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Tour de France 2022: 10 best riders as Jonas Vingegaard misses out on top spot - Blazin’ Saddles

Updated 26/07/2022 at 12:42 GMT

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard was a fitting winner of a Tour de France that started in Copenhagen – but was the 25-year-old even the best rider in the race? With the dust now settled on the Champs-Elysees, Felix Lowe takes a look back at an intense three weeks and picks out the best riders of a pulsating 109th edition of the world’s biggest bike race.

‘Wow’ – Vingegaard allows Pogacar to catch up after crash in ‘incredible’ gesture

‘I have other priorities this year’ - Vingegaard rules out Vuelta a Espana tilt

10. primoz roglic (jumbo-visma).

‘Attack, attack, attack!’ – Jumbo-Visma try to crack Pogacar in thriller

9. Simon Geschke (Cofidis)

‘Sobbing Geschke sums it up’ – Heartbreak of Cofidis rider crystallises what Tour means

8. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)

'We were all on our knees' - Wright gets emotional after being told he 'animated' the Tour

7. Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma)

‘Phenomenal!’ - Laporte ends French drought with shock Stage 19 win

6. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers)

‘I dunno’ – Thomas coy on future as GC rider at Grand Tours

5. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Philipsen destroys field to win Stage 21 in Paris, Vingegaard crowned champion

4. Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost)

‘Brilliant to see’ – Cort delights Danish crowd in polka dots

3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)

Pogacar ‘already thinking about next year’ – Wiggins

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)

Vingegaard wins Stage 18 in Pyrenees as Pogacar finishes distant second

1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)

So then... can Wout van Aert win yellow?

'Greatest rivalry Tour has ever seen' - Reaction as Pogacar usurps Vingegaard

'you gave everything, that's all that matters' - vingegaard emotional, consoled by jorgenson, 'unwelcome' - pogacar says booing does not belong in cycling amid vingegaard jeers.

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Tour de France teams and riders: complete startlist for the 2021 race

Every team and rider at the Tour de France

Alex Broadway/ASO

Colin Henrys

With a startlist littered with Tour de France icons and some of pro cycling’s best up-and-coming stars, the world’s biggest cycling race will certainly be living up to its billing once again.

Chris Froome and Vicenzo Nibali share 11 Grand Tour wins between them, while defending champion Tadej Pogacar and fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic represent some of the new era of potential greats on show.

Among the sprinters it is a similar story – Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel have won 70 Grand Tour stages between them, but Caleb Ewan will be looking to add to his tally.

Peter Sagan, as ever, will be among the green jersey contenders but Ewan will be keen to provide competition and Tour debutant Mathieu van der Poel is a rouleur with a reputation showing no sign of slowing.

Of the 184 riders on the startlist, 33 will be flying the home flag and there are 27 nationalities represented in total – with ten Brits and one Irishman among them.

You can find the full list of riders for the 2021 Tour de France below, but first here’s a quick look at the top contenders for this year’s maillot jaune .

Tour de France 2021 favourites

• Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates)
• Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma)
• Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers)
• Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers)
• Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar Team)
• Richie Porte (INEOS Grenadiers)
• Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step)

Tour de France 2021 teams and riders

Uae team emirates.

Tadej Pogacar snatched victory at last year’s Tour de France to announce himself on the world stage in style.

Aged just 21, the Slovenian claimed the yellow jersey with victory on the penultimate stage and his winning form has showed no sign of slowing since.

Victories at the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour of Slovenia are the mark of a man in superb form.

He can climb, he can put down the power in the time trial and he is backed by a strong and experienced UAE-Team Emirates line-up.

Former King of the Mountains Rafal Majka and 2013 world champion Rui Costa are among his domestiques, as is Italian Davide Formolo.

Marc Hischi, Rafal Majka, Brandon McNulty and Vegard Stake Laengen complete the line-up as they look to earn back-to-back Tour victories.

• Tadej Pogacar (SLO)
• Mikkel Bjerg (DEN)
• Rui Costa (POR)
• Davide Formolo (ITA)
• Marc Hirschi (SUI)
• Rafal Majka (POL)
• Brandon McNulty (USA)
• Vegard Stake Laengen (NOR)

Tour de France 2020: Winner (Tadej Pogacar), Youth classification (Tadej Pogacar), King of the Mountains (Tadej Pogacar), Three stage wins (Tadej Pogacar)

Pro wins 2021: 14

Team Jumbo-Visma

Primoz Roglic was cruelly denied victory last year, when he lost the yellow jersey on the penultimate stage, blown away by Tadej Pogacar’s stunning time trial.

Roglic had led since finishing second on stage nine, and he laid bare his form when he then went on to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Vuelta a Espana before the season was up.

He could not defend his Liege title this time around, but won three stages of Paris-Nice and claimed overall victory at the Tour of the Basque Country.

He is not the only Team Jumbo-Visma rider on the hunt for success either – he has a strong team backing him, that includes Steven Kruijswijk and Robert Gesink for the mountains.

Tony Martin will play a big role as domestique if there is a yellow jersey to defend too, and given Wout van Aert – a double stage winner last season – is among the contenders for stage one victory, that could be from the very first weekend.

• Primoz Roglic (SLO)
• Wout van Aert (BEL)
• Mike Teunissen (NED)
• Robert Gesink (NED)
• Jonas Vindegaard (DEN)
• Tony Martin (GER)
• Sepp Kuss (USA)
• Steven Kruijswijk (NED)

Tour de France 2020: Second (Primoz Roglic), Seventh (Tom Dumoulin), Three stage wins (Wout van Aert (2), Primoz Roglic)

Pro wins 2021: 20

INEOS Grenadiers

Since their first win, as Team Sky, in 2012 the team now known as INEOS Grenadiers have dominated this race with four riders contributing to seven wins in the last nine editions.

Egan Arley Bernal could not defend his title last year, but victory at the Giro d’Italia has whet the appetite for yet more INEOS success this season.

They arrive fresh from success at the Tour de Suisse (Richie Porte) and Criterium du Dauphine (Richard Carapaz) and both men join 2018 Tour winner Geraint Thomas in a fiercely-strong line-up.

Tao Geoghegan Hart is another former Grand Tour winner in their strong list – one of three Brits, with Thomas and Luke Rowe.

Michal Kwiatkowski, Jonathan Castroviejo and Dylan van Baarle also line-up. It is the sort of line-up that can dominate the peloton if the Grenadiers get a sniff of the yellow jersey.

The team boasts 27 victories this season in total, and they will be expected to add to that over the next few weeks.

• Richard Carapaz (ECU)
• Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP)
• Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR)
• Michal Kwiatkowski (POL)
• Richie Porte (AUS)
• Luke Rowe (GBR)
• Geraint Thomas (GBR)
• Dylan van Baarle (NED)

Tour de France 2020: One stage win (Michal Kwiatkowski), 13 th overall (Richard Carapaz)

Pro wins 2021: 27

Astana-Premier Tech

Versatility and freedom to chase stage wins were the key words in Team Performance Manager Dmitriy Fofonov's revealing of Astana-Premier Tech's 2021 Tour de France team.

Newly-crowned Spanish road race champion Omar Fraile, and his compatriot and national time trial champ Ion Izagirre will be among those hunting for stage wins.

Astana had Miguel Angel Lopez finish sixth last year, but Fraile, Izagirre, Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang and, stage winner last year, Alexey Lutsenko will all be targeting success day-by-day this time around.

Lutsenko won the time trial stage of the Criterium du Dauphine ahead of this race and finished second overall to prove his form - he will be one to watch for stage wins, even if the team does shun any wider ambitions as a result.

• Alex Aranburu (ESP)
• Stefan de Bod (RSA)
• Omar Fraile (ESP)
• Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
• Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ)
• Hugo Houle (CAN)
• Ion Izagirre (ESP)
• Alexey Lutzenko (KAZ)

Tour de France 2020: Sixth overall (Miguel Angel Lopez)

Pro wins 2021: eight

COFIDIS, Solutions Credits

In the previous two years, Guillaume Martin has finished 12th and 11th at the Tour de France and was crowned King of the Mountains at the Vuelta a Espana.

The 28-year-old Frenchman will now lead Cofidis again in this year's race, as they look to end a barren run of 12 years without a Tour stage win.

The long-standing team will pin their hopes in the mountains on Martin, who will have Spanish climbing pair Ruben Fernandez and Jesus Herrada working for him when the road heads up.

On the flatter stages, Christophe Laporte remains their contender for stage victories.

Cofidis are a fixture of the Tour de France, but success has eluded them far too often in recent memory. Martin has a big task on his hands to end that run, but he can at least target a strong GC finish and some valuable prize money as a result too.

• Guillaume Martin (FRA)
• Christophe Laporte (FRA)
• Jesus Herrada (ESP)
• Anthony Perez (FRA)
• Simon Geschke (GER)
• Ruben Fernandez (ESP)
• Pierre-Luc Perichon (FRA)
• Jelle Wallays (BEL)

Tour de France 2020: 11 th overall (Guillaume Martin)

Pro wins 2021: six

Trek-Segafredo

The only non-Team Sky rider to win the Tour de France between 2012 and 2020, Vincenzo Nibali joins forces with Bauke Mollema for the second consecutive Grand Tour this season.

Injury before and during the Giro d'Italia cost the veteran a shot at a sustained challenge, but he and Mollema will be hunting stage wins and taking each day as it comes regarding a GC challenge too.

Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Stuyven is another rider to look out for as he hunts for stage wins as part of a versatile attack of rouleurs that also features Mads Pedersen and Edward Theuns.

Strength in depth appears to have been the key criteria for this Trek-Segafredo team, and a balanced team for all terrain also includes Kenny Elissonde for the mountain stages and Latvian Toms Skujins as a man to look out for in the breakaways.

The first week could well shape their tactics overall, but even at 36 there should be nobody betting against Nibali winding the clock back on at least one day of this race.

• Julien Bernard (FRA)
• Kenny Elissonde (FRA)
• Bauke Mollema (NED)
• Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
• Mads Pedersen (DEN)
• Toms Skujins (LTV)
• Jasper Stuyven (BEL)
• Edward Theuns (BEL)

Tour de France 2020: Third overall (Richie Porte)

Pro wins 2021: ten

Team Qhubeka-ASSOS

The pre-Tour headlines for Qhubeka-Assos' Tour de France squad have centred on one man who will not be there - namely Fabio Aru.

Unspecified physical problems suffered at the Italian national championships means Aru will not be on the Tour startline and Qhubeka-Assos' ambitions for the race have been shuffled.

Aru's overall form meant he was never going to be in overall contention, but the 2015 Vuelta a Espana winner and multiple Grand Tour stage winner's experience is a loss.

Instead, Simon Clarke serves as a hugely experienced road captain and the likes of Colombian climber Sergio Henao and Belgian time-trial specialist Victor Campenaerts will be chasing stage success.

After some incredible years at this race in their early days, Team Qhubeka-ASSOS - in former guises - has had a bit of a lean patch of late.

They will feature in plenty of breakaways, however, so expect the Qhubeka charity to get plenty of airtime.

• Simon Clarke (AUS)
• Michael Gogl (AUT)
• Victor Campenaerts (BEL)
• Max Walscheid (GER)
• Sean Bennett (USA)
• Nic Dlamini (RSA)
• Sergio Henao (COL)
• Carlos Barbero (ESP)

Tour de France 2020: 73 rd overall

Pro wins 2021: four

Team BikeExchange

Fresh from his third place at the Giro d'Italia, Simon Yates will switch his focus to stage wins for the 2021 Tour de France having been named in the Team BikeExchange line-up.

He and Esteban Chaves will be on the hunt for victory in the mountains, as the Brit looks to add to the two Tour stage wins he earned in 2019.

The 2018 Vuelta a Espana champion and his Colombian team-mate have 13 Grand Tour stage wins between them – though Chaves is still looking to get off the mark at the Tour de France.

He found some form with tenth place at the Tour de Suisse to add to his collection of top-ten results this season.

Michael Matthews, a former green jersey winner, is another option for stage wins, meanwhile - leading the team on the flatter stages and certainly capable of mixing it up over the slightly lumpier stuff too.

It is, all in all, a balanced and experienced line-up and it would be a surprise if they do not return from France without at least a small measure of success to their name.

• Luke Durbridge (AUS)
• Christopher Juul-Jensen (DEN)
• Luka Mezgec (SLO)
• Simon Yates (GB)
• Esteban Chaves (COL)
• Michael Matthews (AUS)
• Amund Grondahl Jansen (NOR)
• Lucas Hamilton (AUS)

Tour de France 2020: ninth overall (Adam Yates)

Pro wins 2021: seven

Bahrain-Victorious

Bahrain-Victorious have wide-ranging ambitions for the 2021 Tour de France, anchored on ever-improving Australian Jack Haig's GC ambitions.

Haig, 27, has finished seventh at Paris-Nice and fifth at the Criterium du Dauphine so far this season and will have Wout Poels among his top domestiques for this race.

Chris Froome's former Team Sky lieutenant will also be hunting stage wins according to DS Rolf Aldag who wants Bahrain-Victorious to be, well, victorious every single day at this race.

British Tour debutant Fred Wright, 22, will be one of those looking to play his part - the youngest member in a squad that otherwise packs a good level of Grand Tour experience.

• Pello Bilbao (ESP)
• Sonny Colbrelli (ITA)
• Jack Haig (AUS)
• Dylan Teuns (BEL)
• Wout Poels (NED)
• Matej Mohoric (SLO)
• Marco Haller (AUT)
• Fred Wright (GBR)

Tour de France 2020: fourth overall (Mikel Landa)

Pro wins 2021: 16

Ag2r Citroen Team

With Bob Jungels absent through injury, Ag2r Citroen Team still feature an experienced, versatile squad for the 2021 Tour de France.

Greg van Avermaet is one of the stand-out names - the reigning Olympic road race champion having pulled on the yellow jersey in both 2016 and 2018.

The first week looks well suited to Van Avermaet again, while Oliver Naesen is another Belgian that could be in content for the French-sponsored team in that week.

Nans Peters returns after claiming stage success last season, meanwhile.

Balancing Van Avermaet's experience, Ag2r Citroen also feature three Tour debutants - Ben O'Connor, Aurelien Paret-Peintre and Dorian Godon.

• Benoit Cosnefroy (FRA)
• Greg van Avermaet (BEL)
• Aurelien Paret-Peintre (FRA)
• Ben O’Connor (AUS)
• Nans Peters (FRA)
• Oliver Naesen (BEL)
• Michael Schar (SUI)
• Dorian Godon (FRA)

Tour de France 2020: Winner (Tadej Pogacar), Youth classification (Tadej Pogacar), King of the Mountains (Tadej Pogacar)

Pro wins 2021: 26 th overall (Mikael Cherel)

Movistar Team

Movistar are serial winners of the team classification at the Tour de France, but the Spanish team have found individual success has eluded them too often.

Realistically, the star riders that have passed through the team may feel they could - and perhaps should - have done more in years gone by.

But they remain contenders year after year, and flying the flag in 2021 will be Enric Mas - fifth last year - Marc Soler and Miguel Angel Lopez.

Alejandro Valverde lends his considerable experience to the team on the road, and Imanol Erviti and Carlos Verona are among the Spanish climbing stars who will look to crack the peloton in the mountains.

A podium finish is not beyond the realms of possibility for a team who may prefer their Dark Horse status. One thing is certain, it would be dangerous to write off a team with climbing prowess to match the best of them.

• Alejandro Valverde (ESP)
• Carlos Verona (ESP)
• Enric Mas (ESP)
• Imanol Erviti (ESP)
• Ivan Garcia Cortina (ESP)
• Jorge Arcas (ESP)
• Marc Soler (ESP)
• Miguel Angel Lopez (COL)

Tour de France 2020: Fifth overall (Enric Mas), Team Classification winners

Pro wins 2021: 11

BORA-hansgrohe

A balanced BORA-hansgrohe team are sure to enjoy plenty of time at the sharp end of stages at this year's Tour de France.

Peter Sagan is their big-name star, as the rouleur's rouleur looks to swap his newly-reclaimed Slovakian national champion's jersey for yet another Tour de France green jersey.

He topped the points classification at the Giro d'Italia last month to add to the seven points classification titles he has claimed at the Tour de France too.

His stage win at the Giro was the 18th Grand Tour stage of his career, but he is not the only BORA-hansgrohe to look out for at the 2021 Tour de France.

Wilco Kelderman is their top climber, and Emanuel Buchmann finished fourth overall in this race in 2019 to prove his credentials too.

Kelderman has enjoyed top-ten finishes at the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphine to hone his form this season.

A pdoum finish at last year's Giro d'Italia was a reminder of what the 30-year-old can do, and the Dutchman will be keen to prove there is more than one string to BORA-hansgrohe's bow in this race.

• Daniel Oss (ITA)
• Lukas Postlberger (AUT)
• Ide Schelling (NED)
• Wilco Kelderman (NED)
• Peter Sagan (SVK)
• Nils Politt (GER)
• Emanuel Buchmann (GER)
• Patrick Konrad (AUT)

Tour de France 2020: 33 rd overall

Pro wins 2021: 13

Lotto-Soudal

Caleb Ewan leads Lotto-Soudal's sprinting charge and the team management have left little doubt that he will be the man in charge at this race too.

The Australian has five stage wins in the last two editions of this race and looks the top contender for the bunch gallops in this race too.

A top sprinter in his own right, he also boasts a strong lead-out train and the pure focus of his team for this race - if he racks up the stage wins, the green jersey will become a target too.

Beyond Ewan, Thomas de Gendt and Philippe Gilbert lend considerable experience to this team and will almost certainly be looking for stage wins throughout the three weeks.

De Gendt is a fixture of the breakaway on the most brutal of days... and there are plenty of those in the offing this year.

• Caleb Ewan (AUS)
• Jasper de Buyst (BEL)
• Tosh van der Sande (BEL)
• Thomas de Gendt (BEL)
• Roger Kluge (GER)
• Philippe Gilbert (BEL)
• Harry Sweeny (AUS)
• Brent van Moer (BEL)

Tour de France 2020: 52 nd overall

Deceuninck-QuickStep

A late call-up in place of injured Sam Bennett - last year's green jersey winner - has presented Mark Cavendish with the chance to enjoy what may well prove to be a final hurrah at this race.

Deceuninck-QuickStep's decision to resign the Manx Missile has already been repaid by five victories so far this season and the 30-time Tour stage winner may yet have one last trick up his sleeve on the biggest occasion.

Cavendish has Michael Morkov for support in the sprints, but the team's focus is split with Julian Alaphilippe the main leader.

Alaphilippe has won the yellow jersey on 16 occasions in total, and the first two stages could present him with a chance to add to that tally.

Two long time trials suit him well too, as he looks to improve on his career-best fifth place overall in 2019.

Alaphilippe will be the team's focus, but between him and Cavendish there could still be plenty of headlines to write.

• Julian Alaphillipe (FRA)
• Kasper Asgreen (DEN)
• Davide Ballerini (ITA)
• Mattia Cattaneo (ITA)
• Mark Cavendish (GBR)
• Tim DeClercq (BEL)
• Dries Devenyns (BEL)
• Michael Morkov (DEN)

Tour de France 2020: Points classification (Sam Bennett), 36 th overall

Pro wins 2021: 32

EF Education-Nippo

Tour de Suisse runner-up Rigoberto Uran is one of two Colombian climbers in the EF Education-Nippo team for the 2021 Tour de France and he remains a rider that can never be written off.

Uran was second in this race in 2017, and his time trial success at the Tour de Suisse, that helped him to that second place, was a reminder of how this year's TDF course could suit him.

The 34-year-old may soon be passing the baton to younger compatriot Sergio Higuita but his knack of returning to fore just as everyone has dismissed as a contender means that time has not come yet.

Higuita himself will be a key ally in the mountains and an alternative for stage wins if the team's attention shifts.

Elsewhere, a balanced team will support the two Colombians and keep the EF Education-Nippo flag flying on the transition days too.

• Sergio Higuita (COL)
• Rigoberto Uran (COL)
• Magnus Cort (DEN)
• Neilson Powless (USA)
• Stefan Bissegger (SUI)
• Michael Valgren (DEN)
• Ruben Guerreiro (POR)
• Jonas Rutsch (GER)

Tour de France 2020: Eighth overall (Rigoberto Uran)

Groupama-FDJ

David Gaudu and Arnaud Demare will hope to fly the home flag for French cycling fans as they share the lead on a dual-focussed Groupama-FDJ roster for the 2021 Tour de France.

Gaudu, 24, leads the team's GC challenge in the absence of Thibaut Pinot and his success at last season's Vuelta a Espana - winning two stages - has showed his capabilities.

Demare, meanwhile, arrives on the back of a strong season and realistically looks Caleb Ewan's biggest sprinting rival in this race.

A first Tour start since 2018, having focussed on - and enjoyed success at - the Giro d'Italia in the previous two seasons follows a campaign which has already brought seven victories.

A full lead-out train boasting the power of Ignatas Konovalovas, Miles Scotson and Stefan Kung and wing-man Jacopo Guarnieri shows where Groupama-FDJ's primary focus lies.

Gaudu is an option for the mountains, but Demare and sprint stage wins are the main goal.

• Bruno Armirail (FRA)
• Arnaud Demare (FRA)
• David Gaudu (FRA)
• Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA)
• Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU)
• Stefan Kung (SUI)
• Valentin Madouas (FRA)
• Miles Scotson (AUS)

Tour de France 2020: 24 th overall (Sebastien Reichenbach)

Pro wins 2021: 19

Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux

Back at the Tour de France, Intermarche-Wanty Gobert Materiaux are looking for time in the breakaway but they have options for different terrain in their eight-man squad.

Louis Meintjes will be their man in the mountains, Jan Bakelants over rolling terrain and the Van Poppels, Danny being led out by Boy, are their sprint contenders.

The team claimed a stage win at the Giro d'Italia last month, and the motivation is there for Tavo van der Hoorn's team-mates to follow suit this year.

The latter's victory was the team's first as a WorldTour team, and they certainly have a versatile enough squad to be in the mix consistently in this year's Tour de France too.

• Jan Bakelants (BEL)
• Jonas Koch (GER)
• Louis Meintjes (RSA)
• Loic Vliegen (BEL)
• Danny van Poppel (NED)
• Boy van Poppel (NED)
• Georg Zimmermann (GER)
• Lorenzo Rota (ITA)

Tour de France 2020: N/A

Pro wins 2021: two

Israel Start-Up Nation

Israel Start-Up Nation make their second Tour de France appearance and, as with last year's race, they have the big names but could well have little to show for it.

Andre Greipel has two wins to his name this season, but his last Tour success was a long time ago - similar to former team-mate and long-standing rival Mark Cavendish.

Chris Froome, meanwhile, is of course a four-time Tour de France winner but his form this season has showed that those days are behind him.

Canadian climber Michael Woods and Irish all-rounder Dan Martin could be the better shouts for stage wins and a strong overall finish.

Martin took a stage at the Giro d'Italia and will be keen for more of the same.

Elsewhere, Israeli time-trial champion Omer Goldstein will wear the national jersey against the clock and will want to give a good showing.

• Rick Zabel (GER)
• Andre Greipel (GER)
• Chris Froome (GBR)
• Omer Goldstein (ISR)
• Reto Hollenstein (SUI)
• Guillaume Boivin (CAN)
• Dan Martin (IRL)
• Michael Woods (CAN)

Tour de France 2020: 41 st overall

Team DSM has undergone several name and sponsor changes, and the outfit are no longer the team they once were.

But where Marcel Kittel and Tom Dumoulin lit up the Tour d France for the team's previous guides, they should not be written off in 2021 either.

Powerhouse sprinters and Grand Tour contenders they are not, but there are riders like Tiesj Benoot who know what it takes to get to the sharp end of a race.

Dutchman Cees Bol took the team's only win so far this season at Paris-Nice, meanwhile.

• Soren Kragh Andersen (DEN)
• Tiesj Benoot (BEL)
• Cees Bol (NED)
• Mark Donovan (GBR)
• Nils Eekhoff (NED)
• Joris Nieuwenhuis (NED)
• Casper Pedersen (DEN)
• Jasha Sutterlin (GER)

Tour de France 2020: 54 th overall, one stage win (Marc Hirschi)

Pro wins 2021: one

Alpecin-Fenix

All eyes are on Tour de France debutant Mathieu van der Poel as he targets the yellow jersey on the first stage of the 2021 race.

The Dutchman has made a seamless transition from cyclo-cross domination to Classics success on the road and he heads a sprinter-packed Alpecin-Fenix squad for this race.

Beyond the first stage, Van der Poel could also prove a contender for the green jersey as he looks to best Peter Sagan and make this is a maiden Tour to remember.

For his team, also at the Tour for the first time, stage wins are clearly the target with a team built to take something from the rolling and flatter stages.

• Petr Vakoc (CZE)
• Kristian Sbaragli (ITA)
• Tim Merlier (BEL)
• Xandro Meurisse (BEL)
• Mathieu van der Poel (NED)
• Silvan Dillier (SUI)
• Jasper Philipsen (BEL)
• Jonas Rickaert (BEL)

Pro wins 2021: 17

Team TotalEnergies

Four of team TotalEnergies' five wins this season arrived in an eight-day period in May.

At the 2021 Tour de France, the goal will be breakaways and stage wins where the opportunity present as they look to take advantage of their airtime.

Edvald Boasson Hagen has prowess on the biggest stage and a huge engine, while Pierre Latour will be one to watch when the mountain heads skywards.

It is a balanced team, full of opportunists, and when the breakaways are let off the leash in the final week, there could be opportunities.

• Pierre Latour (FRA)
• Anthony Turgis (FRA)
• Victor de la Parte (ESP)
• Cristian Rodriguez (ESP)
• Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR)
• Julien Simon (FRA)
• Fabien Doubey (FRA)
• Jeremy Cabot (FRA)

Tour de France 2020: 31 st overall

Pro wins 2021: five

Team Arkea-Samsic

Team Arkea-Samsic are led by three riders who, just a few years ago, seemed to have the world at their cleated feet.

Warren Barguil and Nairo Quintana have both won the Tour de France's polka dot jersey and the Colombian has claimed both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana.

Their stars have faded overt time, however, and with a balanced Tour route - and a lot of time trialling - awaiting, stage wins in the mountain look the better bet than a yellow jersey challenge.

The third of those team leaders is Nacer Bouhanni, a man who looked to set to carry France's sprinting hopes at one time.

He too has never lived up to expectations on the biggest stage, however, and it could be British duo Connor Swift and Dan McLay who stand more chance of earning something on the flatter stages.

• Warren Barguil (FRA)
• Nacer Bouhanni (FRA)
• Nairo Quintana (COL)
• Elie Gesbert (FRA)
• Connor Swift (GBR)
• Anthony Delaplace (FRA)
• Dan McLay (GBR)
• Clement Russo (FRA)

Tour de France 2020: 14 th overall

B&B Hotels p/b KTM

With an all-French team - three of whom share the same first name - B&B Hotels p/b KTM arrive at the Tour de France with one prime goal in mind.

And that goal is to get up the road and earn their sponsors some air time, making each day's break and contesting for victories with the likes of Pierre Rolland and Bryan Coquard where the opportunity presents itself.

This season, their only successes have come in the Tour du Rwanda - Rolland earning one of them.

He will be one to watch in the mountains, and he can never be confidently written off - but realistically the team's goal is airtime and breakaways and little else is expected.

• Pierre Rolland (FRA)
• Quentin Pacher (FRA)
• Maxime Chevalier (FRA)
• Franck Bonnamour (FRA)
• Cyril Barthe (FRA)
• Cyril Gautier (FRA)
• Cyril Lemoine (FRA)
• Bryan Coquard (FRA)

Tour de France 2020: 18 th overall (Pierre Rolland)

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2024 Start list

Team visma | lease a bike.

• 1 JONAS VINGEGAARD
• 2 TIESJ BENOOT
• 3 MATTEO JORGENSON
• 4 WILCO KELDERMAN
• 5 CHRISTOPHE LAPORTE
• 6 BART LEMMEN
• 7 JAN TRATNIK
• 8 WOUT VAN AERT

UAE TEAM EMIRATES

• 11 TADEJ POGACAR
• 12 JOAO ALMEIDA
• 13 JUAN AYUSO
• 14 NILS POLITT
• 15 PAVEL SIVAKOV
• 16 MARC SOLER
• 17 TIM WELLENS
• 18 ADAM YATES

TEAM JAYCO ALULA

• 21 SIMON YATES
• 22 LUKE DURBRIDGE
• 23 DYLAN GROENEWEGEN
• 24 CHRIS HARPER
• 25 CHRISTOPHER JUUL-JENSEN
• 26 MICHAEL MATTHEWS
• 27 LUKA MEZGEC
• 28 ELMAR REINDERS

INEOS GRENADIERS

• 31 CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
• 32 EGAN BERNAL
• 33 JONATHAN CASTROVIEJO
• 34 LAURENS DE PLUS
• 35 MICHAL KWIATKOWSKI
• 36 TOM PIDCOCK
• 37 GERAINT THOMAS
• 38 BEN TURNER
• 41 GIULIO CICCONE
• 42 JULIEN BERNARD
• 43 TIM DECLERCQ
• 44 RYAN GIBBONS
• 45 MADS PEDERSEN
• 46 TOMS SKUJINS
• 47 JASPER STUYVEN
• 48 CARLOS VERONA

DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM

• 51 FELIX GALL
• 52 BRUNO ARMIRAIL
• 53 SAM BENNETT
• 54 DORIAN GODON
• 55 PAUL LAPEIRA
• 56 OLIVER NAESEN
• 57 NANS PETERS
• 58 NICOLAS PRODHOMME

BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS

• 61 PELLO BILBAO
• 62 NIKIAS ARNDT
• 63 PHIL BAUHAUS
• 64 SANTIAGO BUITRAGO
• 65 JACK HAIG
• 66 MATEJ MOHORIC
• 67 WOUT POELS
• 68 FRED WRIGHT

SOUDAL QUICK-STEP

• 71 REMCO EVENEPOEL
• 72 JAN HIRT
• 73 YVES LAMPAERT
• 74 MIKEL LANDA
• 75 GIANNI MOSCON
• 76 CASPER PEDERSEN
• 77 ILAN VAN WILDER
• 78 LOUIS VERVAEKE

RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE

• 81 PRIMOZ ROGLIC
• 82 NICO DENZ
• 83 MARCO HALLER
• 84 JAI HINDLEY
• 85 BOB JUNGELS
• 86 MATTEO SOBRERO
• 87 DANNY VAN POPPEL
• 88 ALEKSANDR VLASOV

GROUPAMA-FDJ

• 91 DAVID GAUDU
• 92 KÉVIN GENIETS
• 93 ROMAIN GREGOIRE
• 94 STEFAN KÜNG
• 95 VALENTIN MADOUAS
• 96 LENNY MARTINEZ
• 97 QUENTIN PACHER
• 98 CLÉMENT RUSSO

ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK

• 101 MATHIEU VAN DER POEL
• 102 SILVAN DILLIER
• 103 ROBBE GHYS
• 104 SOREN KRAGH ANDERSEN
• 105 AXEL LAURANCE
• 106 JASPER PHILIPSEN
• 107 JONAS RICKAERT
• 108 GIANNI VERMEERSCH

EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST

• 111 RICHARD CARAPAZ
• 112 ALBERTO BETTIOL
• 113 STEFAN BISSEGGER
• 114 RUI COSTA
• 115 BEN HEALY
• 116 NEILSON POWLESS
• 117 SEAN QUINN
• 118 MARIJN VAN DEN BERG

LOTTO DSTNY

• 121 ARNAUD DE LIE
• 122 CEDRIC BEULLENS
• 123 VICTOR CAMPENAERTS
• 124 JARRAD DRIZNERS
• 125 SÉBASTIEN GRIGNARD
• 126 MAXIM VAN GILS
• 127 HARM VANHOUCKE
• 128 BRENT VAN MOER

ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH

• 131 STEPHEN WILLIAMS
• 132 PASCAL ACKERMANN
• 133 GUILLAUME BOIVIN
• 134 JAKOB FUGLSANG
• 135 DEREK GEE
• 136 HUGO HOULE
• 137 KRISTS NEILANDS
• 138 JAKE STEWART
• 141 GUILLAUME MARTIN
• 142 PIET ALLEGAERT
• 143 BRYAN COQUARD
• 144 SIMON GESCHKE
• 145 JESUS HERRADA
• 146 ION IZAGIRRE
• 147 ALEXIS RENARD
• 148 AXEL ZINGLE

MOVISTAR TEAM

• 151 ENRIC MAS
• 152 ALEX ARANBURU
• 153 DAVIDE FORMOLO
• 154 FERNANDO GAVIRIA
• 155 OIER LAZKANO
• 156 GREGOR MÜHLBERGER
• 157 NELSON OLIVEIRA
• 158 JAVIER ROMO

ARKEA-B&B HOTELS

• 161 KÉVIN VAUQUELIN
• 162 AMAURY CAPIOT
• 163 CLÉMENT CHAMPOUSSIN
• 164 ARNAUD DEMARE
• 165 RAUL GARCIA PIERNA
• 166 DANIEL MCLAY
• 167 LUCA MOZZATO
• 168 CRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ

INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY

• 171 LOUIS MEINTJES
• 172 BINIAM GIRMAY
• 173 KOBE GOOSSENS
• 174 HUGO PAGE
• 175 LAURENZ REX
• 176 MIKE TEUNISSEN
• 177 GERBEN THIJSSEN
• 178 GEORG ZIMMERMANN

TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL

• 181 ROMAIN BARDET
• 182 WARREN BARGUIL
• 183 JOHN DEGENKOLB
• 184 NILS EEKHOFF
• 185 FABIO JAKOBSEN
• 186 OSCAR ONLEY
• 187 FRANK VAN DEN BROEK
• 188 BRAM WELTEN

ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM

• 191 MARK CAVENDISH
• 192 DAVIDE BALLERINI
• 193 CEES BOL
• 194 YEVGENIY FEDOROV
• 195 MICHELE GAZZOLI
• 196 ALEXEY LUTSENKO
• 197 MICHAEL MORKOV
• 198 HAROLD TEJADA

UNO-X MOBILITY

• 201 MAGNUS CORT
• 202 JONAS ABRAHAMSEN
• 203 ODD CHRISTIAN EIKING
• 204 TOBIAS JOHANNESSEN
• 205 ALEXANDER KRISTOFF
• 206 JOHANNES KULSET
• 207 RASMUS TILLER
• 208 SOREN WAERENSKJOLD

TOTALENERGIES

• 211 STEFF CRAS
• 212 MATHIEU BURGAUDEAU
• 213 SANDY DUJARDIN
• 214 THOMAS GACHIGNARD
• 215 FABIEN GRELLIER
• 216 JORDAN JEGAT
• 217 ANTHONY TURGIS
• 218 MATTEO VERCHER

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Tour de France

The top 10 tour de france riders of all time.

The Tour de France – originally scheduled to run from June 27 to July 19 – will now start on August 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look through the history books to profile 10 of the greatest riders from the race's history.

Eddy Merckx

Widely considered the greatest ever cyclist, 'the Cannibal' won the Tour in each of the first five editions he entered, four in a row between 1969 and 1972, then again in 1974 after he skipped the 1973 race to win the Giro-Vuelta double instead. Merckx's insatiable desire for victory saw him win a record 34 stages of the Tour in his career. He completed the Giro-Tour double three times, and in 1974 became the first man to win cycling's 'triple crown' of the Giro, Tour and World Championships road race, an achievement matched only once since by Stephen Roche in 1987. Merckx's hopes of a sixth title in 1975 were ruined when he was punched by a spectator on the Puy-de-Dome during stage 14, battling on to finish second overall despite suffering from an inflamed liver as a result of the incident. He would never again win another stage of the race he had dominated for so long, with his only other appearance in 1977 ending in a sixth-placed finish.

Bernard Hinault

The last Frenchman to celebrate victory in the Tour de France, Bernard Hinault took the title in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985. A sixth title eluded 'the Badger' – a knee injury forced Hinault to withdraw in 1980 while in the yellow jersey, with a similar problem preventing him from starting in 1983. But most fascinating of all was the 1986 race, in which Hinault had pledged to help La Vie Claire team-mate Greg LeMond . If he did help, he did so grudgingly, happy to play up to the idea he was capable of winning a sixth title. An attack on stage 12 to Pau put him more than five minutes clear of LeMond and he held yellow for five days, losing it after stage 17. The pair finished arm-in-arm on Alpe d'Huez at the end of stage 18 but the gesture seemed an empty one given Hinault's interview immediately afterwards claiming the race was still on. LeMond eventually triumphed by three minutes but the distrust lingered, and Hinault retired at the end of the season, still only 32.

Miguel Indurain

Of the four men to have won five Tour titles, only Spaniard Indurain achieved it with five consecutive victories as he seized control of the race from 1991 to 1995. It was a record perhaps in keeping with a rider many criticised as "robotic" as he ripped up time trials to stamp his authority on the race. Indurain's success came in the second half of his career – he had competed in the Tour and Vuelta a combined 10 times, never cracking the top 15 until he finished 10th in the 1990 Tour and seventh in that year's Vuelta, teeing up the success that began a year later. He also claimed two Giro titles, in 1992 and 1993, but never bettered his second place from 1991 in his home Grand Tour.

Jacques Anquetil

★ D-61 ★ Jacques Anquetil, ahead of Imerio Massignan, wins one of his 5th Tour, unstoppable "Maitre Jacques"... #TDF pic.twitter.com/R0zkbqn39v — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) April 29, 2013

Anquetil was the first man to win the Tour five times, taking victory in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964, with a Tour-Vuelta double in 1963 and a Giro-Tour double in 1964. After emerging as a strong amateur, Anquetil broke the prestigious Hour Record while on national service in the French army, teeing up the professional career that would soon follow. Riding in a very different era, Anquetil never denied doping, saying during a television debate: "Leave me in peace; everybody takes dope". Anquetil died in 1987 from stomach cancer, aged 53.

Chris Froome

Froome's awkward-looking style on a bike might frequently be mocked, but none can now question the success it has brought him with seven Grand Tour trophies in the cabinet. His Tour successes in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 have been complimented by his stunning 2018 Giro victory and Vuelta titles from 2011 and 2017 – the 2011 title having only been awarded last year after Juan Jose Cobo was found guilty of doping, retroactively making Froome Britain's first Grand Tour winner. Many believe Froome was strong enough to have beaten Sir Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour but for team orders, and it remains to be seen if his chance at a record-equalling fifth title is now gone after a high-speed crash during last year's Criterium du Dauphine left him with a long list of injuries which may prevent him from ever getting back to his best again.

Greg LeMond

LeMond's victory in 1986 went down in history as one of the most fascinating ever Tours given the intra-team battle with Hinault, but for the American it was only the beginning as he followed up with an even more dramatic win in 1989. After suffering life-threatening injuries in a 1987 hunting accident, LeMond's future in the sport was in question – he was not considered a contender in 1989 and had told his wife he was thinking about retirement. But he bossed the stage-five time trial and battled tooth and nail with Laurent Fignon through the mountains. As they began a rare time trial into Paris on the final stage, LeMond began some 50 seconds behind Fignon but stunned the Frenchman to win the Tour by just eight seconds, going on to take the world title a month later. LeMond would claim a third Tour title in 1990.

Louison Bobet

★ D-55 ★ 1955, Louison Bobet, taking a lap of honor in the Parc des Princes, wins the Tour! #TDF pic.twitter.com/6XQQIjsTrg — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) May 5, 2013

Regarded as the first great rider of the post-war era, Bobet was the first to win the Tour in three consecutive years as he dominated from 1953 to 1955. Having taken up cycling after serving in the army during World War II, Bobet's introduction to the Tour was an inauspicious one as his 1947 debut ended in an early withdrawal and earned him the nickname 'cry-baby' as he wept at the difficulty of the race. But he returned a year later to spend two days in yellow and finished third in 1950 to point to far greater potential. He won the 1955 Tour despite saddle boils which required surgery and which Bobet said made him a lesser rider for the rest of his days. After missing the 1956 and 1957 Tours, he returned in 1958, finishing seventh, but was no longer able to compete for yellow.

Philippe Thys

Philippe Thys won his 3 @letour with the number 15 & it's not the end...Learn more > https://t.co/aHbuSnUsPf pic.twitter.com/l0UlesMUff — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 9, 2016

'The Basset Hound' was the first three-time winner of the Tour and a man who would no doubt have contended for or won many more but for the First World War. The Belgian's first win came in 1913 despite him suffering a broken fork and incurring a 10-minute penalty when he stopped at a bike shop for repairs. He won again in 1914 but, with the intervention of war, had to wait until 1920 for his third. Tour organiser Henri Desgrange wrote: "France is not unaware that, without the war, the crack rider from Anderlecht would be celebrating not his third Tour, but his fifth or sixth."

Raymond Poulidor

1⃣9⃣6⃣6⃣ Rivalry Anquetil/Poulidor reaches its peak 👉👈🇷️🇹️ Poulidor / ❤ AnquetilRead more> https://t.co/byljkwm1rX pic.twitter.com/1UgHNH9YNn — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 3, 2016

Raymond Poulidor never won the Tour de France but he rode his way into its legend during his long rivalry with Jacques Anquetil. 'Pou-Pou' became known as the 'Eternal Second' as he finished second three times and third five times, riding on to the age of 40 in his hunt for the yellow jersey – a garment that would always elude him. Poulidor came closest in 1964, losing by only 55 seconds to Anquetil after the two men rode themselves to exhaustion on the Puy de Dome. But with every failure, Poulidor's popularity with the French crowds only grew, even as he was competing with a compatriot, and by the time of his death last year he was arguably France's most popular ever rider.

Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish sits in a category of his own in the history of the Tour as its greatest ever sprinter. Though effectively competing in a different event to those seeking to wear the yellow jersey in Paris, Cavendish became synonymous with Tour success as he utterly dominated the flat stages at his peak. Between 2008 and 2011 he won an incredible 20 stages and in total the Manxman has piled up 30 victories – second only to the record of Merckx – before illness and injury slowed him and left a question mark where there had once appeared near certainty he would one day take the record for himself.

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The Biggest Champions in Tour de France History

While we anticipate who will rise to glory this year, let’s look at the legends who have already cemented their place in Tour history.

Can Tadej go for back-to-back Grand Tours? Will Jonas be able to defend his double titles? Is 2024 finally the year that Primož Roglič—at the front of a new team—can exorcize the demons of the Super Planche des Belles Filles? Will Remco finally deliver on all of the promise and raw talent he’s long exhibited? Or will some sleeper pounce on a golden opportunity and surprise us all the way Sepp Kuss did in last year’s Vuelta?

All of these questions will be answered in just a few days. But for now, instead of looking forward, let’s look back. Rather than speculate on the unknown, let’s remember the known. Let’s talk about some of the most famous (and at least one infamous) winners in the history of the Tour de France, men whose names and exploits have become synonymous with Le Tour.

The Classic Era

Maurice garin – 1903.

Any list of Tour de France winners has to include Garin for no other reason than the Frenchman won the first-ever. In 1903, Garin won the six-stage Tour, covering its 1,509 miles in under ninety-five hours. But don’t let those six stages fool you, as the race averaged over 250 miles each day. Garin defended his title the following year, only to be stripped of the win following allegations that he was transported by a car or a horse at some point during the race.

Phillipe Thys – 1913, 1914, 1920

Thys’s first Tour victory wasn’t without issue, as the Belgian won the 1913 race despite suffering a broken fork. He was penalized ten minutes after it was discovered he repaired the fork at a bicycle shop, yet still won the race by nine minutes. He repeated this in 1914, again overcoming a major penalty. This time, he was hit with a thirty-minute deduction for an unauthorized wheel change. As the race was not run between 1915 and 1918 due to the First World War, Thys had to wait until 1920 for his third and final Tour victory. Following that win, Tour de France founder Henri Desgrange wrote of Thys, “France is not unaware that, without the war, the crack rider from Anderlecht would be celebrating not his third Tour, but his fifth or sixth.”

Gino Bartali – 1938, 1948

Though Coppi was perhaps better known for his trio of wins at his native Giro d’Italia (which included seven King of the Mountains wins), he was twice the winner of the Tour de France. After withdrawing from his first Tour in 1937, where he wore the leader’s jersey for a time, Bartali returned the following year and won, immediately becoming an icon in Italy. A decade later, Bartali returned to the Tour, leaving a nation of people to choose between him and his countryman Fausto Coppi. Bartali won seven stages en route to both the yellow jersey and the KOM classification. Years later, it was discovered that Bartali secretly used his training rides to shuttle documents back and forth between Florence and Assisi in order to aid Jews who were being persecuted by the Nazis.

The Golden Era

Fausto coppi – 1949, 1952.

Fausto Coppi kicked off what many call cycling’s Golden Age and is perhaps most well-known for the fact that he won the Giro/Tour double twice. Coppi was the first to achieve the double. Only eight other riders have achieved the result. Coppi’s early career was interrupted due to the Second World War, leaving generations of pundits to wonder what he might have done in the early 1940s. However, he did win five Giris d’Italia and scores of classics in addition to his pair of Tours. He frequently clashed with his biggest rival, Gino Bartali, dividing a nation of fans down into “Coppiani” and “Bartaliani.”

Jacques Anquetil – 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964

Over the course of eight years, Jacques Anquetil won the race five times. His first victory came on debut, just months after he was discharged from military service. Following a rocky few years spent chasing an elusive Giro/Tour double, Anquetil returned to the top of the podium in 1961. He repeated as Tour champion the following year doubled up the next two years, with the Tour and the Vuelta a España in 1963 and the Tour and the Giro in 1964.

Eddy Merckx – 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974

There might be no more famous bicycle racer than Eddy Merckx. The Belgian legend remains forty-five years after his retirement, as the name to which everyone else is compared. “Is he the next Mercxk?” is asked every few years. And to this point, everyone has fallen short of the mark. And though he’s tied with three other riders on this list with five Tours de France on his resume, his name rises above all due in large part to the rest of his palmarés, which includes victories at virtually every other race of import. And for all of his yellow jerseys, he’s equally known for his thirty-four stage wins at the Tour, matched only by Mark Cavendish, and six stage wins clear of the next closest racers (Bernard Hinault with twenty-eight).

Bernard Hinault – 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985

In Mercxk’s final year, his heir apparent was coronated when Frenchman Bernard Hinault won his first Tour de France. He won again the following year and was leading the race in 1980, expected by many to three-peat. However, “The Badger” was forced to abandon due to a knee injury. He came back the following year and the year after that, again going back-to-back. His final Tour victory came in 1985 thanks in large part to the work of his teammate, a young Greg LeMond.

The New Era

Greg lemond – 1986, 1989, 1990.

Greg LeMond finished his first-ever Tour de France in third place. The following year, he took one step further on the podium, finishing second after he spent the race working in service of his La Vie Claire team leader Hinault. The year after that, in 1986, the reins came off, and LeMond entered Le Tour as La Vie Claire’s co-leader. He won that race, besting Hinault by just over three minutes. After being shot in a hunting accident, LeMond missed the next two Tours de France, only to return in 1989, winning what many call the greatest Tour of all time. LeMond entered the race with little hype or expectation. He hoped for a top-twenty finish. However, over the course of the Tour, LeMond’s strength and position grew as he battled back and forth with his French rival, Laurent Fignon. LeMond headed into the race’s final stage, a time trial fifty seconds short of Fignon. He finished it eight seconds clear of the Frenchman, winning the race in what remains the smallest margin of victory ever. Later that year, he won his second World Championship (his first came in 1983) and followed up his performance with a repeat Tour de France victory the next summer.

Miguel Indurain – 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995

There was a time when it was presumed that no one would top Eddy Mercxk’s record of four consecutive Tour de France wins (1969-1972). But then came Miguel Indurain, who unseated LeMond in 1991 (LeMond finished second), snatching his first of a then-record five straight Tour de France victories. In addition to his stretch of Tour wins, Indurain twice doubled up, winning the Tour and the Giro in 1992 and 1993.

Marco Pantani – 1998

Unlike most of the others on this list, Marco Pantani’s renown doesn’t come from repeated success at the Tour de France. In fact, Il Pirata only won the yellow jersey once, in 1998 (after a pair of third-place finishes in 1994 and 1997). However, that year, he doubled up, winning his home race, the Giro d’Italia. Much of Marco Pantani’s legacy is couched in legend and lore, owing in large part to his elusiveness while racing and untimely death at just thirty-four years old.

The Modern Era

Lance armstrong – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 (all vacated).

Lance Armstrong had all seven of his Tour de France titles stripped and received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code.

Alberto Contador – 2007, 2009

Alberto Contador is one of just seven riders to have won all three Grand Tours more than once. He’s also a four-time winner of the Vélo d’Or, the only person to win the award for the year’s best rider four times. He was the first man in the twenty-first century not named Lance Armstrong to win the Tour de France. However, after being implicated in a doping scandal (he was later cleared), Contador didn’t even have a pro contract going into the 2007 season. He went on to win that race by just twenty-three seconds over Cadel Evans (who would go on to win the Tour in 2011). Two years later, he notched his second Tour victory, beating Andy Schleck by just over four minutes.

Bradley Wiggins – 2012

Like Marco Pantani, Bradley Wiggins has just one Tour de France victory. That win came in 2012 after the British track champion fully committed to road racing. Wiggo won over many European fans after a fan threw carpet tacks onto the course during stage 14. Unaffected, Wiggins commanded the peloton to slow down and wait for his competitors—namely Cadel Evans, who suffered a puncture—to catch up. Since his 2012 victory, Wiggins has remained in the spotlight as a pundit, a rower, a published author, and lately, an advocate for mental health awareness.

The Contemporary Era

Chris froome – 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017.

After displaying strong form as a super domestique during the 2012 season, riding in support of Bradley Wiggins, Froome entered 2013 with massive expectations. He took on the leader’s role in some early-season races and headed into the Tour de France as the heavy favorite, fulfilling bets with a four-plus-minute win over Nairo Quintana. The following year, he crashed out of the race on stage 5. However, Froome returned with a 2015 victory, the first in three consecutive Tour de France wins.

Tadej Pogačar – 2020, 2021

In his short career, Tadej Pogačar has won just about everything there is to win. And he’s often done as much with aplomb and style, with many experts saying his versatility, pure strength, and insatiable will win make Pogačar the closest thing we’ve seen to Eddy Merckx since the real thing. His first Tour de France victory came in 2020 after he snatched the win from fellow Slovenian Primož Roglič. It was there that he won on the race’s penultimate stage, going from fifty seconds down on Roglič to one minute up in the span of one final climb. The following year, he defended with relative ease, beating then-newcomer Jonas Vingegaard by more than five minutes.

Jonas Vingegaard – 2022, 2023

Jonas Vingegaard’s backstory is already the stuff of legend. While working in a Danish fish factory, he was discovered after posting a ride to Strava. Within a few years, he won his first Tour de France, beating the seemingly invincible Tadej Pogačar. The following year, he went head-to-head with Tadej, winning his second-straight Tour on the back of one of the greatest time trials in the history of the Tour (and arguably ever). He then put the final nail into the coffin by doing what was then unthinkable: cracking Tadej Pogačar up a brutal climb.

Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves road and track cycling, likes gravel riding, and can often be found trying to avoid crashing his mountain bike. 

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Saddles of the peloton: which models do Tour de France riders use to stay comfortable?

First Published Jul 12, 2023

What sort of saddle would you use if you were riding over 100 miles nearly every day for three weeks straight? Here are the saddles the pros choose, and they’re a varied bunch, to say the least.

We used to see quite a lot of pros on saddles from brands that weren’t sponsoring their team. They might find a favourite saddle and stick with it for years, blacking out the logos so as not to make it too obvious.

> Check out the best road bike saddles 2023 

This is far less common than it once was. Most brands now have extensive ranges and clever fit systems that are designed to cater for everyone. Plus, social media means that non-sponsored components are far less likely to slip under the radar.

That said, we did spot this saddle on one of Elmar Reinders' bikes. Team Jayco Alula officially use saddles from Giant and its Cadex brand, but there’s no 3D-printed option from those guys. This saddle looks like a £400  Fizik Vento Argo 00 Adaptive with a little bit of black tape covering the logo at the rear. Fair play, they’ve done it neatly enough, but the 3D structure gives the game away.

> Read our Fizik Vento Argo 00 Adaptive saddle review

There are more 3D-printed saddles in the pro peloton now than ever before. Brands say that the lattice structure allows cushioning and support to be finely tuned in different areas more than is possible with traditional construction methods.

Ineos Grenadiers use saddles from Fizik, including 3D options. Ben Turner’s Pinarello Dogma F road bike is fitted with this Vento Argo Adaptive saddle, the same model used by Elmar Reinders  (above) – but without the dark glasses and false moustache. It’s a short-nose saddle with a claimed weight of 175g.

Attila Valter of Jumbo-Visma prefers the Fizik Antares Versus Evo 00 Adaptive which features two separate 3D-printed pads that leave a channel down the centre of the saddle designed to relieve pressure on soft tissue.

This is a popular saddle in the pro peloton. AG2R Citroen’s Aussie rider Ben O’Connor, for example, uses the same model.

Edvald Boasson Hagen uses this Specialized S-Works Romin EVO with Mirror saddle , for example, as do many other riders on the Bora-Hansgrohe, Soudal Quick-Step and TotalEnergies teams.

> Check out our Specialized S-Works Romin Evo Mirror saddle review

Specialized claims there are 22,000 struts and 10,700 nodes (points where the struts join) per saddle. We'll take its word for that.

Specialized offers several 3D-printed saddles. Bora-Hansgrohe’s Ryan Mullen, who isn’t racing the Tour, had this S-Works Power with Mirror saddle on his time trial bike at the Critérium du Dauphiné, for example, with a carbon shell and rails.

> Here's our review of the Specialized S-Works Power with Mirror Saddle

Fizik and Specialized work with US company Carbon  for their 3D-printing, as does Selle Italia.

Carbon says, “Carbon Digital Light Synthesis (Carbon DLS) is a breakthrough resin-based 3D printing process that uses digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics, and engineering-grade materials to produce polymeric parts with exceptional mechanical properties, resolution, and surface finish. The Carbon DLS process allows engineers and designers to iterate faster and radically reimagine their products by making possible consolidated parts, unmouldable geometries, and software-tunable lattices.”

A whole lot of tech goes into creating a comfy saddle these days.

Far from all riders take up the option of a 3D-printed saddle, though. David Gaudu (Groupama - FDJ), for example, goes for a fairly traditional-looking Prologo Nago Evo with Nack carbon rails to keep the weight down to a claimed 187g.

> Review: Prologo Nago Evo CPC saddle

EF Education-EasyPost uses Prologo saddles too. This is the Scratch M5 CPC on one of Richard Carapaz’s training bikes (hence the Ass Saver clip-on mudguard). Carapaz was forced to abandon the Tour after a crash on Stage 1.

The saddle upper is divided into various distinct sections. Prologo calls this its Multi Sector System (MSS) , the idea being that “active foam pads, separated from each other, create independent zones that work smartly and individually, favouring the natural movement of the pedalling phases both of pushing and pulling, absorbing the vibrations that the base transfers to the saddle”.

The cover features Prologo’s CPC technology which has been around for a few years now.

Prologo says, “The 3D polymer cones maximise the grip when assuming an aggressive position.”

CPC is used across various saddle platforms. This rider is using a Prologo Zero II with CPC panels, for example.

> Check out our Prologo Zero II PAS CPC Nack saddle review

Looking around the pro peloton, most riders prefer a hole or at least some form of channel in the centre of the saddle to avoid pressure in that area.

Movistar’s Enric Mas, for instance, uses a Fizik Vento Argo 00 short-nosed saddle  – the non-3D version – with low-bulk cushioning and a huge cutout in the centre.

Teammate Nelson Oliveira uses the longer Fizik Vento Antares 00 . That short white line that you can see in the middle of the saddle is used as a reference by the mechanics when they’re setting up bikes for the individual riders. It helps them get the measurements exactly right, and we all know how keen pro teams are when it comes to detail.

Current Tour de France race leader Jonas Vingegaard uses the same Fizik Vento Antares saddle. Even though it’s 270mm long, the claimed weight is just 118g.

Over at Soudal Quick-Step, Julian Alaphilippe opts for  Specialized’s S-Works Romin Evo with a similarly large cutaway section in the centre.

When we reviewed this saddle, we said it was brilliant for riders who favour a low, aero riding position. It’s the stiffest pedalling platform in Specialized’s range, and we loved that about it, but we know that some people prefer a bit more give.

> Check out our review of the Specialized S-Works Romin Evo saddle 

DSM-Firmenich ride Scott bikes and use many components from the Scott-owned Syncros brand, including saddles. The Belcarra is a popular choice and comes in various forms. This is the Belcarra V 1.0 Cut Out which is intended for flexible riders who tend to sit towards the front of the saddle.

Lotto Dstny’s climber Maxim Van Gils uses the Selle Italia SLR Boost Pro Team Kit Carbonio Superflow – which has to be about the longest saddle name out there – on his prototype Ridley.

The SLR has been around in various forms for many years. This model has carbon rails while the ‘Superflow’ part of the name refers to the large cutout that reduces pressure on the perineum.

The Specialized Power saddle shape is well-liked at Bora-Hansgrohe. Irish rider Sam Bennett (who isn’t riding the Tour de France) foregoes the usual carbon-fibre rails in favour of hollow titanium. This looks like the Specialized Power Expert  (£115) that’s less than half the price of the top-level S-Works model  (£240). It’s a little heavier too but some riders prefer metal rails for resilience in the event of a crash.

> Read our review of the Specialized Power Expert Saddle

This Astana rider has opted for a Proxim W650 Performance saddle rather than one of the more popular models from Prologo’s range. The rails are made from TiroX which is a form of steel. In this 145mm width, the saddle comes in at a claimed 220g. That’s not exactly heavy but it’s an unusual choice in the pro peloton when Prologo offers options that are considerably lighter.

Something like this Prologo Dimension shorty saddle with Nack carbon rails on the bike of Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) is a more common selection. Prologo claims a weight of 155g for this one and the one we reviewed hit the road.cc Scales of Truth at 157g... so we’ll give ’em that.

> Review: Prologo Dimension Nack Saddle

UAE Team Emirates' Adam Yates uses a Prologo Dimension Space 153 with Nack carbon rails.

It sits on top of a superlight seatpost from Darimo .

This Prologo Scratch M5 PAS on an Intermarché bike is superlight at 134g. PAS stands for Perineal Area System and it’s Prologos take on a channel designed to avoid pressure.

We mentioned earlier that Jayco’s Chris Harper is using a thinly disguised Fizik saddle but the rest of the team are all using sponsor-correct options from Giant/Cadex. Sprinter Dylan Groenewegen uses this Cadex Boost shorty saddle , for example, which uses what the brand calls ETPU Particle Flow technology for cushioning. Essentially, that means there are pockets under the microfibre cover and foam within them can mould to the rider’s anatomy.

> Read our review of the Cadex Boost Saddle  

This Jayco rider is using the Giant Fleet SLR saddle which also uses the Particle Flow system. It’s another short-nosed option. When we reviewed it, we said the Giant Fleet SLR was comfortable, supportive, and nicely priced at £129.99.

> Check out our review of the Giant Fleet SLR saddle 

The neutral service bikes – which riders can use if their own bike fails and there’s no team car around to provide a substitute – are fitted with Stealth saddles from Shimano’s Pro brand. This looks like a model with stainless steel rails . 

Each neutral service bike is fitted with a quick-release seatpost clamp that allows the rider to get a saddle height that’s there or thereabouts.

Many riders use a standard saddle on their time trial bikes but others go for a TT-specific option because the pelvis is tilted further forward than on a road bike and they want padding that’s concentrated on the nose.

Jayco’s TT specialist Luke Durbridge uses this Giant saddle with metal rails and plenty of cushioning upfront, for example. If you can’t make it out, that’s the Shimano Di2 junction box tucked away at the front there.

Bora’s Nils Politt has this Specialized TTS time trial saddle with titanium rails. It’s a model that’s no longer available which might explain the grey duct tape on the cover. Even the pros have to make do and mend sometimes.

The new Transiro saddles are popular with Fizik-sponsored teams. This is Jonas Vingegaard’s Transiro Aeris R1 Long Distance , for instance, with carbon rails.

Fizik says, “The nose is split into two halves for an unprecedented pressure-relief system that maintains the firm support and balance needed for long hours spent pedalling in the aero, time-trial position.”

This Jumbo rider has grip tape stuck to the saddle cover to help keep him in position. It’s a long-established TT tradition, although it doesn’t necessarily do much for the health of your shorts.

Check out loads more Tour de France 2023 stories here.

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Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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What a pointlessly aggressive piece of infrastructure!

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Which are the most successful bike brands at the Tour de France so far?

After the first rest day, we ranked the bikes based on podium finishes on stages one to nine

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1st place - Canyon

2nd place - colnago, 3rd place - cervelo, 4th place - trek, 5th place - merida.

After nine days of racing, it is fair to say it has been a pretty brutal start to the 2023 Tour de France . This year's race has already covered two out of France's five mountain ranges in the shape of the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, which has led to some explosive racing - particularly between the two race favorites, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard .

Though bike racing is at least 90% about the rider, it is still interesting to see which bike brands are finding themselves at the top of the podium. To gauge this more easily, we have devised a straightforward system to rank bike brand performance at this year's Tour de France so far.

Scoring is simple: for each stage victory, a bike brand receives three points. For second-place finishes, two points are awarded, and one for third. Though this doesn't take into account jersey classifications, after an opening week with such varied terrain, it isn't a bad measure of performance.

Despite the success of Tadej Pogačar and Adam Yates in the opening week , it is Canyon that takes the top spot on our list, with the Canyon Aeroad CFR proving the most successful bike so far. The range-topping aero bike from the German bike brand has been ridden to an impressive three stage victories and one second place so far, racking up a total of 11 points.

All points scored are from the results of Jasper Philipsen , who has shown himself to be the strongest sprinter in this year's Tour. It isn't all down to him though - teammate Mathieu van der Poel is probably the strongest leadout man you could possibly hope for, and has delivered Philipsen to prime position on a number of occasions.

Team Alpecin-Decuininck's bikes are clad top to bottom with Shimano's latest and greatest components, with Dura-Ace R9200 in use for the groupset, and Dura-Ace c60 wheels helping keep the team moving.

As the current leader of the points classification , Philipsen is currently using a special edition green Canyon Aeroad CFR . He will be hoping to keep this custom livery all the way to Paris, but there are a fair few mountains to contend with in the meantime.

Colnago is up next, with its flagship race bike, the Colnago V4RS . Colnago scored a total of 8 points, which is made up of two stage wins ( Yates stage 1 , and Pogačar stage 6 ), and two third places (Pogačar stages 1 and 2).

A post shared by COLNAGO (@colnagoworld) A photo posted by on

The whole of team UAE Emirates are riding bling bikes, but Pogačar's machine in particular is oozing with custom tech to make his bike as light as possible. The Slovenian climbing sensation apparently has six bikes to choose from at the Tour, fitted with Carbon-ti components, a prototype ENVE one piece bar and stem, and even a custom-made lightweight seatpost to fit his V4RS frame.

It may not be the top of our list after 9 stages, but there's a good chance this could be the bike that gets a yellow paint job rolling into Paris.

If we were making this list in 2022, Cervelo would probably have won the contest in the first week - but 2023 has been a different story. Despite the efforts of Jonas Vingegaard and Wout Van Aert, Jumbo-Visma is yet to win a stage, scoring five points with two second-place finishes ( Van Aert stage 2 and Vingegaard stage 6) and a third place (Van Aert stage 8).

Vingegaard sits in yellow after the first rest day, but that didn't stop Wout Van Aert from describing this year's race as the 'Tour of not quite' venting his frustration at his lack of victory thus far.

The Jumbo-Visma riders have had the choice between Cervelo's aero bike, the S5, for faster days, and the R5 for the climbing days. The team has also been experimenting with the use of 1x Sram drivetrains for some stages, presumably in the name of weight saving. 

Besides the 1x affairs, Jumbo-Visma's bikes also feature a custom paint job , and Reserve carbon wheelsets.

Cervelo may well climb up this list, with favorite Jonas Vingegaard still in yellow, and Wout Van Aert hungry for stage-win success.

It seems surprising that we have to wait until 4th place for one of the American bike giants to make this list, but here we are with Lidl-Trek . They scored 5 points made up of Mads Pedersen's stage 8 victory , and Gullio Ciccone's 2nd place on stage 5.

Trek may not be at the top of our list for stage success, but they undoubtedly have some of the prettiest bikes in this year's Tour de France peloton.

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The Lidl-Trek riders have the choice between the Madone , Trek's aero road bike, and the Emonda , which the likes of Gullio Ciccone will be using in the high mountains.

Mads Pedersen's Trek Madone SLR sports an iridescent custom project one paint job and even includes a custom gold Sram Red AXS drivetrain, which is reserved only for world champions (present and former). The bikes are finished off with Bontrager wheels and Bontrager finishing kit.

A second and a third place finish from German sprinter Phil Bauhaus coupled with Matej Mohorič's impressive climbing performance on stage 9 which led to 3rd place warrant the final place in our top five for Merida .

Although Bahrain-Victorious riders have access to both the Merida Reacto and Merida Scultura (the brand's climbing bike), the team's successes so far have been thanks to Merida's aero bike, the Reacto.

The team's bikes are fully built with Shimano's Dura-Ace R9200 12-speed groupset and also feature Vision wheels and finishing kit throughout.

Bahrain-Victorious is also sporting a custom livery for this year's Tour de France. The white and pearl-inspired design is said to pay homage to the team's heritage, as Bahrain has a history of dealing the precious stones.

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Joe is Cycling Weekly's tech writer. He's always had a love for bikes, since first riding a two wheeled steed before the age of four. Years down the line, Joe began racing at 16, and enjoyed great experiences internationally, racing in Italy, Spain and Belgium to name a few locations. Always interested in tech, Joe even piloted his Frankenstein hill climb bike to a Junior National Title in 2018.  After taking a step back from elite level racing in April 2022, Joe joined our team as a freelancer, before becoming Tech Writer in May 2023. 

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La Vuelta a Espana

Tour of britain (men), tour de romandie women, gp industria & artigianato, uci mtb loudenvielle france, gp de fourmies (coupe de france), giro della toscana, coppa sabatini, trofeo matteotti, gp de wallonie, skoda tour du luxembourg, kampioenschap van vlaanderen, tour of gatineau, uci road world championships, primus classic, how does your average bike speed compare with tour de france pros, how does your average bike speed stack up with the fastest riders in the world.

The Tour de France is the pinnacle when it comes to cycling competitions. It is one of the most watched sporting events in the world and showcases some of the fittest athletes on the planet. 

The pure athleticism that is on display during this 21-day, 2,200-mile race is inspiring and enlivening, and these cyclists seem somewhat superhuman. 

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You might be asking yourself, “So how fast are they even going?” Or, “How do I compare to these athletes?” 

Luckily for you, with today’s technology, various metrics can be tracked during these cycling competitions, so everyone can compare their statistics to those of the pros. 

As with any metric, the speeds at which the Tour de France pros cycle will vary, but there are averages that have been tracked for decades now. 

Here are a few of the average speeds for the professional cyclists that race in the Tour de France:

Average Speed On Flat Ground: 25-28 MPH

The average speed for professional cyclists while traversing on flat terrain is 25-28 mph. 

The average amateur cyclist travels about 17-18 mph while on flat ground. 

For many pro athletes racing in the Tour de France, being able to maintain a fast speed on flat terrain allows them to simply stay competitive with the other athletes. It is in the climbing portions of the Tour de France that the best gain separation from the peloton. 

Average Cobblestone Speed: 22-24 MPH

In every Tour de France, there is at least one section of cobblestone the cyclists must ride through -- sometimes, though, this is replaced with a stretch of gravel pavement. 

The small grooves in the road and uneven terrain can be difficult to tread, but these athletes still average an impressive 22-24 mph.

Average Speed Climbing: 12.8 MPH

In the 2019 Tour de France, the athletes averaged 12.8 mph while trudging through the infamous climbs of the race. These athletes are literally cycling up and through the Pyrenees and Alps during this phase of the Tour de France, making for some of the most memorable moments of the Tour.

Fastest Recorded Speed: 63.1 MPH

The fastest recorded speed of the Tour de France came from German Nils Politt while descending Col de Vars during Stage 18 of the race. This was the second of four climbs in the stage, and Politt was the first rider in history to break the 100 km/h barrier by traveling at a speed of 101.5 km/h on this descent. 

Jonas Vingegaard Tour de France 2022 | Average Speed: 26.11 MPH

Jonas Vingegaard won his first Tour de France in 2022, his second time participating in the tour. 

He spent the majority of the race trading leads back and forth with fan-favorite, Tadej Podacar.

Vangegaard pushed through Stage 19 and crossed the finish line 2 minutes, 43 seconds ahead of Podačar. 

After a total of 79 hours, 33 minutes, 20 seconds on the bike, Jonas Vangegaard became the first Danish Tour de France champion since 1996.

Tadej Pogačar Tour de France 2021 | Average Speed: 25.5 MPH

Tadej Podačar was only 22 years old when he earned his second consecutive win at the Tour de France. 

Podačar made the victory look easy when he also earned a polka-dot jersey for top climber and white jersey for best young cyclist. 

His quick rise to first place had people consider him one of the most exceptional young cyclists the Tour de France had seen in years. He finished the race in 82 hours, 56 minutes, 36 seconds. 

Tadej Pogačar Tour de France 2020 | Average Speed: 24.77 MPH

Tadej Podačar for UAE Team Emirates shocked fans at his 2020 Tour de France debut. 

At 21 years old, he managed to break all expectations and snatch a victory from Primoz Roglic, who was expected to cruise to a first-place finish. 

In the final stage of the tour, Podačar sped through a 57-second deficit and earned his first yellow jersey, becoming the youngest Tour de France Winner in 111 years. 

Egan Bernal Tour de France 2019 | Average Speed: 25.2 MPH

The 2019 Tour de France winner, Egan Bernal of Colombia, averaged 25.2 mph. 

He is the first Latin American to win the Tour de France. 

At age 22, he also was the youngest Tour de France winner in modern racing history. He finished the 2,091.4 mile race in exactly 82 hours, 57 minutes.

While not every cyclist has aspirations of racing in the Tour de France, having these metrics is a fun way for everyday cyclists to compare themselves to the superhuman riders who conquer the most famous cycling race in the world.

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Stage one winner Brandon McNulty had a lucky escape on Friday’s stage 13 of the Vuelta a España , hitting the deck at high speed on a descent close to the finish.

The UAE Team Emirates rider and his teammate Jay Vine both overshot a tight curve while in pursuit of Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Vine, who fractured his neck in a downhill crash in April, stayed upright but collided with a safety barrier installed to stop vehicles going over the edge.

McNulty wasn’t so fortunate, hitting the road and sliding under the barrier, tumbling into undergrowth.

TV footage showed UAE Team Emirates staff dashing to help the two riders, and McNulty clambering up through the dense foliage.

He had multiple cuts to his face and body but after an examination, was able to continue the race.

“McNulty had deep abrasions to his hip, shoulder, ankle, and general scratches everywhere from the bushes,” team spokesman Luke Maguire told Velo after the stage.

“Vine had superficial scratches only.”

The Australian placed 12th, 7:08 behind the Canadian stage winner Michael Woods.

McNulty was two places further back, and a further 1:09 behind.

Teammate Marc Soler was also in the break and placed third.

Images of McNulty after the crash attest to the toughness of pro cyclists.

According to Maguire, the Arizonan is likely to be at the start of stage 14 Saturday.

“He’ll be assessed again at hotel, but should be cleared to race.”

Good news for @BrandonMcNult as the first examination show no serious damage after his # #LaVuelta24 crash. Further assessment will be done tonight. #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/D7XBOajFUY — @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) August 30, 2024

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Movistar keep faith in Enric Mas at Vuelta a España as Spaniard impresses on GC

‘After this year’s Tour de France, Enric is a different rider’ says Movistar DS Lastras

In many ways, it’s hardly a surprise to see Enric Mas in the higher ranks of a Vuelta a España GC, given the Movistar leader has already taken three second places overall in his home Grand Tour. However, after a wildly uneven Tour de France, in which he began performing below expectations but ended on a far more upbeat note, it was unclear how Mas would race on home terrain this August." So far, though, Mas has shown a huge degree of consistency in the 2024 Vuelta. So far, only on one key climb – the Puerto Ancares – has his tactic of attacking the GC group where possible, like at Hazallanas in Granada, and shadowing Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) on the other major climbs failed to work out. But despite losing a minute at Ancares to Roglič, Mas remains in third overall, at 3:01 on race leader Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale). And as he and the rest of the Vuelta peloton now tackle the next crunch stage and its gravity-defying summit finish at Cuitu Neru on Sunday, Movistar remain totally convinced that the man from Mallorca can still fight for the overall victory. “We’re in the same situation, even if it’s true that both Carlos Rodríguez [Ineos Grenadiers] and Mikel Landa [Soudal-QuickStep] are getting stronger each day,” Movistar sports director Pablo Lastras told Cyclingnews before stage 14. “Roglič’s already had less good days at Hazallanas and managed to hide it, and now Mas has had a less good day on Ancares and he managed to hide it as well.” “But we’re still upbeat and waiting to see what can happen. We’ve got lots of options, the team’s going very well, and we’re still fighting and on the attack because it’s the only way to fight for the final victory and the podium. But we don’t forget, either that Ben O’Connor is defending himself really well.” Lastras is anything but surprised at how well Decathlon have been racing, saying that his main pre-race favourites had been Rodriguez, Roglič and the French team in general. “And,” he adds with a grin, “Enric of course.” Movistar already have a Vuelta a España winner in their line up for this year, too, in the shape of Nairo Quintana , who took the race outright back in 2016.

Repeated crashes and subsequent injuries have prevented Quintana from racing consistently and gaining his usual level, Lastras says. But the Colombian veteran is still playing a vital role in the 2024 Vuelta team. “He gives the group a great deal of confidence, serenity and tranquility and that’s fundamental. Every director has to have a key confidant in the team, and that man here is Nairo,” Lastras explains. “It has to be emphasised that Nairo is here for the team, not for himself, and we’re very happy with him. On Friday, for example, he worked hard on some flatter terrain that wasn’t suited to him and that sums up how well he’s racing – it demonstrates the hands-on attitude he has, which ultimately matters more than the physical side of things.” Interestingly, Lastras confirms that a similar kind of upbeat philosophy is what is currently behind the Mas renaissance at the Vuelta. Or as Lastras puts it, “Since the Tour he’s been a different rider, he’s got a different kind of dynamic driving him on.” The exact nature of that different dynamic or attitude to racing is both straightforward and complicated to attain at the same time. 

“I think he’s enjoying the bike more,” Lastras says. “And it’s curious because the same thing happened to me back when I was a pro.” “Normally I don’t like talking about myself as a rider, but I  have to say that at 31, something happened -  my work philosophy suddenly changed, overnight. I started enjoying suffering on the bike, I enjoyed being in the sun, the rain, in the races in general. Even after I’d crashed, I still enjoyed it. In every area, I was in a far better place.” What sparked the change in Lastras' case was a heart-to-heart conversation with Eusebio Unzue, the longstanding sports director at Caisse d'Epargne, the former sponsor for the Movistar team.

“We had a big chat, talked everything through, and from then on things began to get better. It was like a big wake-up call, one of the ones that doesn’t do any harm, just lots of good, and from then  on I started to enjoy my racing.” The moral behind Mas’ switch in attitude - and his back in 2007 – is one which Lastras feels is good to transmit to the younger generations of racers, often racing at high levels from a very early age. “They’re coming through super-prepared, but as riders they don’t enjoy what they’re doing. But  the day they start to enjoy their racing it’ll only go better, because everything does - from their capacity to recover to their capacity inside competition.” “In my case, back in 2007 I won a stage of the Benelux Tour, I went on to win the Vuelta a Andalucia and I even got a Vuelta a España stage and a day in the lead in 2011. But like I’m saying it’s not about the wins, it’s about the enjoyment. That’s the important thing to get.”

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Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews , he has also written for The Independent ,  The Guardian ,  ProCycling , The Express and Reuters .

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