tour de france fantasy reddit

How to Not Finish Last in Tour de France Fantasy

Rule your mini-league, or at least avoid ignominious defeat, with these strategies.

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

Don’t be Lee. Sure, he was able to carve nine hours off his sentence by scarfing a bunch of waffles, but it’s far better to just…not finish last.

There are several fantasy games around the Tour, all with different rules, and some of them get a little arcane. We’re focusing on two: the official fantasy Tour from the organizers , and VeloGames’s long-running fantasy competition, simply called VeloGames 2023 for trademark reasons.

How Tour de France Fantasy Works

Both leagues require you pick a certain mix of riders for a balanced team; you can’t go all sprinters, for example.

VeloGames is the simpler of the two: you have a 100-point budget to pick nine riders (which, after the UCI reduced official team sizes to eight, is one more than the teams in the actual race get). Each rider scores points based on his ride on each stage, including finish placing, time in the breakaway (if he joined one), any King of the Mountain (KOM) and intermediate sprint points scored, and overall standings in each of the various jersey competitions.

You also earn points when a teammate of your chosen rider does well. That all sounds complicated, but it’s pretty basic: You pick nine riders you think will find success individually or through their teams, and you’re set with them the whole Tour. There’s no substitutions, even if a rider drops out. If you want to set your team and not check standings daily, this is your league.

The official game from the Tour seems similar on its face: You have a budget (120 stars, which is the currency) to pick eight riders. There are similar points scales for stage finish, KOM, and sprint points, and position in various jersey competitions . You can score points in the combativity classification, but only for the rider awarded each day’s prize; there are no breakaway or teammate points.

The big differences from Velo to the official Tour de France fantasy game:

• You can swap riders midrace, for 50 credits.
• You can designate one rider each stage as your Stage Winner Bonus—all points that rider scores that day are doubled.

That requires you to change your designation each stage. If you want to tinker with your lineup like you do with weekly picks for fantasy football, the ASO game is your huckleberry.

(If you really want to nerd out, ProCyclingStats ’s game has more intricate rules and an arbitrage-like theme to it, where you buy and sell riders as they appreciate or depreciate in value. It’s cool, but complex.)

Broad Advice for Tour de France Fantasy Games

Don’t skimp on your gc guy.

The way both games are designed, the favorites for the overall will cost the most points. That’s because it’s difficult, albeit not impossible, to win your mini-league without picking the overall race winner .

We can’t tell you who that’s going to be, but what we can say is this is the one place where you should spend whatever points you think will get you the best possible choice, a.k.a. the rider you really think is going to win. Don’t try to get cute and budget points picking who you think will finish in second and third place. The math of the games is not kind.

Go reliable and versatile on sprinters

This is one place where consistent finishes can outpoint a winner over time. The cumulative point totals with a guy who’s regularly hitting top-five finishes is higher than someone who wins once or twice and is out of the top 10 on other stages.

Good picks here include Wout van Aert, Jasper Philipsen, Mads Pedersen, Biniam Girmay, and Fabio Jakobsen, Julian Alaphilippe, all of whom are contenders for the green jersey and are capable in both field sprints and trickier finishes with small hills.

Don’t get locked in on rider classifications

Because the games are predicated on balanced rosters, each assigns riders to distinct categories: all-arounder/ general classification , climber, sprinter, etc. But that may not match up with their own goals, or your view of how the race will unfold. Julian Alaphilippe may also listed as a contender (because he’s French), but his fifth-place overall at the 2019 Tour notwithstanding, he’s actually a stage hunter : a climber who can sprint.

As you pick, keep your goals and predictions in mind—if you think a climber’s going to win the overall and he’s not listed in the All Arounder group, pick him anyway, and use an All Arounder pick for different purposes.

Check your lineup against confirmed rosters the night before

With COVID still looming, it’s entirely possible someone will positive-test right out of a start spot. Make sure the guys you’re racing are actually in the race. It’s not official, but the most accurate roster list is on ProCyclingStats .

VeloGames Strategies

Use a “barbell” strategy to boost points around your gc contener.

This strategy leverages VeloGames’s teammate points awards. Option 1: pick a low-cost teammate who won’t score his own points, but could be a goldmine of points based on his team leaders. This is a good strategy to fill out a roster if you don’t have a lot of points left after picking GC riders and sprinters. A good option here would be someone like UAE-Emirates Vegard Staeke Langen, a guy doing the thankless grunt work for high-profile team leaders.

Option 2: Pick a versatile, higher-pointed teammate who can also get his own results. A good option here would be Jumbo’s van Aert, a threat in TTs and sprints. Your best bets are teams able to win multiple stages of different types, like Jumbo and UAE Team Emirates, but only if they fit your GC strategy.

Hedge your sprint pick

Fully a third of this year’s stages are, on paper, likely sprint finishes. And breakaway success on flatter stages of the Tour has been abysmal the past decade. The teams are simply too good at timing the catch. So sprinters are going to play a big role this year. Flat stages favor pure sprinters like Caleb Ewan and Mark Cavendish . But more versatile types, like van Aert, merit a look because they can score points in a variety of scenarios.

The best strategy may be to hedge: pick one higher-cost sprinter of one type, and a lower-point sprinter of another as your wild-card selection. Just remember riders who drop out will still keep all points scored to that stage, but are not eligible for teammate points after that.

Roll the dice on breakaways

Breaks are a fool’s game to try to predict, with few exceptions (hello wild card teams). Your best bet this Tour is to go one of two ways with affordable options: with time-trial style guys who will give it a go on transitional stages (neither flat nor mountainous) and also have a shot in the the TT itself, or climber types who will have their shot in the uphill finishes.

In either case, pick from teams that are at the race to focus on stage wins. TT-style riders who are promising selections are Kasper Asgreen and Victor Campenaerts. Climber-break specialists include Simon Yates and Alexey Lutsenko. Riders like Asgreen, Yates, or Lutsenko are also compelling because their teams have multiple stage-win options, meaning you’ll be better positioned for teammate points.

ASO Tour Fantasy Strategies

Maximize your stage winner bonus with the right roster.

The ASO bonus function is a significant potential point booster. So your team should be tilted toward likely stage winners for various situations. Once you’ve got your GC riders selected, go with versatile breakaway threats, like Alaphilippe. And don’t forget to change your designated rider for different types of stages!

Focus on KOMs

Through a quirk, you get awarded the same points total in fantasy for the two highest categories of climb (HC and Category 1) even though it doesn’t do this in the actual race. And there are 12 Category 1 climbs this year, more than any other category. Many of them will be crossed first by breakaways. So pick a climber you think might target both breaks/stage wins and the KOM competition. A few likely options are Giulio Ciccone, Romain Bardet, and Thibaut Pinot.

.css-1t6om3g:before{width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem;margin:0 0.625rem -0.125rem 0;content:'';display:inline-block;-webkit-background-size:1.25rem;background-size:1.25rem;background-color:#F8D811;color:#000;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-position:center;background-position:center;}.loaded .css-1t6om3g:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/bicycling/static/images/chevron-design-element.c42d609.svg);} How to Do It

How to Corner on the Bike, According to a Pro

Watch Our Guide to Setting Up Your Bike Cleats

How to Master Riding Clipless Without Falling Over

8 Road Bike Skills Every Rider Needs to Know

How to Add Sprints to Your Training

How to Ship Your Bike in 3 Easy Steps

Get Rid of Annoying Bike Noises For Good

How to Clean Your Bike Chain

How to Measure Bike Tire Size

Everything You Need to Get Started in Road Biking

Feet Get Numb When You Ride? Here’s What To Do

• Search forums
• Road & Track
• Thread starter johnny
• Start date Jun 27, 2021

I'll tells ya!

I'm watching it, are you?  

taking a shit with my boobs out

Tour de France Fantasy by Tissot

call me Mia

Hope there’s a sweet peloton road jump this year….and that Jack does it. I’ll watch that part.  

pesky scooter kids git off ma lawn

Yep, watched the replay of stage 1 yesterday and will be trying to watch as much as I can. That first major crash.. fuck some people are stupid. I bet that spectator felt pretty small in the aftermath.  

custom titis

Elbo said: Yep, watched the replay of stage 1 yesterday and will be trying to watch as much as I can. That first major crash.. fuck some people are stupid. I bet that spectator felt pretty small in the aftermath . Click to expand...

XMAS Plumper

Pretty cool that VdP won a stage, got the yellow jersey. Wild start to the tour.  

Cows go boing

It's a good screen saver. I regularly have the tour playing on tv, loosely paying attention to it. The commentary and banter is also a refreshing escape from the mindless trash that is usually on tv. Might even learn something along the way...  

Minlak said: The sign said Grandma and Grandad in German - Click to expand...

Mattyp said: It's a good screen saver. I regularly have the tour playing on tv, loosely paying attention to it. The commentary and banter is also a refreshing escape from the mindless trash that is usually on tv. Might even learn something along the way... Click to expand...

his flabber is totally gastered

The Pog/Rog battle is going to be epic. Sent from my SM-G780F using Tapatalk  

Feelin' a bit rrranty

rockmoose said: The Pog/Rog battle is going to be epic. Click to expand...

leitch said: Also, WTAF... 118bpm average. I can't make a fucking sandwich at 118bpm. View attachment 376933 Click to expand...

Minlak said: Bunch riding for you Click to expand...

in me vL comy

leitch said: Also, WTAF... 118bpm average. I can't make a fucking sandwich at 118bpm. Click to expand...

PJO said: Wasn't a total pancake but was pretty flat. How else are you going to get through 3 weeks if you don't have a few quiet days. Click to expand...

leitch said: Yeah my point was less about relativity to the rest of the peloton (there would have been other guys who had even "easier" days) but rather the illustration of how far beyond what any average person can relate to these guys are. But SURE GUYS JUST PLAY IT DOWN WHATEVER. Click to expand...

PJO said: Like, yeah, I could do that if I just sat in the peloton Click to expand...

• This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Accept Learn more…

Winter Cycling Blog

Cycling Enthusiast News

How to pick the best Tour de France fantasy team – CyclingTips

July is upon us, and that means the Tour de France is nearly here. It also means the Fantasy Tour de France game is here, and if there’s one thing that makes watching sports even more fun, it’s watching them while you root for guys who compete on a fake team you put together.

I’m here to help you put together the best fake team you can.

You’re probably wondering why you should listen to a real-life cycling journalist when it comes to matters of fantasy sports. You may be surprised to know that before I was covering bike races, I was watching them from afar as a connoisseur of fantasy cycling. On my palmares, you’ll find a global top 10 overall finish in the Velogames Tour de France (RIP), and a few victories in other fantasy cycling competitions.

I haven’t secured a real maillot jaune, but I did win a long-sleeve jersey once as a prize for fantasy cycling. I’m like a fantasy Bauke Mollema—no blasting off the front like Chris Froome, but I’m always there or thereabouts. Lately, I’m starting to focus more on helping others.

In this case, that’s you. Here’s your guide to rocking the 2019 Tour de France Fantasy game.

Bauke Mollema at the Giro d’Italia. Photo: ©kramon

The way the Fantasy Tour de France game works should be relatively familiar to anyone who has played Velogames. If you have, you can skip this section (and you can also shed a tear for the Velogames Tour de France, which was shut down by the ASO when it launched its own fantasy game) and just read the official rules for the full rundown of all the important scoring stuff and the transfer process .

For those who aren’t versed in Velogames, the idea is to select a roster of riders who score fantasy points for you over the course of the race by getting real-life results, like winning stages or wearing jerseys. You have a budget, and riders are assigned a cost, so you must be judicious in how to spend your assets.

Eight roster slots, 120 stars to spend.

In the Fantasy Tour de France game, you have eight roster slots, and your budget comes in the form of “stars.” You have 120 stars. Riders like Geraint Thomas and Peter Sagan cost more stars to put in your team than, say, domestiques on Pro Continental teams.

Crucially, you have the ability to transfer riders in and out during the race a limited number of times. Each transfer costs 50 “credits,” and you start with 400 credits. However, you are apparently able to rack up a few more credits by getting your friends to play — which is pretty lame if you ask me. The way I see it, you shouldn’t need real friends to succeed in this fantasy world.

Riders on your team score points over the ensuing stages based on a scoring rubric. For instance, a stage win is 200 points, a day in yellow is 50. Each day, you appoint a road captain, who scores double points for his stage results that day. On the final stage of the race, the classification-based points earned by any rider are multiplied by five to reward them for their final positions in those rankings.

That’s most of what you need to know, although I would highly recommend reading the rules for the full breakdown of scoring plus some nuances and fine print.

Core Strategy

This is probably what you’re really here for so let’s get to it.

Success in fantasy cycling is all about identifying value — spending less of your budget to earn more points. Familiarizing yourself with the scoring system is a critical starting point.

This particular game awards perhaps fewer points than you’d expect to yellow jersey contenders when it comes to the final standings. With that in mind, you may want to prioritize stage-hunters – sprinters and puncheurs alike – more than you otherwise might. The ability to select a road captain, doubling your stage points, boosts stage winners even more.

That said, you can expect certain familiar faces to do well in the various classifications, so relying on points from the consistent contenders for the various jerseys might be a bit more lower-risk than trying to pick individual stage winners.

My advice? Embrace the balance. The highest scorers will be riders who consistently finish highly on stages,  and also routinely get ahead in a jersey battle. That includes the green and mountains jerseys—they’re worth a fair few points, more than you might expect. If a rider seems like the kind of guy who could win the whacky combination classification at the Vuelta a España, he’s a good choice.

Alejandro Valverde has won the Vuelta combination jersey three times. Keep him in mind.

Once you have a grasp of the points structure, it’s all about picking the riders you think will give you the best return on investment. If you’re not great at predicting stage winners, check the bookmakers’ odds. The bookies’ favorite won’t always win, but looking at the top few names favored for a specific result is a darn good way to confirm you’re on the right track. Out-of-the-blue winners are very, very rare, except on breakaway days.

Using your transfers efficiently is the other key aspect of lineup management. Remember, you have the ability to shuffle your lineup a limited number of times.

Five Big Tips

1. Study the stages well in advance . It helps to know how many sprinters’ stages await before you decide on how many sprinters you want. Ditto for puncheurs, rouleurs, etc. This is a pretty climber-friendly Tour, so keep that in mind. TT-only guys won’t win you many points. As usual, however, the climbing stages mostly come later, so keep that in mind too.

2. Plan your transfers . This is a big one, particularly if you’re used to fantasy cycling games that don’t have transfers. Maybe save a few transfers to account for injuries, but plan to swap riders in ahead of extended stretches of stages with similar profiles. In other words, feel free to start with sprinters and puncheurs in your lineup for the first block of stages. If you followed that last tip, you’ll know that there are plenty of stagehunter-friendly days in the early goings. You can load up on climbers in the middle of the second week when the race hits the mountains.

3. Beware overpriced veterans . I’d love to end up eating my words here because he came so close to that 2016 Giro d’Italia win, but Steven Kruijswijk sure looks expensive considering he costs almost as much at 18 as Peter Sagan at 20. Kruijswijk is a consistent top 10 type but not much of a stage winner; Sagan, for two points more, is a fantasy cycling machine. Even if Kruijswijk wins the Tour, you will have picked him up by then.

Picking with your heart may be the easiest route, but it might not yield the best results. An all-Dutch team could be fun if you’re from the Netherlands, but it probably wouldn’t be the most successful.

4.  Acquaint yourself with the plans of riders’ real-life teams . Simon Yates is a proven Grand Tour rider, but he’s ostensibly a domestique at this race for his brother Adam Yates according to Mitchelton-Scott. Could those plans change? Sure. Will I gamble 19 stars on him when I could spend them elsewhere? No way. Plus, you can always transfer him in later.

5. Find the hidden gems . Low-cost, high-return athletes are the bedrock of a fantasy sports team. Up-and-comers often fit the bill. Kasper Asgreen, making his Tour debut, comes to mind. You’ll need a few, because you won’t have the budget for a team full of  yellow jersey contenders—which is the way it works in real life too. Unless you’re Ineos.

Naming Names

I won’t weigh on all 170-something Tour starters, but I’ll give you at least a handful of other names that stand out to me as good values like Asgreen , or less attractive options like Kruijswijk .

I’ve mentioned Sagan and Valverde , but it’s worth reiterating how valuable I think they’ll be despite their relatively high costs. A typical Sagan performance should put him on par with the winner of the Tour de France in the points department, and the guy is pretty darn consistent, so 20 stars seems like a decent price to pay. Valverde is a bigger risk because of Movistar’s whacky leadership situation, but the potential reward is great—he could very well end up in the GC battle, as well as constantly finishing highly on stages.

Michael Matthews (18 stars) is cheaper than plenty of other big names, and his versatility should translate to plenty of points. Plus, he should be riding with a smile on his face, having secured a two-year extension with Sunweb this week.

Michael Matthews wins stage 2 of the Volta a Catalunya. Photo: Luis Gomez/Cor Vos © 2019

Fabio Aru  is a special case. He only costs 10 stars. As he works his way back to form following surgery, he’s a great candidate for a mid-race transfer. If he looks healthy and fit, bring him aboard for the mountains.

As for riders I’m avoiding,  Mikel Landa  comes to mind. Coming off the Giro, I don’t expect Landa to be terribly fresh, so I’d rather spend those 19 stars on, say, Elia Viviani , who seems very likely to shine in the first few stages. I can always bring in Landa later if he proves me wrong.

Thibaut Pinot  looks very expensive at 20 stars. For the same amount, you can get the guy hunting a record green jersey. Pinot’s inconsistency is not what I want for that cost

Michal Kwiatkowski is another rider I’m not in love with for this specific game. He’s one of cycling’s most versatile riders and can therefore be a fantasy monster under the right circumstances, but for the Tour, he’s a super-domestique that costs a whopping 16 stars. If Bernal, Thomas, and Wout Poels crash out, pick him up. Otherwise, pass.

Hopefully that’s enough to get you started on the road to strong Tour de France Fantasy lineup. I could maybe spend more time telling you which riders I like and which I don’t but I would rather put together my own team.

Fantasy cycling is a great way to keep yourself invested in every single stage of the race. Even if none of your favorite guys are going to do anything on a given day, someone of your fantasy roster might, and that makes it more compelling to watch whether they score points for you or not. The real goal here is to have some fun, so hopefully you’re able to do that even if your picks don’t all turn out.

Of course, it’s even more fun to win, so be sure to get your friends to join you in your league, and then crush them with your fake team.

Who are you picking, and why?

Related Articles

Greenville Ride of Silence honors cyclists hurt or killed on the road – WITN

• Greenville Ride of Silence honors cyclists hurt or killed on the road    WITN
• ‘Ride of Silence’ brings awareness to cyclists, road safety    Sherman Denison Herald Democrat
• Ride of Silence to honor cyclists killed on the road    KVOA Tucson News
• ‘Ride of Silence’ to honor bicyclists killed while riding on Tri-State roads    WCPO
• Grand Rapids ‘Ride of Silence’ will honor cyclists killed on the road    MLive.com
• View full coverage on Google News

E-bike brands look to powersport dealers to reach dirt bike enthusiasts — and more – Bicycle Retailer

E-bike brands look to powersport dealers to reach dirt bike enthusiasts — and more    Bicycle Retailer

2020 Mark Gunter Photographer of the Year Awards: Showcase 2 – CyclingTips

2020 Mark Gunter Photographer of the Year Awards: Showcase 2    CyclingTips

Official games

2023 Edition

• Stage winners
• All the videos

Tour Culture

• Commitments
• key figures
• Sporting Stakes

"Maillot Jaune" Collection

• The jerseys

"Tour de France Cycle City" label: soon 150 towns and 10 countries in the loop?

Tourtel twist to continue to add zest to the tour....

D-100: ITALY TURNS YELLOW

Discover the official Tour de France 2024 mobile...

2023 rankings

Stage 1 | 06/29 Florence > Rimini

Stage 2 | 06/30 cesenatico > bologne, stage 3 | 07/01 plaisance > turin, stage 4 | 07/02 pinerolo > valloire, stage 5 | 07/03 saint-jean-de-maurienne > saint-vulbas, stage 6 | 07/04 mâcon > dijon, stage 7 | 07/05 nuits-saint-georges > gevrey-chambertin, stage 8 | 07/06 semur-en-auxois > colombey-les-deux-églises, stage 9 | 07/07 troyes > troyes, rest | 07/08 orléans, stage 10 | 07/09 orléans > saint-amand-montrond, stage 11 | 07/10 évaux-les-bains > le lioran, stage 12 | 07/11 aurillac > villeneuve-sur-lot, stage 13 | 07/12 agen > pau, stage 14 | 07/13 pau > saint-lary-soulan pla d'adet, stage 15 | 07/14 loudenvielle > plateau de beille, rest | 07/15 gruissan, stage 16 | 07/16 gruissan > nimes, stage 17 | 07/17 saint-paul-trois-châteaux > superdévoluy, stage 18 | 07/18 gap > barcelonnette, stage 19 | 07/19 embrun > isola 2000, stage 20 | 07/20 nice > col de la couillole, stage 21 | 07/21 monaco > nice, tour culture, grand départ florence émilie-romagne 2024, grand départ lille-nord de france 2025, 2024 tour de france finale in nice, riding into the future, all the news, official tour operators, history of tour de france, accessories.

Receive exclusive news about the Tour

General Ranking

> Withdrawals

Accreditations

Privacy policy, your gdpr rights.

2-FOR-1 GA TICKETS WITH OUTSIDE+

Don’t miss Thundercat, Fleet Foxes, and more at the Outside Festival.

GET TICKETS

BEST WEEK EVER

Try out unlimited access with 7 days of Outside+ for free.

Start Your Free Trial

Powered by Outside

How to pick the best Tour de France fantasy team

Tips and tricks for picking a fantasy tour team that will leave your friends in the dust.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

July is upon us, and that means the Tour de France is nearly here. It also means Fantasy Tour de France games are here, and if there’s one thing that makes watching sports even more fun, it’s watching them while you root for guys who compete on a fake team you put together.

I’m here to help you put together the best fake team you can.

You’re probably wondering why you should listen to a real-life cycling journalist when it comes to matters of fantasy sports. You may be surprised to know that before I was covering bike races, I was watching them from afar as a connoisseur of fantasy cycling. On my palmares, you’ll find a global top 10 overall finish in the Velogames Tour de France (RIP), and a few victories in other fantasy cycling competitions.

I haven’t secured a real maillot jaune, but I did win a long-sleeve jersey once as a prize for fantasy cycling. I’m like a fantasy Bauke Mollema—no blasting off the front like Chris Froome, but I’m always there or thereabouts. Lately, I’m starting to focus more on helping others.

In this case, that’s you. Here’s your guide to rocking the 2019 Tour de France Fantasy game.

The way the Fantasy Tour de France game works should be relatively familiar to anyone who has played Velogames. If you have, you can skip this section (and you can also shed a tear for the Velogames Tour de France, which was shut down by the ASO when it launched its own fantasy game) and just read the official rules for the full rundown of all the important scoring stuff and the transfer process .

For those who aren’t versed in Velogames, the idea is to select a roster of riders who score fantasy points for you over the course of the race by getting real-life results, like winning stages or wearing jerseys. You have a budget, and riders are assigned a cost, so you must be judicious in how to spend your assets.

In the Fantasy Tour de France game, you have eight roster slots, and your budget comes in the form of “stars.” You have 120 stars. Riders like Geraint Thomas and Peter Sagan cost more stars to put in your team than, say, domestiques on Pro Continental teams.

Crucially, you have the ability to transfer riders in and out during the race a limited number of times. Each transfer costs 50 “credits,” and you start with 400 credits. However, you are apparently able to rack up a few more credits by getting your friends to play — which is pretty lame if you ask me. The way I see it, you shouldn’t need real friends to succeed in this fantasy world.

Riders on your team score points over the ensuing stages based on a scoring rubric. For instance, a stage win is 200 points, a day in yellow is 50. Each day, you appoint a road captain, who scores double points for his stage results that day. On the final stage of the race, the classification-based points earned by any rider are multiplied by five to reward them for their final positions in those rankings.

That’s most of what you need to know, although I would highly recommend reading the rules for the full breakdown of scoring plus some nuances and fine print.

Core Strategy

This is probably what you’re really here for so let’s get to it.

Success in fantasy cycling is all about identifying value — spending less of your budget to earn more points. Familiarizing yourself with the scoring system is a critical starting point.

This particular game awards perhaps fewer points than you’d expect to yellow jersey contenders when it comes to the final standings. With that in mind, you may want to prioritize stage-hunters – sprinters and puncheurs alike – more than you otherwise might. The ability to select a road captain, doubling your stage points, boosts stage winners even more.

That said, you can expect certain familiar faces to do well in the various classifications, so relying on points from the consistent contenders for the various jerseys might be a bit more lower-risk than trying to pick individual stage winners.

My advice? Embrace the balance. The highest scorers will be riders who consistently finish highly on stages,  and also routinely get ahead in a jersey battle. That includes the green and mountains jerseys—they’re worth a fair few points, more than you might expect. If a rider seems like the kind of guy who could win the whacky combination classification at the Vuelta a España, he’s a good choice.

Alejandro Valverde has won the Vuelta combination jersey three times. Keep him in mind.

Once you have a grasp of the points structure, it’s all about picking the riders you think will give you the best return on investment. If you’re not great at predicting stage winners, check the bookmakers’ odds. The bookies’ favorite won’t always win, but looking at the top few names favored for a specific result is a darn good way to confirm you’re on the right track. Out-of-the-blue winners are very, very rare, except on breakaway days.

Using your transfers efficiently is the other key aspect of lineup management. Remember, you have the ability to shuffle your lineup a limited number of times.

Five Big Tips

1. Study the stages well in advance . It helps to know how many sprinters’ stages await before you decide on how many sprinters you want. Ditto for puncheurs, rouleurs, etc. This is a pretty climber-friendly Tour, so keep that in mind. TT-only guys won’t win you many points. As usual, however, the climbing stages mostly come later, so keep that in mind too.

2. Plan your transfers . This is a big one, particularly if you’re used to fantasy cycling games that don’t have transfers. Maybe save a few transfers to account for injuries, but plan to swap riders in ahead of extended stretches of stages with similar profiles. In other words, feel free to start with sprinters and puncheurs in your lineup for the first block of stages. If you followed that last tip, you’ll know that there are plenty of stagehunter-friendly days in the early goings. You can load up on climbers in the middle of the second week when the race hits the mountains.

3. Beware overpriced veterans . I’d love to end up eating my words here because he came so close to that 2016 Giro d’Italia win, but Steven Kruijswijk sure looks expensive considering he costs almost as much at 18 as Peter Sagan at 20. Kruijswijk is a consistent top 10 type but not much of a stage winner; Sagan, for two points more, is a fantasy cycling machine. Even if Kruijswijk wins the Tour, you will have picked him up by then.

4.  Acquaint yourself with the plans of riders’ real-life teams . Simon Yates is a proven Grand Tour rider, but he’s ostensibly a domestique at this race for his brother Adam Yates according to Mitchelton-Scott. Could those plans change? Sure. Will I gamble 19 stars on him when I could spend them elsewhere? No way. Plus, you can always transfer him in later.

5. Find the hidden gems . Low-cost, high-return athletes are the bedrock of a fantasy sports team. Up-and-comers often fit the bill. Kasper Asgreen, making his Tour debut, comes to mind. You’ll need a few, because you won’t have the budget for a team full of  yellow jersey contenders—which is the way it works in real life too. Unless you’re Ineos.

Naming Names

I won’t weigh on all 170-something Tour starters, but I’ll give you at least a handful of other names that stand out to me as good values like Asgreen , or less attractive options like Kruijswijk .

I’ve mentioned Sagan and Valverde , but it’s worth reiterating how valuable I think they’ll be despite their relatively high costs. A typical Sagan performance should put him on par with the winner of the Tour de France in the points department, and the guy is pretty darn consistent, so 20 stars seems like a decent price to pay. Valverde is a bigger risk because of Movistar’s whacky leadership situation, but the potential reward is great—he could very well end up in the GC battle, as well as constantly finishing highly on stages.

Michael Matthews (18 stars) is cheaper than plenty of other big names, and his versatility should translate to plenty of points. Plus, he should be riding with a smile on his face, having secured a two-year extension with Sunweb this week.

Fabio Aru  is a special case. He only costs 10 stars. As he works his way back to form following surgery, he’s a great candidate for a mid-race transfer. If he looks healthy and fit, bring him aboard for the mountains.

As for riders I’m avoiding,  Mikel Landa  comes to mind. Coming off the Giro, I don’t expect Landa to be terribly fresh, so I’d rather spend those 19 stars on, say, Elia Viviani , who seems very likely to shine in the first few stages. I can always bring in Landa later if he proves me wrong.

Thibaut Pinot  looks very expensive at 20 stars. For the same amount, you can get the guy hunting a record green jersey. Pinot’s inconsistency is not what I want for that cost

Michal Kwiatkowski is another rider I’m not in love with for this specific game. He’s one of cycling’s most versatile riders and can therefore be a fantasy monster under the right circumstances, but for the Tour, he’s a super-domestique that costs a whopping 16 stars. If Bernal, Thomas, and Wout Poels crash out, pick him up. Otherwise, pass.

Hopefully that’s enough to get you started on the road to strong Tour de France Fantasy lineup. I could maybe spend more time telling you which riders I like and which I don’t but I would rather put together my own team.

Fantasy cycling is a great way to keep yourself invested in every single stage of the race. Even if none of your favorite guys are going to do anything on a given day, someone of your fantasy roster might, and that makes it more compelling to watch whether they score points for you or not. The real goal here is to have some fun, so hopefully you’re able to do that even if your picks don’t all turn out.

Of course, it’s even more fun to win, so be sure to get your friends to join you in your league, and then crush them with your fake team.

Who are you picking, and why?

Popular on Velo

What’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France? Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view.

Related content from the Outside Network

One way south, mountain bikers react to their first taste of non-alcoholic craft beer, video review: bmc urs 01 two gravel bike, kiel reijnen vuelta video diary: the painful decision to abandon.

La Vuelta España Femenina

Spin the district: union city, eschborn-frankfurt, spin the district: hapeville, giro d'italia, gp morbihan (coupe de france), lagrange cycling classic, tro bro leon (coupe de france), uci mtb fort william, spin the district: college park, tour de hongrie, circuit de wallonie (exterioo cycling c, uci bmx freestyle wcup - fise, 4 jours de dunkerque, vuelta a burgos féminas, the 2021 tour de france fantasy league has arrived, the 2021 tour de france fantasy cycling game has arrived cycling fans in the united states and canada will be able to participate exclusively on flobikes..

The 2021 Tour de France fantasy cycling game has arrived! Cycling fans in the United States and Canada will be able to participate only on FloBikes. Put your knowledge to the test and become the manager of your own team for the Tour de France. Create your own private league and invite your friends to earn the ultimate bragging rights.

Join Pro to watch the 2021 Tour de France live and on-demand in Canada. In addition to the live broadcast, exclusive highlights and content will be available to our worldwide audience!

Available Live Broadcast & Replay Territories

Available Highlights & Additional Video Coverage Territories

How To Join

Go to flobikes.fantasybytissot.com and select the English or French language option.

The login credentials are not the same as your FloSports account. You will need to create a separate account to participate in the fantasy league.

The full list of prizes can be found on the fantasy page.

How The Game Works

When a player starts the game, he needs to use his virtual budget of 120 stars to choose a team of riders who are still qualified for the 2021 Tour de France. The player’s team is to be made up of a maximum of eight (8) riders.

In the « classic » mode, the participant won’t be winning any point if he/she selects seven (7) riders or less in his/her team for the stage.

In order to determine the virtual value of the riders - measured in stars - the following criteria are used:

• 2020 UCI ranking         
• 2019 UCI ranking         
• Stages won during the 2020 Tour de France     
• Stages won during the 2019 Tour de France     
• General ranking during the 2020 Tour de France
• General ranking during the 2019 Tour de France          
• Point ranking during the 2020 Tour de France
• Point ranking during the 2019 Tour de France
• Mountain ranking during the 2020 Tour de France
• Mountain ranking during the 2019 Tour de France

Rider Selection

The player should assign a status level to each rider within his team, before beginning the next stage:

• One Road Captain
• Seven Team-riders 

The status chosen will have an influence on the number of points the player is able to get in the game, and that will be based on the conditions explained below.

• The default is that the status levels a player gives to the riders in his team in the previous stage and qualifying for the next stage will automatically be transferred to the next stage. 
• The player can change the status of a rider within his team, as long as the next stage hasn’t yet started. 

For each stage, the Participant won’t be able to select in his/her team more than:

• 3 riders from the « Leaders » category
• 5 riders from the « All-Rounders » category
• 3 riders from the « Sprinters » category
• 3 riders from the « Climbers » category

All of the players registered will have the possibility to make 8 (eight) changes (in classic mode) by replacing 1 (one) of the riders within their own team by 1 (one) additional rider who is not yet a member of their team.

If A Rider Abandons

If a cyclist who belongs to the player’s team quits during a particular stage of the 2021 Tour de France, the points that he would have won before the point in time during the stage at which he quit will be assigned to the player 

If a rider who belongs to the player’s team quits during a particular stage of the 2021 Tour de France, the Participant will have to use credits in order to replace him with another rider.

The Points System

Prior to each stage, players will be able to choose one Road Captain for whom the points won during this stage will be doubled. The points won by the other riders within the player’s team (the “Team-riders”) will not be increased.

On the occasion of the team time trial, each rider (still qualified) will earn 1/8th of the number of points awarded to his team for its final ranking on the stage.

• Stage – Final ranking (Top 100)
• Intermediate Sprint - Ranking (Top 10)
• Mountain Climbs
• Mountain Climb – Categories H & 1 (Top 5)
• Mountain Climb – Category 2 (Top 4)
• Mountain Climb – Category 3 (Top 2)
• Mountain Climb – Category 4
• « Prix de la combativité » at the end of each stage
• General Ranking Position at the end of each stage (Top 100)

Points will be multiplied by 5 for the 21st stage.

• Green jersey ranking - at the end of the Tour de France 2021 (Top 15)
• Polka-Dot jersey ranking - at the end of the Tour de France 2021 (Top 15)
• White jersey ranking - at the end of the Tour de France 2021 (Top 15)

Points will be multiplied by 5 for the 21th stage.

• « Prix du Super-Combatif » at the end of the Tour de France 2021

4.3. Values for the riders

• 2020 UCI ranking          
• 2019 UCI ranking          
• Stages won during the 2020 Tour de France      
• Stages won during the 2019 Tour de France      
• General ranking during the 2019 Tour de France           

Related Content

Apr 29, 2024

Apr 28, 2024

Apr 27, 2024

Is this the ultimate Tour de France fantasy team from the last decade?

As 2019 comes to an end, we build a squad of heroes from the last 10 years

• Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Probably the toughest job for any pro cycling team boss is putting together the perfect selection of talent for the biggest race of the year, the Tour de France.

Squad selection for the Tour is a tightrope walk, as management balance the demands of the sponsors, the compulsion to win, rider injuries, form and personalities, as well as the budget limitations of signing riders you might want to carry you to the top step.

While some team managers hedge their bets, choosing to back a sprinter and a GC hopeful (looking at you Jumbo-Visma), others go all-in for the yellow jersey with either one, two, or even three leaders.

But if we were to throw out all the rules and restrictions, ignore the budget and the personalities, and choose purely on Tour de France talent from the last decade, who would make the list?

Well if we were given free reign, here is what our fantasy eight-rider Tour de France squad would look like.

Thank god we don’t have to manage this lot.

The GC leader – Chris Froome

Get The Leadout Newsletter

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

While there are a handful of riders you would love to have as general classification leader on your team, there is an obvious choice that stands out above the rest.

Chris Froome is the most successful Tour de France rider of the last decade and arguably among the greatest in cycling history.

With seven three-week titles to his name, including four Tours de France, there is no one from the last 10 years more consistent on the biggest stage, making him the clear choice for leader of the fantasy eight.

Mountain domestique/back up leader – Vincenzo Nibali

The choice for an ultra-domestique and back up general classification leader is between two riders in my view – Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali.

Contador sits level with Froome on seven Grand Tour wins, with two Tours de France, two editions of the Giro d’Italia and three red jerseys from the Vuelta a España.

But Contador’s golden years were before the last decade, when he won both his Tours and one each of the Vuelta and Giro between 2007 and 2009.

His last Grand Tour podium was his victory in the 2015 Giro and he retired before the end of the decade.

Vincenzo Nibali continues to build his already remarkable legacy at 35 years old.

The Italian has may have fewer Grand Tour victories than Froome or Contador, but his ongoing success make him the top pick for my fantasy squad.

All of Nibali’s three-week victories come from the last 10 years – two editions of the Giro, two Vuelta and one Tour.

He is a regular Grand Tour podium finisher, most recently finishing 2 nd in the 2019 Giro, and has added Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia to his palmarès in recent seasons, which is an added bonus.

Although good luck asking a champion like Nibali to support another rider in a Grand Tour.

Sprinter – Mark Cavendish

Now for choice of sprinter in the fantasy team, again there is a clear favourite.

While arguments could easily be made for the German powerhouses André Greipel or Marcel Kittel, there is one rider who has to be included based on the sheer number of Tour de France stage victories in the last 10 years.

Mark Cavendish may have started his almost-unparrallelled winning streak back in 2008, but more than half of his 30 Tour de France stages have come since the turn of the last decade.

Since 2010, the ‘Manx Missile’ has won 20 Tour stages, while Greipel has won 11 in his career, Kittel 14.

Of course Cavendish hasn’t reached his former heights in recent seasons, but as the second most successful Tour de France stage winner in history, only four behind the legendary Eddy Merckx, not including him would be a crime.

Lead-out rider – Mark Renshaw

Every great sprinter needs a rider and friend they can trust to deliver them at the perfect moment to fight for victory, and there is none better than the legendary Mark Renshaw.

The Australian played a huge role in the success of his long-time friend Cavendish before his retirement this year.

Cavendish  and Renshaw first teamed up in 2009 at Columbia-HTC and have had phenomenal success together, with Renshaw contributing to 19 of the Brit’s 30  Tour de France  stage wins.

Renshaw said one of his fondest memories was finishing second to team-mate Cavendish on the Champs-Élysées on the final day of the 2009 Tour de France.

Time trial specialist – Tony Martin

This was a tough selection between two era-defining TT specialists, but I’ve opted for Tony Martin.

The other choice was the also outstanding Fabian Cancellara.

On paper, Swiss rider Cancellara has more career wins – 86 to Martin’s 66 – and of course has a slew of glorious victories in the Classics, most notably three Tours of Flanders and three Paris-Roubaix.

However, when narrowing down results purely to the last 10 years, for me, Martin has to be the choice for the squad.

All of the German’s four World Championship time trial victories happened after 2010, while Cancellara’s last of four Worlds wins was in 2010.

Martin also has more Tour de France victories from the last decade – five to Cancellara’s three.

However, Cancellara did close out his career with his second career gold medal at the Olympics in 2016, which is a huge result to have as your last ever competitive race.

The clinching factor however is longevity, as Cancellera retired part way through 2016 while Martin will close out the decade still racing at 34, as a faithful road captain and workhorse for Jumbo-Visma.

But I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who swapped Martin for Cancellara.

The breakaway specialist – Tommy Voeckler

Another tough choice here between to stars of the stage escape, but I’ve gone for the legendary Tommy Voeckler.

With 43 career wins to his name, Voeckler was one of the unsung heroes of the cycling world before his retirement in 2017 – the kind of rider who slowly cultivated his palmarès with prestigious wins through experience and opportunism.

With three Tour de France stage victories from the last decade, he is slightly ahead of the other heroic breakaway rider, Thomas De Gendt, who has also built up some phenomenal victories sporadically.

But the clincher for Voeckler is his performance in the 2011 Tour de France, when he led the race for 10 days and came within a handful of stages of winning the yellow jersey in what would have been a huge upset.

Voeckler may have slipped back to fourth with three stages to race, but his exploits live on in history.

All rounder – Peter Sagan

No Tour de France roster is complete without an all-rounder to pick up results when things get unpredictable and Peter Sagan is the ultimate in that mould.

The Slovakian started winning in 2010 and has barely stopped since, taking 14 Tour de France stage wins since his first in 2012.

While Sagan’s versatility him a strong contender for any Tour squad, the factor that guarantees his inclusion in the team is his rockstar status.

Sagan has a reputation as an entertainer, whether it be in the race with his exciting attacking style of racing, or his one-handed wheelies and infamous finish line celebrations, the former three-time world champion is a crowd pleaser, a rider that will definitely keep the sponsors happy while racking up wins along the way.

Road captain – Luke Rowe

Luke Rowe at the 2018 Tour de France (Sunada)

Team Ineos road captain Luke Rowe may have only ridden his first Tour de France in 2015, but the Welshman has built up a reputation as a formidable tactician despite being only 29 years old.

Rowe’s understanding of bike racing has been matched by few others in the professional peloton in the last 10 years, as shown by his control in the 2019 Paris-Nice when he helped split the race and taught rising star Egan Bernal a few things while he did it.

Also a Classics specialist, Rowe is an essential asset when things get tight and technical, successfully steering his team through the Tour de France to victory in the last five editions.

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.

The pandemic was an opportunity for cycling to take off in our country, but new figures show that it has stagnated in England

By Adam Becket Published 30 April 24

The Nimbl Ultimate looks fast even when standing still. But how does it fit and perform?

By Tyler Boucher Published 29 April 24

Useful links

• Tour de France
• Giro d'Italia
• Vuelta a España

Buyer's Guides

• Best road bikes
• Best gravel bikes
• Best smart turbo trainers
• Best cycling computers
• Editor's Choice
• Bike Reviews
• Component Reviews
• Clothing Reviews
• Contact Future's experts
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Cookies policy
• Advertise with us

Cycling Weekly is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Tour de France 2022 – Comprehensive team-by-team guide

All you need to know about the team lineups, from the contenders to the riders that could surprise

From AG2R Citroën through to UAE Team Emirates, this is a complete team-by-team guide of all 22 squads and 176 riders taking part in in the 2022 Tour de France , which starts in Copenhagen on Friday, July 1.

All 18 WorldTour teams and the best-ranked ProTeam, Alpecin-Fenix, are automatically invited to the Tour de France this year. Organisers ASO have also designated wildcards to three more French ProTeams: B&B Hotels-KTM, Arkéa-Samsic and TotalEnergies.

Pre-race objectives vary enormously for each Tour team and their respective eight-man rosters reflect that. Some, like Tadej Pogačar ’s UAE Team Emirates and Ineos Grenadiers, are looking for a top general classification result. Others, like Israel Premier-Tech and DSM, are more focused on stage victories. Yet others will be trying for bunch sprints, secondary classifications, time trials or just placing riders in as many breakaways as possible. And some, like Jumbo-Visma, have multiple goals that combine some or all of these possible targets.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that teams’ goals can vary enormously once the Tour is underway and unforeseen developments, like illnesses, abandons or major changes in the GC ranking, affect the race. But there is one factor in common: the Tour de France is the biggest bike race in the world and nobody wants to watch the sun set over the Champs-Elysées on the evening of July 24 without some kind of success in the previous three weeks to their name.

There are plenty of famous faces, in-form riders and new names to watch and discover. We have analysed every team, picking out their leaders and predicting each squad’s hopes and objectives.

For everything else you need to know, read our complete preview of the Tour de France 2022 and our guide on how to watch the race .

AG2R Citroën Team

Team leader: Ben O'Connor Objective: GC and stage wins Rider to watch: Bob Jungels

Get The Leadout Newsletter

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

The French team return for their 29th Tour de France and set out targeting a third podium finish in nine years through Ben O'Connor . The Australian was a pick-up punt at the end of the 2020 transfer market but has been a resounding success at AG2R, finishing fourth at last year's Tour and quickly becoming their focal point with a new three-year contract.

Expectations were raised but O'Connor, who has had an inconsistent career, showed it was no flash in the pan and has only strengthened his status in the build-up to this Tour. At the Dauphiné, he was the clear 'best of the rest' behind the Jumbo-Visma duo of Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard. With Tadej Pogačar and Ineos Grenadiers also to enter the equation, the podium is a tall order but not out of the question. 

AG2R's squad will support O'Connor but not ignore the prospect of stage wins. Oliver Naesen will be O'Connor's henchman on the flat, in the wind, and especially on the cobbles on stage 5. Likewise Geoffrey Bouchard in the mountains, while Aurelien Paret-Peintre is more of a last-man and back-up GC rider.

The punchy Benoît Cosnefroy will look to attack wherever possible and it's worth keeping an eye on Bob Jungels, whose performance at the Tour de Suisse suggested he could be on his way back to his best after two difficult years of injury. 

Full line-up: Ben O'Connor, Geoffrey Bouchard, Michael Cherel, Benoit Cosnefroy, Stan Dewulf, Oliver Naesen, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Bob Jungels

Alpecin-Fenix

Team leaders: Jasper Philipsen, Mathieu van der Poel Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch: The leaders

The Belgian team make their second Tour de France appearance after last year's blistering debut that saw Mathieu van der Poel win two stages and wear the yellow jersey, plus another stage win for Tim Merlier. It would have been the perfect Tour had Jasper Philipsen converted one of several near misses. 

Philipsen has been given the nod over Merlier for the sole sprinter's slot, and he'll be given a solid lead-out service. That could even include Van der Poel, who set up Merlier's win last year and has ruled himself out of any bid for the green jersey. But while Philipsen is the nominated man for the flat stages, Van der Poel is the star of the team and capable of shining wherever he feels like it.

The cobbled day on stage 5 stands out, as do punchy finishes at Longwy and Lausanne in the first half of the race, while hilly and mountainous breakaways are on the cards and even a shout at the opening time trial in Copenhagen. 

Elsewhere, Alexander Krieger will have extra lead-out responsibility in the absence of the injured Jonas Rickaert, while the likes of Silvan Dillier and Michael Gogl provide horsepower on the flat and rolling terrain.

Full line-up: Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen, Michael Gogl, Alexander Krieger, Silvan Dillier, Kristian Sbaragli, Edward Planckaert, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck.

Bahrain Victorious

Team leaders: Jack Haig, Damiano Caruso Objective: GC, stage wins Rider to watch: Matej Mohorič

The Bahrain Victorious team ride the Tour on the back of an eventful appearance last year. They won three stages and the teams classification last year, but also saw their hotel raided by French police in an anti-doping operation.

Matej Mohorič , winner of two of those stages last year, returns as a formidable breakaway threat on the undulating days, while Dylan Teuns can do the same on the more mountainous stuff, as he did into Le Grand Bornand last year.

Meanwhile, they return with bolstered GC ambitions after Jack Haig crashed out with a broken collarbone on stage 3 last year. The Australian returns to the fold but does so alongside Damiano Caruso, who shed off his career-long domestique status with his 2021 Giro podium and has seamlessly settled into leadership life ever since. 

Caruso finished fourth and Haig fifth at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné and both go in on a similar level, in the bracket of riders looking for the top-five and maybe even the podium. They don't have quite the climbing team sent to accompany Mikel Landa at the Giro but the pair can quietly have their say. 

Full line-up: Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig, Matej Mohoric, Luis Leon Sanchez, Dylan Teuns, Jan Tratnik, Fred Wright, Kamil Gradek

BikeExchange-Jayco

Team leaders: Dylan Groenewegen Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch: Michael Matthews

The identity of the Australian team has chopped and changed over the past decade, from happy-go-lucky stage hunters to GC team. For this Tour, they're a sprint outfit, led by Dylan Groenewegen and with serious resources devoted to his success. 

Things might have been a little different had Simon Yates recovered more quickly from the knee injury that wrecked his Giro d'Italia. In his absence, Nick Schultz is the only rider who gives the team a real presence in the mountains.

Groenewegen won four stages of the Tour during his time at Jumbo-Visma and signed for BikeExchange following his ban for the crash involving Fabio Jakobsen at the 2020 Tour de Pologne. He has won five times this season and, even though they've all been in lower-level races, there's a real conviction among the management that he can deliver at the Tour. Luka Mezgec will be his lead-out man, while Jack Bauer, Amund Grondahl Jansen and Luke Durbridge are all capable of mucking in. 

That leaves Michael Matthews feeding off scraps. Once a surefire green jersey contender, the Australian's win rate has dipped dramatically in the past few years. He'll get his chance on the hillier days where Groenewegen gets dropped but will otherwise have to carve out his opportunities in the breakaways. 

Full line-up: Dylan Groenwegen, Michael Matthews, Luka Mezgec, Nick Schultz, Luke Durbridge, Jack Bauer, Amund Grondahl Jansen, Chris Juul-Jensen

Bora-Hansgrohe

Team leaders: Aleksandr Vlasov Objective: GC and stage wins Rider to watch: Max Schachmann

Fresh off their victory at the Giro d'Italia, Bora-Hansgrohe head into the Tour de France with a sharpened focus on the overall classification. That means there's no room for sprinter Sam Bennett , the Irishman who won the green jersey in 2020. Bennett returned to the team this year but has struggled for form and has been deemed surplus to requirements. 

That means the team are getting fully behind Aleksandr Vlasov , who is a legitimate contender for the final podium. 

Vlasov had to leave the recent Tour de Suisse with COVID-19. A lot will depend on how badly he was affected, and how much of his preparation training load has been written off. If fully fit, he's seen by many of his rivals as a podium threat, just below the Pogačar, Roglič, Vingegaard trio in the overall hierarchy. At 26, he's really started to hit his stride this season, with stage race victories at Tour de Romandie and Volta a Catalunya, a podium at Basque Country and a sense of 'what might have been' at Suisse. 

Patrick Konrad and Felix Großschartner provide the climbing support. Lennard Kämna, for all the attention garnered by his turn for Jai Hindley when dropping Richard Carapaz at the Giro, is more of a lone breakaway hunter. Max Schachmann is an all-rounder who can go deep into the mountains but also shine on many stages himself, while Nils Politt is a Classics-style rider for the transition-day breaks. 

Interestingly, Bennett's lead-out man Danny van Poppel has made the cut and could get involved in the sprints instead, with Marco Haller bumped up the lead-out train.

Full line-up: Aleksandr Vlasov, Max Schachmann, Danny van Poppel, Patrick Konrad, Felix Grosschartner, Nils Politt, Marco Haller, Lennard Kamna

B&B Hotels-KTM

Team leaders: Pierre Rolland Objective: Breakaways Rider to watch : Franck Bonnamour

The French team set up by Jérôme Pineau have had a trying season, with question marks over the spirit in the camp. They go into this Tour without an obvious source of success, with no GC outsider and no real sprint option after Bryan Coquard moved to Cofidis. Instead, it's all about the breakaways, and it'd be surprising to seem them miss one between now and the end of July. 

Pierre Rolland won the polka-dot jersey at the recent Dauphiné and will surely be out for more of the same from the start of the race. The Frenchman was top 10 with stage wins at the 2011 and 2012 Tours and, having hinted at retirement, will want to make the most and satisfy the fans' desire for attacks. 

Elsewhere, Franck Bonnamour was awarded the 'super-combativity' prize for his constant breakaway efforts at last year's Tour, and this year while he's looking to stay aggressive the plan is to bring in a more targeted approach by taking on the stages where there is a real chance of success. Alexis Gougeard is also never shy when it comes to a break.

Full line-up: Cyril Barthe, Franck Bonnamour, Alexis Gougeard, Jérémy Lecroq, Cyril Lemoine, Luca Mozzato, Pierre Rolland, Sebastian Schonberger

Team leaders: Guillaume Martin, Bryan Coquard Objective: GC, stage wins Rider to watch: Victor Lafay

The French team clock up their 26th Tour de France appearance, but do so looking to scratch a long and uncomfortable itch. They have not won a stage since 2008. For a respected French team, it's not ideal, especially now they're back in the WorldTour. 

The team are led by the familiar figure of Guillaume Martin , the French philosopher having earned a reputation as a 'yo-yo' man. In his recent Grand Tour appearances he has lost time in the mountains but gained it back by slipping into breakaways, and the only thing stopping him doing that here is if he decides that, after doing the Giro d'Italia, he should focus squarely on stage wins. 

Elsewhere, Ion Izaguirre is a former stage winner and quality campaigner while 26-year-old Frenchman Victor Lafay is an up-and-coming puncher who has come close to a few wins this year and could spring a surprise. 

Pierre-Luc Perichon gets the late call-up to replace sprinter Bryan Coquard, who tested positive for COVID-19.

Full line-up: Guillaume Martin, Ion Izagirre, Simon Geschke, Victor Lafay, Anthony Perez, Benjamin Thomas, Max Walscheid, Pierre-Luc Perichon

EF Education-EasyPost

Team leader: Rigoberto Urán Objective: GC and Stage wins Rider to watch: Alberto Bettiol

Rigoberto Urán has had a slow 2022, scoring a solitary top-10 finish at Itzulia Basque country – where he edged into a paltry 10th on stage 3, and 10th in the GC. It’s not a result that will put him on the radar of the Tour de France’s major GC contenders. Nonetheless, the veteran Colombian remains the highest pedigree climber and the most proven GC campaigner in the EF Education-EasyPost squad, and will likely enter the race as team leader. 

He has company, though. With his fourth place finish at the Tour de Suisse, Neilson Powless could have the potential to crack into the top 10 in the GC, while Ruben Guerreiro showed a decent level at the Dauphiné and an even higher one to win the Ventoux Challenge.

Despite some GC potential, we expect EF Education-EasyPost will be primarily hunting stage wins at this year’s Tour, where breakaways will probably offer the best opportunities. After Alberto Bettiol’s stage victory at last year’s Giro d’Italia, he’s certainly a dangerous rider when in an escape, and will be one to watch on the Tour’s more sedate transition stages.

While Magnus Cort hasn’t made much of a dent in 2022, after his three stage wins at last year’s Vuelta the puncheur will certainly have a Tour stage win on his bucket list, and in the right conditions every chance of getting one.

Finally, Stefan Bissegger is one of only a few riders with a chance of upsetting Filippo Ganna in the Copenhagen time trial.

Full line-up: Rigoberto Urán, Neilson Powless, Alberto Bettiol, Magnus Cort, Stefan Bissegger, Ruben Guerreiro, Owain Doull, Jonas Rutsch

Groupama-FDJ

Team leaders: David Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot Objective: GC and stage wins Rider to watch: Stefan Küng

Groupama-FDJ, the long-running French team run by Marc Madiot, unveiled their Tour de France plans at the start of the year and outlined a leadership trio of David Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot, and Michael Storer . At this point, it seems clear that Gaudu is the main man when it comes to the general classification. 

After two troubled years, Pinot has shown signs he's on his way back to his best – not least with his recent stage win at the Tour de Suisse – but he's surely not ready for a yellow jersey challenge. Still, mountain stage wins and, why not, the polka-dot jersey are realistic ambitions. Storer, meanwhile, has had a mixed year since signing from DSM on the back of his brace of stage wins at last year's Vuelta, and perhaps looks more suited to mountain support and stage hunting. 

There's no Arnaud Démare, so no sprint ambitions. Luxury support comes from puncher Valentin Madouas and rouleur Stefan Küng . The latter is the European time trial champion and in with a shout for the opening stage and penultimate stage, but also produced an astounding climbing performance to finish fifth at the recent Tour de Suisse. 

Full line-up: David Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot, Michael Storer, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Olivier Le Gac, Kevin Geniets, Antoine Duchesne

Ineos Grenadiers

Team leaders: Adam Yates, Dani Martínez, Geraint Thomas Objective : GC and stage wins Rider to watch: Tom Pidcock

Ineos' plans are an area of particular intrigue, and not just because Adam Yates left the Tour de Suisse with COVID-19. Even before that news, there was a sign that they were re-shaping their approach for July. For so long the dominant team with the dominant rider, the British team won seven Tours in eight years but have now run up against a Pogačar-shaped problem. 

With Bernal out due to a long-term injury, they don't have their favourite status of old, with Yates and Martínez drawn together in an open-ended leadership duo. Throw in Geraint Thomas and you have another question mark.

The Welshman has been spoken about as a domestique not even guaranteed of a start but he remains the 2018 Tour winner and, despite lengthy dips in form, has done nothing to suggest he cannot raise his level to a very competitive one when required. He sent that message with victory at the Tour de Suisse and, with Yates' preparation compromised, he has to be part of the leadership conversation, especially with more than 50km of time trialling on the route.

Beyond all that, it appears Ineos may not limit themselves to backing the yellow jersey cause as they have over the past decade. Tom Pidcock and Ethan Hayter are both on the longlist and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that both start. If so, stage wins – and not just those as a byproduct of the GC battle – enter the agenda. Hayter can compete in reduced sprints while Pidcock can do just about anything and his Tour debut would likely not be dull.

Either way, Ineos have spoken about their new adventurous racing style since becoming 'Grenadiers' and we could see it rolled out in the Tour for the first time. 

Full line-up: Geraint Thomas, Dani Martínez, Adam Yates, Tom Pidcock, Dylan van Baarle, Filippo Ganna, Luke Rowe, Jonathan Castroviejo

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert

Team leaders: Louis Meintjes, Alexander Kristoff Objective: GC, stage wins Rider to watch: Taco van der Hoorn

The Belgian team used to be a second-division outfit and earned three Tour invites thanks to Frenchman Guillaume Martin, who's now with Cofidis. They were widely ridiculed when they took CCC's licence to step up to the WorldTour in 2021, but have looked every inch their top-tier status this year. As such, confidence will be high for the Tour. 

There's no Biniam Girmay, the new superstar of African cycling, but they do have a team that can fight on a number of fronts. Louis Meintjes looks to be on his way back after a few years in the wilderness following his back-to-back top 10s at the 2016 and 2017 Tours. He won the recent Giro dell'Appenino and placed sixth at Tour de Suisse, so could certainly have an impact this July. 

Alexander Kristoff is 34 and has seemingly been fading in recent years but always seems to pop up with big wins, as he did at Scheldeprijs this spring. The Norwegian will lead the line in the sprints, while Quinten Hermans has surprisingly been left out of the squad ahead of an expected transfer to Alpecin next year.

Dutch attacker Taco van der Hoorn could be one to watch. He doesn't take many wins but when they do they're nailbiters from the break – see last year's Giro and the Brussels Cycling Classic three weeks ago.

Full line-up: Alexander Kristoff, Louis Meintjes, Kobe Goossens, Georg Zimmerman, Taco van der Hoorn, Adrien Petit, Andrea Pasqualon, Sven Erik Bystrøm

Israel-Premier Tech

Team leaders: Michael Woods, Jakob Fuglsang Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch: Chris Froome

Israel-Premier Tech set out on their third Tour de France and in desperate need of having an impact on the race after two relatively anonymous outings. They're very much in the WorldTour relegation battle, but the recent form of Jakob Fuglsang and Michael Woods will give them hope they can shine on the biggest stage of all and lift themselves out of trouble. 

Fuglsang won the recent Classic Alpes-Maritimes and placed third at Tour de Suisse, while Woods finished second at the former and then won the Route d'Occitanie. The pair have both appeared reluctant to go for a GC bid this time around but stage wins are well within their grasp, while the polka-dot jersey will surely become an ambition for one of them. 

Hugo Houle, Krists Neilands, and Simon Clarke comprise a strong and in-form support unit. Chris Froome , meanwhile, is very much the rider to watch. A four-time winner, he has struggled badly since his massive 2019 injury but has shown glimpses of form in recent weeks. He's done enough to earn his spot but we should find out more about whether he might indeed return to his levels of old. 

Guillaume Boivin and Guy Niv got late call-ups to replace the COVID-positive Omer Goldstein and Daryl Impey.

Full line-up: Michael Woods, Jakob Fuglsang, Chris Froome, Krists Neilands, Simon Clarke, Hugo Houle, Guillaume Boivin

Jumbo-Visma

Team Leaders : Primož Roglič, Jonas Vingegaard, Wout Van Aert Objective : Yellow jersey, green jersey Rider to watch: Christophe Laporte

The Dutch team formerly known as Rabobank have joined the very top echelon of world cycling in recent years but are still searching for their first Tour de France victory. They came agonisingly close through Primož Roglič – three-time Vuelta winner – in 2020, and placed second again last year through the revelatory Jonas Vingegaard, who stepped up once Roglič crashed out.

With Tadej Pogačar a dominant double winner, Jumbo have tweaked their approach for 2022, going in with a leadership duo. Both Roglič and Vingegaard underlined their form with a one-two at the recent Dauphiné, but in order to crack Pogačar they'll likely have to play their cards more creatively. How they do so will be one of the most intriguing narratives of the whole Tour. 

On top of all that, Jumbo-Visma also have Wout van Aert to think about. The Belgian star has had to stifle his personal ambitions in recent years but has still managed six stage wins in three editions, on a wide variety of stages to boot. As such, this year he wants to target the points classification. Whether Jumbo can support a green jersey bid as well as two riders going for yellow is another of those central narratives. 

As for the rest of the squad, it's five support riders. Sepp Kuss and Steven Kruijswijk are the mountain men, while Christophe Laporte will be Van Aert's lead-out and right-hand man. Tiesj Benoot will be expected to do a bit for both camps while Nathan Van Hooydonck – a late replacement for Rohan Dennis – is set to be the engine doing the heavy lifting in the earlier phases of stages.

Full line-up : Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, Sepp Kuss, Steven Kruijswijk, Christophe Laporte, Nathan Van Hooydonck

Lotto Soudal

Team leaders: Caleb Ewan Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch: Tim Wellens

The Belgian team once again go into a Tour de France targeting stage wins. In 37 starts they have never won the Tour and haven't had a GC contender since Jurgen Van den Broeck in 2012. Andre Greipel flew the flag for a long time but in the new John Lelangue-led era it's Caleb Ewan who leads the way for the third year in a row. 

Ewan won three stages in 2019 and two in 2020 but crashed out on stage 3 last year with a a broken collarbone. At his best he's one of the most dynamic and aerodynamic sprinters in the world and a key breadwinner for Lotto Soudal in their relegation fight. There is slight cause for concern as his lead-out man Jasper De Buyst is injured and Roger Kluge similarly not racing. In their absence Reinardt Janse van Rensburg takes responsibility, while Frederik Frison can also chip in. 

However, there's more of an emphasis on breakaways in Lotto Soudal's plans. Philippe Gilbert will want to make an impact in his final Tour de France, while Brent Van Moer has been touted as a new Thomas De Gendt. Florian Vermeersch can target the cobbled stage and Andreas Kron will look at the hilly ones if recovered from COVID-19.

Finally, Tim Wellens has announced he is leaving at the end of the year but retains a great deal of affection for the team where he has spent his whole career so far. The Belgian remains a top-class attacking rider who can complete the Grand Tour set of stage wins in what is only his fourth Tour appearance.

Full line-up: Caleb Ewan, Philippe Gilbert, Tim Wellens, Andreas Kron, Brent Van Moer, Florian Vermeersch, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Frederik Frison

Movistar Team

Team leaders: Enric Mas Objective: GC Rider to watch: Matteo Jorgenson

Movistar, the Spanish team formed in the 1980s, line up for their 40th Tour de France. They've won it seven times, five of those coming through Miguel Indurain in the 1990s, but haven't done so since Oscar Pereiro in 2006. In recent years, they've been regular winners of the teams classification but have become confused and at times chaotic in their handling of multiple leaders. 

This year, there's far more clarity. Enric Mas will lead the line and shoot for the podium. The Spaniard, a breakthrough runner-up at the 2018 Vuelta, has been a consistent if unspectacular Grand Tour presence since signing in 2020, placing fifth and sixth in the past two Tours, as well as another second at the Vuelta last year. 

While Movistar have not yet unveiled their final line-up, a key rider appears to be Matteo Jorgenson, the US all-rounder who's steadily improving. He's looking to develop into a GC rider and could become the last line of support for Mas, and he could even decide he's not going to throw away time unless he absolutely has to. 

Full line-up: Enric Mas, Carlos Verona, Imanol Erviti, Matteo Jorgenson, Nelson Oliveira, Albert Torres, Gregor Mühlberger, Gorka Izagirre

QuickStep-AlphaVinyl

Team leaders: Fabio Jakobsen Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch : Mattia Cattaneo

The Belgian squad have dominated Tour de France sprints over the years, with the likes of Marcel Kittel, Fernando Gaviria, Sam Bennett, and Mark Cavendish all sweeping up in recent years. The next man up is Fabio Jakobsen , who has been given the nod over Cavendish despite the Manxman winning four stages and the green jersey last year and tying Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins. 

There's no room for sentiment or history at Patrick Lefevere's stable, however, and he has given the reins to the rider he considers the future of his team's sprinting ambitions. You can't argue with the decision on form. Jakobsen has returned from nearly losing his life at the 2020 Tour de Pologne to re-establish himself as one of the fastest in the world, winning 10 times already this season. 

As always, the bulk of the team is devoted to the lead-out, with Kasper Asgreen and Yves Lampaert and, lastly, Michael Mørkøv, widely regarded as the best in the business. Florian Sénéchal is a late call-up for the COVID-positive Tim Declercq , though it's unclear who will replace the Belgian's long stints on the front of the peloton this July.

The big hole in QuickStep's line up is in the shape of the world champion, Julian Alaphilippe, who suffered a heavy crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège-Liège in April and hasn't been deemed fit enough to make his usual impact at the Tour. Alaphilippe has won several stages, finished top five on GC, and injected electricity into the race over the past few years.

His absence is a major blow for the team and the race, with Andre Bagioli, the Italian puncheur who's taken his spot, having a lot to live up to. His compatriot, the 31-year-old Mattia Cattaneo, has a shot at a top-10 overall place, having finished 12th last year.

Full line-up: Fabio Jakobsen, Michael Mørkøv, Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert, Mikkel Honore, Mattia Cattaneo, Andrea Bagioli, Florian Sénéchal

Team leaders: Romain Bardet, Alberto Dainese Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch: Andreas Leknessund

The Dutch team formerly known as Sunweb have a general philosophy that's both open and rigid. They eschew hierarchy in favour of a collective approach where everyone gets a chance, but there's relatively little flexibility when it comes to individual preferences.

This has divided opinion, with the alarming number of riders looking to leave the team seen by many as a cause for concern. On the road, it has divided their results. The free-flowing Sunweb (as they were then called) of the 2020 Tour were great to watch and hauled in three stage wins, but they were anonymous last year and struggled for much of this season. 

They go into this Tour in typical fashion, an open and exciting line-up, but not without its controversy as Søren Kragh Andersen – not only one of their bigger-name riders but also a native of the Danish Grand Départ – has been left at home. 

In his absence, Romain Bardet returns to the Tour after a year's absence. A GC bid is no priority given he was targeting the Giro and had to pull out when in a strong position, but the Frenchman will want to add to his stage win collection from 2015, 2016, and 2017.

John Degenkolb is on the start list and returns to the cobbles where he famously won a stage in 2018, but Alberto Dainese is the team's lead sprinter. The Italian won a stage at the Giro with a fearsome sprint that suggested a breakthrough, and he will be an outsider but a danger man in the bunch finishes. Elsewhere, Kevin Vermaerke is an exciting young US talent but the Norwegian Andreas Leknessund is already hitting his stride at 23, winning a stage at the recent Tour de Suisse in a solo breakaway. Expect him to go out in search of more of the same. 

Full line-up: Romain Bardet, Alberto Dainese, John Degenkolb, Kevin Vermaerke, Andreas Leknessund, Martijn Tusveld, Nils Eekhoff, Chris Hamilton

TotalEnergies

Team leader: Peter Sagan Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch: Pierre Latour

When it comes to TotalEnergies’ 2022 objectives, it’s hard to look beyond Peter Sagan . Arguably the most exciting riders in men’s cycling, Sagan has had an unfortunate 2022, plagued by illness. The Tour de Suisse gave us a glimpse of Peter the Great at his best when he won stage 3. His positive test for COVID ahead of the final time trial seemed like a predictable kick in his run of bad luck.

However, Sagan returned to win yet another Slovakian road race title on Sunday, an indication he's on track for the Tour. He'll also have loyal lieutenants Daniel Oss and Maciej Bodnar at his disposal. Sagan will target sprints on flat and hilly days, but a record-extending eighth green jersey is complicated by the presence of Wout van Aert. 

There'll be no shortage of breakaway interest for Jean-René Bernaudeau's French team, especially after Mathieu Burgaudeau scooped a stage of Paris-Nice and Valentin Ferron and Alexis Vuillermoz took home a stage apiece from the Dauphiné. Anthony Turgis could certainly be a contender on the cobbles, but he’ll need an early break to separate himself from the fastmen such as Mathieu van der Poel to stand a chance at a win on the pavé.

Finally, there's Pierre Latour, who has so much energy he sometimes doesn't know what to do with it. The Frenchman won the white jersey and placed 13th overall while riding as an AG2R domestique in 2018 and, while his career has faded since, there remains a great deal of talent. 

The experienced and versatile fastman Edvald Boasson Hagen was called up three days out from the start after Cristian Rodríguez fell ill.

Full line-up: Peter Sagan, Pierre Latour, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Alexis Vuillermox, Daniel Oss, Maciej Bodnar, Anthony Turgis, Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Trek-Segafredo

Team leader: Giulio Ciccone Objective: Stage wins Rider to watch: Bauke Mollema

Having taken a third career Giro d’Italia win on stage 15 of this year’s race, Giulio Ciccone is showing excellent climbing form and seems sure to be Trek-Segafredo’s team leader at this year’s Tour de France. Only one year ago he lay in sixth place on the Tour’s second rest day, before crashing out on stage 17 and abandoning the race.

While a GC bid isn’t beyond comprehension, with Ciccone and Bauke Mollema’s proclivity for successful breakaways, individual stage wins in the mountains are Trek’s most likely target.

Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Stuyven and former World Champion Mads Pedersen will both be riders to watch on the cobbles of stage 5 of this year’s race. Both will also be contenders for individual stage wins on fast finishes. For Pedersen, there's the extra motivation of starting on home roads, with a strong short time trial and a fast sprint at the end of a windy day, he'll be going all-in on the Denmark days. 

US debutant Quinn Simmons will no doubt offer good support to both riders on the cobbles, and has shown an appetite for breakaways so far this season.

Full line-up : Guilio Ciccone, Bauke Mollema, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven, Quinn Simmons, Tony Gallopin, Alex Kirsch, Toms Skujiņš 

UAE Team Emirates

Team leaders: Tadej Pogačar Objective : Yellow jersey Rider to watch: Brandon McNulty

About as one-dimensional as it gets, the UAE-funded team are here to win the Tour with Pogačar for a third straight year. The rest of the team is entirely at his service, and you get the impression he could do it without them anyway. 

Not that UAE are weak. The criticism they faced last year was unfounded, and in any case they are stronger again this time around. They have added George Bennett and Marc Soler, while Brandon McNulty is another year older and – when not the victim of bad luck – has shown his strength this season. Rafał Majka, who came good last year and has been even better this season, has struck up a great relationship with Pogačar, the pair dominating the recent Tour of Slovenia. It's a super solid mountain unit. 

Beyond that, Mikkel Berg did huge pulls on the flat and in the middle mountains last year and will be pivotal again, while Vegard Stake Laengen is the big workhorse for the early phases. Pogačar is in a league of his own, but he has a team that can provide a platform for a third straight yellow jersey.

Swiss rider Marc Hirschi is a late call-up after Matteo Trentin returned a positive COVID-19 test two days before the race start.

Full line-up: Tadej Pogačar, Rafal Majka, Brandon McNulty, Marc Soler, Vegard Stake Laengen, George Bennett, Mikkel Bjerg, Marc Hirschi

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.

One year on from Tour of the Gila victory, Killips aiming for record on Arizona Trail

Giro d'Italia 2024 – the comprehensive team guide

Belgian Waffle Ride: Matt Beers and Sofia Gomez Villafañe win in California

Most Popular

• Forums New posts Trending Search forums
• What's new New posts Latest activity
• Members Current visitors Trophies

In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

Tour de France 2022 - The anticipational thread

• Thread starter BR2
• Start date Jun 23, 2022
• Professional Road Racing

Who is going to win a stage? (3 answers possible)

David gaudu, florian vermeersch, esteban chaves, jakob fuglsang, dylan groenewegen, connor swift, mattia cattaneo, peter sagan, quinn simmons, carlos verona.

• Total voters 70
• Poll closed Jun 30, 2022 .

• Jun 23, 2022

Jumbo Visma Fan :)

RedheadDane

I'll be in Sønderjylland for stage 3. Not the finish, though. I might write silly stuff on the road.  

Samu Cuenca

RedheadDane said: I'll be in Sønderjylland for stage 3. Not the finish, though. I might write silly stuff on the road. Click to expand...

Samu Cuenca said: I'll be looking out for "please don't kidnap me!" I might be there sor stage 3 as well, but it depends on whether I'll think I can ride back and fourth, cause I expect the trains to be awful to be in. Click to expand...

Krzysztof_O

Jumbo Visma Fan :) said: Alas, the time for the Tour. Unfortunately, this year, I’m on vacation with no WIFI during the last two weeks except the Champs, so I will miss the crunch time. However, I anticipate the first week like I would regularly, and am excited to watch . Click to expand...

RedheadDane said: I'll be staying near the route with family over the weekend. Click to expand...

Samu Cuenca said: I remember you writing that your sister worked at the airport or something like that. Will you be trying to get on-board the FdJ plane? Click to expand...

RedheadDane said: No...? My older sister works at TI Århus, and my younger sister is a nurse (working at Skejby). I don't think FDJ - or any of the teams - have their own plane. Click to expand...

Samu Cuenca said: But she knew they were flying out of Denmark, right? No, but I assume the FdJ riders will all be in the same plane. Click to expand...

RedheadDane said: Yes, but I think we all know that. Essentially my BIL - older sister's husband - has some family that has a summerhouse near the route, so we're borrowing that. I think we'll be heading southwards on the Friday. And my three weeks of vacation coincides perfectly with the Tour! Click to expand...

Page 439 - General News Thread

Samu Cuenca said: Page 439 - General News Thread Page 439 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community. forum.cyclingnews.com Click to expand...

Apparently there is an absolutely cracking bridge on stage 2, which I'm looking forward to greatly. Hopefully we get some good castles on this years route as well.  

Now I'm anxious to learn whether RhD will make an appearance during the broadcast.  

Tim Cahill said: Apparently there is an absolutely cracking bridge on stage 2, which I'm looking forward to greatly. Hopefully we get some good castles on this years route as well. Click to expand...

RedheadDane said: The bridge will hopefully not crack! Click to expand...

Carrick-On-Seine

RedheadDane said: The bridge will hopefully not crack! And they'll be riding across Amalienborg slotsplads during the ITT. Click to expand...

• Jun 24, 2022

I am in anticipation https://twitter.com/x/status/1538953015461388288 View: https://twitter.com/cyclingtips/status/1538953015461388288?s=20&t=ppZfIVguraqUOwHFXHkE4g  

Geez, this thread just started today? What took you guys so long...tour is right around the corner mates!  

I now more or less am in an anticipation mode.  

CyclistAbi said: I now more or less am in an anticipation mode. Click to expand...

Lequack said: I am in anticipation https://twitter.com/x/status/1538953015461388288 View: https://twitter.com/cyclingtips/status/1538953015461388288?s=20&t=ppZfIVguraqUOwHFXHkE4g Click to expand...

@Rackham I wouldn't worry too much. As this tour edition will deliver.  

I snagged a seat in a team sponsor's car (not a team car per se, but part of the caravan) on the July 6 stage from Lille. Not positive it will be as good as watching on TV but I'm definitely stoked...  

TRENDING THREADS

• Started by Netserk
• Mar 28, 2024
• Replies: 2K

• Started by topcat
• Apr 14, 2024
• Replies: 986

• Started by Dreginald
• Apr 1, 2024

• Started by Logic-is-your-friend
• Apr 16, 2024
• Replies: 803

• Started by DNP-Old
• May 6, 2018
• Replies: 24K

• Mar 25, 2024
• Replies: 1K
• Started by RedheadDane
• Apr 30, 2020
• Replies: 9K

Latest posts

• Latest: DoYouEvenRideBruh
• 1 minute ago

• Latest: DJ Sprtsch
• 17 minutes ago
• Latest: RedheadDane
• 37 minutes ago

• Latest: OlavEH
• 41 minutes ago

• Latest: Cookster15
• 47 minutes ago

• Latest: argyllflyer
• Today at 7:50 AM
• Latest: Roku
• Today at 7:45 AM

Moderators online

Share this page

• Advertising
• Cookies Policies
• Term & Conditions