Alpecin-Deceuninck
Once a low-key Dutch cyclo-cross team, now the home of the best one-day racer plus the fastest sprinter in the business. Mathieu van der Poel, the reigning world champion and Jasper Philipsen, winner of the points prize at the Tour last year, dominated racing this spring winning three of five Monument one-day races. Ominously, Philipsen seems to have adopted the “race less, win more” approach which paid dividends for VdP last season: team owners the Roodhooft brothers have built a strong support squad around them with Søren Kragh Andersen and Axel Laurance both capable of winning on their day.
Team Silvan Dillier, Robbe Ghys, Søren Kragh Andersen, Axel Laurance, Jasper Philipsen, Jonas Rickaert, Mathieu van der Poel, Gianni Vermeersch.
Main man Van der Poel is cycling’s biggest star alongside Tadej Pogacar. Won’t win overall but will target stages that suit him, while giving sprinter Philipsen an electric lead-out.
Arkéa-B&B Hotels
Breton battlers get their regular Tour spot but could struggle. Sprinter Arnaud Démare is past his best – although he may benefit from working with British fast-man Dan McLay – while Kévin Vauquelin has yet to fulfil his early promise. Watch for them making fruitless daily escapes that go nowhere but garner valuable TV time.
Team Amaury Capiot, Clément Champoussin, Arnaud Démare, Dan McLay, Luca Mozzato, Raúl García Pierna, Cristián Rodríguez, Kévin Vauquelin.
Main man Arnaud Démare has won a Classic and Tour stages but is long in the tooth and struggling for form. A stage win would be a miracle.
Astana Qazaqstan
Kazakhstan’s finest have bet the bank on Mark Cavendish’s second final season, although the lead-out train is a chugging local to Alpecin’s TGV. Just one win will give “Cav” the absolute record for Tour stage victories, and his pilot fishes will move heaven and earth to try to achieve that.
Team Davide Ballerini, Cees Bol, Mark Cavendish, Yevgeniy Fedorov, Michele Gazzoli, Alexey Lutsenko, Michael Mørkøv, Harold Tejada.
Main man Mark Cavendish has shown sporadic form this year, winning twice; to make history he needs one opening in seven potential sprints.
Bahrain Victorious
This mid-ranking team is unlikely to challenge overall but will have multiple opportunities for stages – they landed three last year – and a top-10 finish with climbers Jack Haig and Pello Bilbao, punchy Colombian Santiago Buitrago, sprinters Phil Bauhaus and Fred Wright and the “third Slovenian” Matej Mohoric, hunting his fourth career stage win.
Team Nikias Arndt, Phil Bauhaus, Pello Bilbao, Santiago Buitrago, Jack Haig, Matej Mohoric, Wout Poels, Fred Wright.
Main man Matej Mohoric is a demon descender and the world gravel racing champion; stage seven with its rough tracks should be a target.
Cofidis
There’s a history of underperformance here going back almost 30 years, so last year’s two stage wins were a surprise. There’s a raft of potential winners: sprinter Bryan Coquard, climbers Jesús Herrada and Ion Izagirre, all-rounder Axel Zingle. Overall hope Guillaume Martin has to step up from top-10 finisher to pushing for the podium.
Team Piet Allegaert, Bryan Coquard, Simon Geschke, Jesús Herrada, Ion Izagirre, Guillaume Martin, Alexis Renard, Axel Zingle.
Main man Bryan Coquard, or “Le Coq”, won a stage of the Tour of Switzerland recently and goes into his home Tour on a roll.
Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale
The infamous brown shorts are no more, and Decathlon’s arrival has lifted AG2R; they have won 26 races this year, second only to UAE. New French champion Paul Lapeira is a rapid finisher when it’s hard or hilly, Felix Gall climbs with the best and Sam Bennett will target the flat sprints.
Team Bruno Armirail, Sam Bennett, Felix Gall, Dorian Godon, Paul Lapeira, Oliver Naesen, Nans Peters, Nicolas Prodhomme.
Main man Felix Gall is an Austrian climber who won last year in Courchevel and took eighth overall, ousting then team leader Ben O’Connor.
dsm-firmenich PostNL
Well-run Dutch team that have stalled recently. Fabio Jakobsen doesn’t have the lead-out to match Philipsen, and Romain Bardet and Warren Barguil are living off past glories, but like many teams, they need only one stage win for a successful Tour. Oscar Onley is the first Scots-born cyclist to ride the Tour since Robert Millar, now Philippa York, in 1993.
Team Romain Bardet, Warren Barguil, John Degenkolb, Niels Eekhoff, Fabio Jakobsen, Oscar Onley, Frank van den Broek, Bram Welten.
Main man Fabio Jakobsen. It’s only a couple of years since “the Hulk” was the sprinter to beat, but last year’s nasty crash knocked him for six.
EF Education-EasyPost
Belt and braces for the US’s oldest team. The 2019 Giro winner and Olympic champion Richard Carapaz headlines, new Italian champion Alberto Bettiol is an accomplished one-day racer, Black Country Irishman Ben Healy landed a stage in last year’s Giro, while Rui Costa is no spring chicken but managed a stage win in last year’s Vuelta.
Team Alberto Bettiol, Stefan Bissegger, Richard Carapaz, Rui Costa, Ben Healy, Neilson Powless, Sean Quinn, Marijn van den Berg.
Main man Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz was last year’s marquee signing, tipped to rival the best at the Tour … until he fell off on day one.
Groupama-FDJ
Traditionalist French team run by the tub-thumping Marc Madiot, who are still trying to get over the retirement of figurehead Thibaut Pinot. Romain Grégoire isn’t the finished article, nor is fellow debutant Lenny Martinez, whose grandfather won the Mountains prize in 1978. They will race valiantly but it’s hard to see where success will come from.
Team David Gaudu, Kevin Geniets, Romain Grégoire, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Lenny Martinez, Quentin Pacher, Clément Russo.
Main man David Gaudu the Breton climber who managed fourth overall in 2022 but is yet to kick on. No pressure then.
Ineos Grenadiers
The British squad’s days as a relentless winning machine are long gone; by mid-June they had notched up just nine victories, hardly value for money for Sirs Jim Ratcliffe and Dave Brailsford. Like Ratcliffe’s Manchester United, the former Team Sky are in a rebuilding phase, with ageing stars such as Geraint Thomas and Michal Kwiatkowski giving way to thrusting youngsters Tom Pidcock and Carlos Rodríguez, while Egan Bernal’s comeback is slowly building. Last year they took stages with Rodríguez and “Kwiato”, and fifth overall for the Spaniard, which didn’t sit well with their nominal leader Pidcock, whose goals in this Tour are hard to determine.
Team Egan Bernal, Jonathan Castroviejo, Michal Kwiatkowski, Tom Pidcock, Laurens De Plus, Carlos Rodríguez, Geraint Thomas, Ben Turner.
Main man Carlos Rodríguez. Hugely impressive last year at just 22, the big question is whether he can build on that this year and challenge the best.
Intermarché-Wanty
Bizarrely, a weaker lineup than last year’s. Louis Meintjes hasn’t fired recently, while Gerben Thijssen is solid but rarely wins. As in 2023, sprinter Biniam Girmay is the best bet for a stage win if the roads are too tough for Philipsen and Cavendish, but he will need his teammates to control the race.
Team Biniam Girmay, Kobe Goossens, Louis Meintjes, Hugo Page, Laurenz Rex, Mike Teunissen, Gerben Thijssen, Georg Zimmermann.
Main man Biniam Girmay, it’s two years since the Eritrean sprinter won Gent-Wevelgem and a stage in the Giro; he needs to kick on, and soon.
Israel-Premier Tech
Once a repository for ageing stars, IPT look more dynamic with the arrival of Aberystwyth’s finest Stevie Williams and the emergence of Canada’s Derek Gee in last year’s Giro. Dylan Teuns is a double Tour stage winner, Pascal Ackermann can sprint with the best; it looks promising even without Chris Froome or last year’s stage winner Michael Woods.
Team Pascal Ackermann, Guillaume Boivin, Jakob Fuglsang, Derek Gee, Hugo Houle, Krists Neilands, Jake Stewart, Dylan Teuns, Stephen Williams.
Main man Stephen Williams. Five wins in the last two years including Flèche Wallonne means he will be closely watched on his Tour debut.
Jayco-AlUla
Plenty of options for the Australian team: Dylan Groenewegen for the flat finishes, fast finishing Michael Matthews for anything lumpy, while Simon Yates could add to his career tally of 10 Grand Tour stage wins and push for the podium, if twin brother Adam (see UAE) doesn’t get in his way.
Team Luke Durbridge, Dylan Groenewegen, Chris Harper, Christopher Juul-Jensen, Michael Matthews, Luka Mezgec, Elmar Reinders, Simon Yates.
Main man Simon Yates. The Bury boy is one of a handful of Grand Tour winners in the race, just a notch behind Pog and Rog.
Lidl-Trek
Tao Geoghegan Hart is absent due to illness and Giulio Ciccone has also been poorly so the obvious target is stage wins and perhaps the green jersey for Mads Pedersen, a Classic winner who won the points jersey at the 2022 Vuelta; new signing Tim Declercq makes this one of the strongest support squads out there.
Team Julien Bernard, Giulio Ciccone, Tim Declercq, Ryan Gibbons, Alex Kirsch, Mads Pedersen, Toms Skujins, Jasper Stuyven.
Main man Mads Pedersen. Hulking Dane who has kicked on nicely since winning the 2019 world championship in Harrogate, with stage wins in the last two Tours.
Lotto-Dstny
Last year the tactic was to get in breaks, especially with the super-strong Victor Campenaerts. This year, the Belgians bring two exciting young talents: sprinter Arnaud De Lie, 22, and Classics rider Maxim Van Gils, 24. Stage wins are the goal and with a fair win Van Gils can finish well overall.
Team Cédric Beullens, Victor Campenaerts, Jarrad Drizners, Maxim Van Gils, Sébastien Grignard, Arnaud De Lie, Brent Van Moer, Harm Vanhoucke.
Main man Arnaud De Lie. Up and coming Belgian one-day star, who can make his mark on the more selective stages.
Movistar Team
The oldest team in town, but it’s hard to believe former versions boasted Pedro Delgado, Miguel Induráin and Alejandro Valverde. It’s a solid squad, but lacking in pizzazz. Fernando Gaviria is past his best, but Alex Aranburu could land a hilly stage, while Enric Mas should make the top 10 in almost total anonymity.
Team Alex Aranburu, Rémi Cavagna, Davide Formolo, Fernando Gaviria, Enric Mas, Gregor Mühlberger, Nelson Oliveira, Javier Romo.
Main man Enric Mas. The Spanish climber rarely wins and has gone from future star to never-quite-was in a couple of seasons.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
All change with new money from Red Bull and a new leader in Primoz Roglic, winner of the 2022 Giro and three Vueltas from 2019 to 2021. Bora had a good 2023 race, with a stage win for Jai Hindley, who wore yellow for a day and pushed for the podium until late on, while Jordi Meeus won on the Champs-Élysées; he’s left out this year as they focus everything on Roglic. The Slovenian’s win at the Critérium du Dauphiné shows he’s on track; Aleksandr Vlasov and Hindley offer mountain support and can target stages if Roglic falls off, which has been an issue in the past.
Team Nico Denz, Marco Haller, Jai Hindley, Bob Jungels, Danny van Poppel, Primoz Roglic, Matteo Sobrero, Aleksandr Vlasov.
Main man Primoz Roglic. The Tour is the big gap in the Slovenian’s extensive list of stage race wins; he came close in 2020, and at 34 he won’t get many more or better chances than this year if he stays upright.
Soudal Quick-Step
The Wolf Pack are in transition from a hydra-headed Classics and stage-focused team to one built around the “next Merckx”, the former world champion and Vuelta winner Remco Evenepoel, who rides his first Tour. There’s plenty of experience around him with Jan Hirt and Mikel Landa marquee signings for the mountains, and Gianni Moscon for the flat. Evenepoel should dominate the time trials so the objective is simple: get him to Monaco within reach of the yellow jersey. But if Pogacar and company are on song that seems a big ask given how he struggled in the mountains at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné.
Team Remco Evenepoel, Jan Hirt, Yves Lampaert, Mikel Landa, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen, Louis Vervaeke, Ilan Van Wilder.
Main man Remco Evenepoel. Another victim of the April crash that sidelined Jonas Vingegaard, Evenepoel has faced a race against time to get fit for 29 June.
TotalEnergies
Like Arkéa, they struggle to match the big-budget stables, but get a place based on history and nationality. They will target each day’s doomed escape, but the management must be aware that other second-tier squads offer more and look more deserving of a coveted ride in the world’s biggest race.
Team Mathieu Burgaudeau, Steff Cras, Sandy Dujardin, Thomas Gachignard, Fabien Grellier, Jordan Jegat, Anthony Turgis, Mattéo Vercher.
Main man Mathieu Burgaudeau is a specialist in the breaks which delight French television, but rarely wins.
Uno-X Mobility
Norway’s flagship team keep progressing, with Søren Wærenskjold’s recent Belgium Tour win the latest success. They bring a seasoned, if ageing, sprinter in Alexander Kristoff, climbing talent in Tobias Halland Johannessen and Jonas Abrahamsen, and keep Rasmus Tiller at the helm. Their leader, and best stage prospect, however, is Magnus Cort … a Dane.
Team Jonas Abrahamsen, Alexander Kristoff, Odd Christian Eiking, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Johannes Kulset, Magnus Cort, Rasmus Tiller, Søren Wærenskjold.
Main man Magnus Cort has won nine Grand Tour stages with three in one Vuelta; behind the fighter pilot moustache, he’s versatile and ruthless.
Visma-Lease a Bike
Dominant in 2023, accursed in 2024, the Netherlands’ finest have spent three months lurching from one disaster to another. Linchpin Wout van Aert had a horrendous fall in March and was in doubt up to last week; so too was leader Jonas Vingegaard, Pogacar’s nemesis in 2022 and 2023, after his appalling crash at the Basque Country Tour. The form of both is in doubt and Visma have lost a raft of other key players, most damagingly Sepp Kuss this week with Covid; only Matteo Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman have looked strong recently. This is shaping up to be a Tour they will want to forget.
Team Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman, Matteo Jorgenson, Christophe Laporte, Bart Lemmen, Jan Tratnik, Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert.
Main man Jonas Vingegaard. At his best the mournful-looking Dane is the strongest mountain climber in cycling, but it’s a miracle he is even starting the Tour so any result will be a bonus.
UAE Team Emirates
Tadej Pogacar’s merry crew are 2024’s most successful team by a country mile, with 48 victories to their name this season. Considerably beefed up since Pog’s first Tour win in 2020, the team are packed with riders strong enough to lead in their own right, beginning with João Almeida and Adam Yates, who were untouchable at the Tour of Switzerland, taking first and second on an improbable four mountain stages in a row, plus the overall. Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov are strong climbers, Nils Politt and Tim Wellens look after the flat. It’s hard to see them faltering if Pog stays strong.
Team João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, Tadej Pogacar, Nils Politt, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Tim Wellens, Adam Yates.
Main man Tadej Pogacar. The 2020 and 2021 Tour winner dominated this year’s Giro and is expected to achieve the elusive Giro-Tour double. Given the caveats around the other contenders, he might do it.
Team lineups correct at time of publication.
