The 2025 Tour de France gets underway in Lille, France on Saturday, July 5, with a peloton of 184 riders spread across 23 teams. This year, only five American riders are among them, but based on their strong performances of late, this small contingent holds great promise.
As the tireless lieutenant for Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss is back for his fifth Tour after missing last year’s event due to a COVID-19 infection. Kuss and the Visma | Lease a Bike squad will be joined by fellow American Matteo Jorgensen who recently extended his contract with the team, and will be one to watch for stage victories.
Spread across other teams are Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), who is lining up for his sixth Tour and will likely be on the hunt for his first Tour de France stage win; American national road race champion Quinn Simmons for Lidl-Trek and Movistar's Will Barta, who's making his Tour de France debut.
Meet the small but mighty U.S. contingent competing in this year's Tour de France.
Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a bike)
After an unfortunate run-in with Covid in 2024, Sepp Kuss is back for his fifth Tour de France, and 14th Grand Tour. The climbing specialist has long been the team’s tireless lieutenant and crucial domestique in the mountains.
In 2023 Kuss became the first American to win a Grand Tour in over a decade when he won the Vuelta a España, proving that he’s perfectly capable of winning himself. He’s also the only American lining up this year who’s won a Tour de France stage before, climbing to victory solo on top of the Col de Beixalis in 2021.
Whether he’ll get a chance to go hunt for another stage win is yet to be seen. In all likelihood he’ll be in full service of Vingegaard and the team’s attempt at a third Tour de France overall victory.
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a bike)
If Sepp Kuss is considered Jonas Vingegaard's lieutenant, then Matteo Jorgenson may just be his sergeant. The 26-year-old Idahoan has rapidly become one of the sport’s rising stars, and on a smaller team, he'd likely be the GC lead instead of riding in service of others.
Only in his second season with the powerhouse team, Jorgensen has shone in yellow, claimed back-to-back overall victories at Paris-Nice, a win at Dwars door Vlaanderen, second overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and an eighth-place finish at the Tour de France in 2024.
Lining up for his fourth Tour, look for him at Vingegaard's side when the roads point up. And who knows, if he's given free range, he may just get a chance for stage victory himself.
Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss aren't the only Americans flying up the French mountains this summer. . Neilson Powless, gearing up for his sixth Tour de France, is poised to be a key playmaker for EF Education-EasyPost. In 2023, the Californian excited the American fans by wearing the polka dotted King of the Mountain's jersey for 12 stages before relinquishing it to Giulio Ciccone in the final week.
Due to a nagging knee injury, we saw rather little of him in the 2024 season, but if he’s healthy and finds his rhythm, don’t be surprised to see him in breakaways, hunting for stage wins and maybe even pulling on a jersey of some kind, if only for a day.
Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek)
Fresh off the biggest win of his career, a stage victory at the Tour de Suisse, Quinn Simmons rolls into his third Tour de France with momentum and confidence. He’ll be easy to spot in the bunch: as the newly crowned U.S. national road racing champion, Simmons will be wearing the Stars and Stripes jersey.
Expect the 24-year-old to do the heavy lifting for Lidl-Trek in the sprint stages early on, setting tempo and keeping things under control. But don’t count him out later in the race. With his climbing form on the rise and a taste for aggressive racing, Simmons could seize a golden opportunity to join a breakaway or two.
Will Barta (Movistar)
Making his Tour de France debut, Will Barta will be riding in support of Movistar’s GC leader, Enric Mas.
Like his fellow Americans, Barta’s primary task will be to guide his team leader through the mountains—setting tempo, chasing moves and helping keep Movistar in GC contention when the road turns steep.
At 29, Barta has built his career as a dependable domestique, but 2024 marked a breakthrough as he claimed his first pro win at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, launching an audacious 80-kilometer solo breakaway to take the stage.
