Niermann from Visma-Leaseabike aft nan Tour. That’s good and good, but their comparative deficiency of occurrence is partially owed to an appalling clang for their sprint champion Mads Pedersen successful February. They target each terrains pinch Pedersen, Juan Ayuso aliases Derek Gee-West for a apical 10 successful GC, Quinn Simmons and Mattias Skjelmose for nan hilly stages, but if they flop, fingers will constituent astatine nan mid-season guidance shake-up.
Team Juan Ayuso, Derek Gee-West, Mads Pedersen, Quinn Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose, Toms Skuijns, Mathias Vacek, Carlos Verona.
Main man Mads Pedersen, nan hulking Classics master from Denmark. With 11 Grand Tour shape wins to his name, positive 2 points jerseys astatine nan Vuelta a España, his goals are obvious.
Lotto-Intermarché
Much to for illustration successful nan lineup for nan Belgian team’s 40th Tour; Arnaud De Lie is an erratic people act, Baptiste Veistroffer is simply a reliable breakaway artist, and Liam Slock group nan net ablaze precocious erstwhile he tumbled while crossing nan statement successful winning nan GP Gippingen. They request De Lie to find form: he’s still only 24, a prolific winner, but inconsistent since a bout of Lyme illness successful 2024. If he’s firing nan remainder will autumn into spot but the unwellness that ruled him retired of nan Giro – perchance cattle manure related – exemplifies his caller misfortune.
Team Huub Artz, Jenno Berckmoes, Lars Craps, Lennert van Eetveldt, Arnaud de Lie, Liam Slock, Baptiste Veistroffer, Georg Zimmerman.
Main man Arnaud de Lie: “the Bull of Lescheret” is simply a deceptively vulnerable Walloon replica of nan archetypal burly Flandrian sprinter.
Movistar
With Telefonica looking to extremity their statement early aliases find a co-sponsor there’s a stressful subtext for nan sport’s oldest team, a Tour beingness since 1983; and their biggest victor this year, Ivan Romeo, missing nan Tour done unwellness is simply a blow. Cian Uitdebroeks was shaping up nicely astatine nan Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps but has yet to decorativeness a Grand Tour astatine 23, Pablo Castrillo has conscionable won nan Spanish clip proceedings championship, and Raúl García Pierna has a knack of getting into breaks. It each feels distant from nan days of nan “trident” led by Alejandro Valverde.
Team Pablo Castrillo, Jefferson Cepeda, Raúl García Pierna, Michael Hessman, Nelson Oliveira, Javier Romo, Einer Rubio, Cian Uitdebroeks.
Main man Cian Uitdebroeks: nan 23-year-old Belgian hired from Visma-Leaseabike complete nan wintertime is bursting pinch youthful promise: now it’s clip to deliver.
NSN
Eight men, 1 mission: a shape triumph for Eritrean leader Biniam Girmay, ideally more, positive a repetition of his greenish jersey from 2024; he whitethorn besides person his eyes connected nan somewhat rejigged last shape successful Paris. A disparate group successful their erstwhile incarnation arsenic Israel-PremierTech, NSN person rallied astir their caller signing, who is simply a existent all-rounder; nan full group will push to dislodge nan heavier sprinters connected nan hilly days that champion suit their leader. Lewis Askey conscionable won a good metallic astatine nan UK nationalist title and could radiance if he gets successful nan correct break.
Team Tom van Asbroeck, Lewis Askey, George Bennett, Marco Frigo, Biniam Girmay, Matis Louvel, Krists Neilands, Jake Stewart.
Main man Biniam Girmay: Africa’s biggest cycling prima is simply a featherweight sprinter who tin get complete nan climbs, giving him plentifulness to target astatine nan Tour.
Netcompany-Ineos
A caller sponsor for nan British team, positive caller vomity orangish and grey kit. Sir Dave Brailsford is backmost successful nan driving spot pinch Geraint Thomas astatine his side; nan upshot has been a move commencement to nan play pinch 27 wins including nan squad clip proceedings astatine Paris-Nice – pinch Filippo Ganna, Tobias Foss and Josh Tarling driving, they will beryllium favourites connected Saturday too. Kévin Vauquelin’s shape hasn’t been awesome and they won’t situation wide without leader Oscar Onley, but Godon and Ganna person been winning near correct and centre; support that momentum and they could beryllium successful for a bully Tour.
Team Thymen Arensman, Egan Bernal, Tobias Foss, Filippo Ganna, Dorion Godon, Michal Kwiatkowski, Josh Tarling, Kévin Vauquelin.
Main man Thymen Arensman: The Dutch climber who landed 2 Tour stages past twelvemonth and precocious vanished 4th successful nan Giro.
Picnic-Post NL
A horrible play for nan Dutch team, measurement down nan world rankings pinch conscionable 1 triumph among them. In astir Tours they nutrient a mini miracle: a shape triumph and nan yellowish jersey for Romain Bardet successful 2024, 4th wide for Oscar Onley past year. But they deficiency nan fund to clasp their champion riders – Onley being a lawsuit successful constituent – and that has travel backmost to wound them. Veterans Warren Barguil and John Degenkolb will transportation nan youngsters successful nan hills and nan sprints, but it’s difficult to spot this July being thing different than 1 to put down to experience.
Team Warren Barguil, Julius van den Berg, Frits Biesterbos, Pavel Bittner, Frank Van den Broek, John Degenkolb, Robbe Dhondt, Niklas Märkl.
Main man Pavel Bittner: nan lanky Czech sprinter who won a Vuelta shape successful 2024. He’s only 23, and he only has to get fortunate once.
Pinarello-Q36.5
Tom Pidcock is nan main man but it’s been a tricky run-in. He had a bad clang astatine nan Tour of Catalonia and unwellness put him retired of nan Tour de Suisse, but he’s still clocked up 4 wins this season, including a small gem astatine Milan-Turin. He astir apt doesn’t person nan extent to decorativeness precocious successful nan GC, but location will beryllium plentifulness of reliable days to target. The newly-crowned British champion, Fred Wright, is overdue a large triumph having travel adjacent doubly this season, and location will beryllium opportunities for nan full squad connected nan days Pidcock takes a backmost seat.
Team Xabier Azparren, Chris Harper, Quinten Hermans, Damien Howson, Xandro Meurisse, Brent van Moer, Tom Pidcock, Fred Wright.
Main man Tom Pidcock. Feisty Yorkshireman, nan champion descender successful nan peloton, pinch nan people and nous to prime up a shape triumph astatine least.
Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe
The caller superteam person snagged 28 wins this twelvemonth moreover pinch their marquee signing, Remco Evenepoel, opting to train alternatively than title for 2 months. The Belgian enjoyed a winning splurge to commencement nan play – 7 wins successful 19 days – past landed nan Amstel Gold Classic astatine nan extremity of April; his co-leader Florian Lipowitz has conscionable taken his first shape title arsenic a pro, nan the Tour of Slovenia, perchance a breakthrough. With Jai Hindley and Maxim van Gils to support successful nan mountains, if Evenepoel and Lipowitz tin stay connected much than speaking terms, they conscionable mightiness beryllium capable to rattle Pogacar and Vingegaard.
Team Matteo Cattaneo, Nico Denz, Mick van Dijke, Remco Evenepoel, Maxim van Gils, Jai Hindley, Florian Lipowitz, Jan Tratnik.
Main man Remco Evenepoel. Time proceedings world, Olympic and European champion who will target nan last week’s contre la montre to situation for nan podium.
Soudal Quick-Step
In myriad incarnations, nan Belgian squad person ever eked worth from their riders, peculiarly their sprinters, and they usually roster astatine slightest 2 accelerated men pinch varying degrees of tension. The 2024 European roadworthy title champion Tim Merlier is nan existent winning machine, but he’s looking complete his enarthrosis astatine youthful Frenchman Paul Magnier, who was unstoppable successful nan Giro and sits this 1 out. The enigmatic cult leader Mikel Landa is injured, truthful scheme B is simply a upland shape for Valentin Paret-Peintre aliases a hilly 1 for Dylan van Baarle. If they tin slope a shape triumph aliases 2 pinch Merlier successful nan opening 10 days, it’s downhill to Paris.
Team Dylan van Baarle, Pascal Eenkhorn, Bert van Lerberghe, Tim Merlier, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Jasper Stuyven, Ilan van Wilder, Louis Vervaeke.
Main man Tim Merlier. At 33 younker isn’t connected his side, but pinch six wins this season, you’d expect him to adhd astatine slightest 1 much Tour stage.
Tudor
Time to activity nan cliches astir Swiss watches: calibrated by nan statuesque Fabian Cancellara, this 2nd section squad ticked complete nicely connected their Tour debut past twelvemonth and this twelvemonth person won seldom but placed punctually. They will bubble nether pinch Julian Alaphilippe successful breaks, Arvid de Kleijn contesting sprints, Michael Storer pressing connected successful nan mountains and Matteo Trentin popping up everywhere. The enigma is 2020 Tour shape victor Marc Hirschi, who notched up 7 decent wins successful 2024 but was comparatively quiet past year. Look retired for him connected nan hilly days.
Team Julian Alaphilippe, Arvid de Kleijn, Marco Haller, Marc Hirschi, Rick Pluimers, Michael Storer, Matteo Trentin, Yannis Voisard
Main man Julian Alaphilippe: a double world champion, nan erstwhile chouchou of nan location crowds is past his champion but will thrust his bosom out.
TotalEnergies
Amid la canicule, nan power is connected nan celebrated and venerable underdogs. With TotalEnergies leaving astatine nan play end, guidance are urgently seeking sponsors; nan riders are understandably looking elsewhere, and location are rumours of a argumentation of leaving those moving to different teams retired of nan Tour. They will crave a repetition of Anthony Turgis’s 2024 shape win, aliases clip successful nan mountains jersey, aliases nan regular combativity prize. Any crumbs that whitethorn autumn from Pogacar’s sheet will suffice, but location is stiff title for nan Slovenian’s leftovers from astatine slightest 5 different teams astatine nan ft of nan pecking order.
Team Mathis le Berre, Nicolas Breuillard, Joris Delbove, Alexandre Delettre, Thibaut Guernalec, Jordan Jégat, Antony Turgis, Mattéo Vercher.
Main man Jordan Jégat: The climber who flew nether nan radar for 10th successful GC past year, but needs to really triumph thing this clip round.
Visma-Leaseabike
The Dutch squad isn’t astatine nan level of Pogacar’s armada without nan injured Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte, but are still formidable if nan leader Vingegaard tin clasp nan shape that won him nan Giro. There’s all-round acquisition pinch Victor Campenaerts and Bruno Armirail – bully wing-men for nan opening squad clip proceedings – but nan bet is asking Davide Piganzoli to double up Giro and Tour astatine conscionable 23; he vanished eighth successful nan Giro supporting Vingegaard, but could consciousness nan strain successful nan last week. You could telephone Matteo Jorgenson aliases nan 2023 Vuelta victor Sepp Kuss Plan B but successful reality, if Vingegaard falters, it’s each over.
Team Edoardo Affini, Bruno Armirail, Victor Campenaerts, Per Strand Hagenes, Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss, Davide Piganzoli, Jonas Vingegaard.
Main man Jonas Vingegaard: nan Dane took nan 2022 and 2023 Tours; having conscionable dominated nan Giro d’Italia, this is simply a valuable chance to conclusion Pogacar again.
UAE Team Emirates
The fistful who are realistically hoping to triumph nan Tour will beryllium looking astatine this lineup and scratching their heads. How to return connected nan strongest armada pinch nan biggest reserves successful cycling? Isaac del Toro swatted nan guidance speech astatine nan Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps, while McNulty and Yates could besides lead teams successful their ain right. As for their leader, Pogacar has raced 16 days this twelvemonth and won 13 times. That would make moreover Eddy Merckx envious, and erstwhile a leader has a deed complaint for illustration that, nan domestiques thin to travel by example. Be afraid, beryllium very afraid.
Team Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, Tadej Pogacar, Nils Politt, Isaac del Toro, Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens, Adam Yates.
Main man Tadej Pogacar: that mythical 5th Tour triumph is beckoning nan Slovenian; it’s difficult to spot anyone different than Vingegaard getting successful his way.
Uno X-Mobility
Scandiwegians pinch nan knack of winning large erstwhile it matters, who person go a existent beingness astatine nan Tour since their 2023 debut. 2025 shape victor Jonas Abrahamsen, a shape victor successful 2025, and nan Classics master Søren Waerenskjold tin do nan business connected nan flat, Magnus Cort has 9 Grand Tour shape wins successful his career, Tobias Halland Johannesen will target nan apical 10 wide – he vanished sixth past twelvemonth – and caller history suggests each nan remainder are tin of snaffling triumph successful a break. Who would person predicted shape wins astatine nan Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps for Anthon Charmig and nan Giro d’Italia for Frederik Dversnes?
Team Jonas Abrahamsen, Anthon Charmig, Magnus Cort, Anders Halland Johannesen, Tobias Halland Johannesen, Anders Skarseth, Torsten Traen, Søren Waerenskjold
Main man Magnus Cort. Not arsenic prolific arsenic he erstwhile was, and heading for retirement, but nan caller Danish nationalist champion will want 1 past shape win.
XDS Astana
Every fewer years, Kazakhstan’s finest rotation retired a squad rap which is truthful bad it’s borderline good. In a akin vein, nan squad looks random, but someway nan operation works. They are buzzing aft 2 shape wins successful a awesome Giro, but it looks arsenic if – for illustration past twelvemonth – they sent their champion riders to Italy; each rounder Sergio Higuita and Giro shape victor Davide Ballerini isolated nan Tour squad lacks pizzazz. Trivia statement No 2: Nicolas Vinokourov is nan boy of disgraced 2012 Olympic roadworthy champion Alexandr, who has taken nan motto “Vino for ever” virtually and founded his ain racing dynasty.
Team Davide Ballerini, Aaron Gate, Sergio Higuita, Max Kanter, Harold Tejada, Mike Teunissen, Simone Velasco, Nicolas Vinokourov.
Main man Davide Ballerini: accelerated finishing erstwhile European champion who won nan sprint for 2nd down Van Aert successful nan last Tour shape past year.
