AG2R-La Mondiale (Fr)
Citroën arrive as co-sponsor next year and major changes loom with Romain Bardet leaving for Sunweb; this will be their last Tour in the shape that has delivered six stage wins since 2013, three podiums plus climber’s and team prizes. A stage win is the minimum goal, but they can push for more if momentum builds.
Main man Bardet has been the mainstay since 2014; he won the climber’s prize last year and will again target stage wins. Looked to be riding into form at the Dauphiné and French championship.
Team Romain Bardet; Mickaël Cherel; Benoît Cosnefroy; Pierre Latour; Oliver Naesen; Nans Peters; Clément Venturini; Alexis Vuillermoz
Arkéa-Samsic (Fr)
Second division squad with a strong multinational lineup led by climbers Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil. “Wawa” has yet to truly kick on after a stellar 2017, when he won two stages and the mountains jersey, but France still hopes. Yorkshire’s Connor Swift, cousin of GB national champion Ben, makes his debut.
Main man Quintana. Giro winner in 2014, the Colombian’s best days may be behind him but he is still a redoubtable presence and possible winner whenever the mountains loom.
Squad Nairo Quintana; Winner Anacona; Warren Barguil; Maxime Bouet; Dayer Quintana; Diego Rosa; Clément Russo; Connor Swift
Astana (Kaz)
Team founded for the greater glory of Kazakhstan now largely reliant on Spaniards and Colombians. No room for Denmark’s Tour of Lombardy winner Jakob Fuglsang but they are a strong bunch of stage hunters such as lone Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko and Spanish champion Luis León Sánchez.
Main man Miguel Ángel López. “Superman” was the coming man a few years back but has plateaued and isn’t really a candidate for overall victory. Worth watching in any mountain stage though.
Team Miguel Ángel López; Omar Fraile; Hugo Houle; Gorka Izagirre; Ion Izagirre; Alexey Lutsenko; Luis León Sánchez; Harold Tejada
Bahrain-McLaren (Bah)
Their first Tour with the former GB academy head Rod Ellingworth in charge. There was no place for an unfortunately off-form Mark Cavendish, so it’s all in for Mikel Landa; Sonny Colbrelli will show on the hillier sprint days and Matej Mohoric, Wout Poels and Damiano Caruso can step up in the mountains if Landa falters.
Main man Landa. Enigmatic Spanish climber who has finished sixth, seventh and fourth in the past three Tours. An outside bet for victory given this year’s mountains but didn’t look at his best in the Dauphiné.
Team Mikel Landa; Pello Bilbao; Damiano Caruso; Sonny Colbrelli; Marco Haller; Matej Mohoric; Wout Poels; Rafael Valls
B&B Hotels-Vital Concept (Fr)
Second division French team who have pushed for a Tour spot for several years. They’ve finally made it but the squad looks underpowered so a stage win for Pierre Rolland or sprinter Bryan Coquard is the dream; daily duties in doomed breakaways with Total Direct Energie and Israel Start Up Nation are a more likely reality.
Main man Rolland. At the end of a 15-year career, so the days when he mopped up mountain stages are a distant memory. He has looked strong this August and hope springs eternal.
Team Pierre Rolland; Cyril Barthe; Maxime Chevalier; Bryan Coquard; Jens Debusschere; Cyril Gautier; Quentin Pacher; Kévin Reza
Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)
GC contender Max Schachmann barely made the start after a crash, “Emu” Buchmann is getting over a broken collarbone, so it’s all about cycling’s biggest showman, Slovakia’s Peter Sagan, who is going for his eighth green points jersey. Lennard Kämna will target the mountain days but in this Tour it’s only really about one man.
Main man Sagan is rarely fast enough to outpace pure sprinters, but can do far more than enough on the hilly days to win green. As he has every year bar one since 2012.
Team Peter Sagan; Emanuel Buchmann; Felix Grossschartner; Lennard Kämna; Gregor Mühlberger; Daniel Oss; Lukas Pöstlberger; Max Schachmann
CCC (Pol)
The sponsoring shoe company leaves at the end of the season due to the Covid recession. Riders were jumping ship before August ended; this doesn’t bode well as several of the Tour squad will be thinking about finding jobs for next year. They are a talented group of individuals but may lack cohesion.
Main man There isn’t one. Matteo Trentin, Greg Van Avermaet and Ilnur Zakarin are former stage winners who give the team potential on all terrains; Jan Hirt is a strong climber.
Team Alessandro De Marchi; Simon Geschke; Jan Hirt; Jonas Koch; Michael Schär; Matteo Trentin; Greg Van Avermaet; Ilnur Zakarin
Cofidis (Fr)
Longstanding also-rans who shockingly haven’t won a stage since 2008, but have added some serious oomph to this year’s squad with sprinter Elia Viviani and climber Guillaume Martin. A stage win for the Italian and a top 10 for the Frenchman would justify their promotion to WorldTour status.
Main man Martin. Erudite Frenchman with a master’s in philosophy, author of “Socrates on a Bike”; finished 12th overall last year and was a promising third at this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné.
Squad Guillaume Martin; Simone Consonni; Nicolas Edet; Jesús Herrada; Christophe Laporte; Anthony Perez; Pierre-Luc Périchon; Elia Viviani
Deceuninck-Quickstep (Bel)
A two-pronged attack for cycling’s strongest all-round squad: Ireland’s Sam Bennett targets sprints and Julian Alaphilippe is after everything else. Bennett is on fire with two wins since the season restart and the aggressive Alaphilippe is clearly finding form, although he’s not quite at last year’s level just yet.
Main man Alaphilippe. France’s 2019 darling thanks to a long spell in yellow; mountains winner in 2018. The dapper musketeer swears he only wants a stage win. Believe that and you’ll swallow anything.
Team Julian Alaphilippe; Kasper Asgreen; Sam Bennett; Tim Declercq; Dries Devenyns; Bob Jungels, Michael Mørkøv; Zdenek Stybar
EF Pro Cycling (US)
American squad with a dilemma; target the overall with Rigoberto Urán or stage wins with everyone else? Alberto Bettiol, Jens Keukeleire and Tejay van Garderen can target the hilly stages, Lancastrian Hugh Carthy – on his debut – Sergio Higuita and Daniel Martínez will fly in the high mountains. It’s a question that the road will decide.
Main man Urán. Hugely experienced Colombian, now 33 who finished seventh last year without hitting his level of 2017 when he came second and won a stage. Anything near that would be welcome.
Team (provisional) Rigoberto Urán; Alberto Bettiol; Hugh Carthy; Sergio Higuita; Jens Keukeleire; Daniel Martínez; Neilson Powless; Tejay van Garderen
Groupama-FDJ (Fr)
This most traditional of French teams is built around one man, Thibaut Pinot; new French champion Arnaud Démare stays at home although his form merited a call-up. Pinot will not lack in support if his No 2 David Gaudu hits form but all France will be wondering if he can deal with the pressure.
Main man Pinot. Enigmatic but vulnerable Frenchman, who was heading for the podium last year until he succumbed to a leg injury. Form looks good but he was unable to keep his head on the final day in the Dauphiné.
Team (confirmed) Thibaut Pinot; David Gaudu; Stefan Küng; Valentin Madouas; Rudy Molard; (provisional) William Bonnet; Matthieu Ladagnous; Sébastien Reichenbach
Ineos Grenadiers (GB)
One simple goal: victory. Nothing else matters after seven wins in eight years, six as Team Sky. Stuttered badly at the recent Criterium du Dauphiné but should dominate the many mountain stages. A fine mix of all-rounders guided by road captain Luke Rowe with 2019 Giro winner Richard Carapaz as reserve leader.
Main man Egan Bernal. The Colombian won convincingly last year and rode strongly to win the Occitanie Tour in early August. Pulled out of the Dauphiné to nurse his back but still starts favourite.
Squad Egan Bernal; Andrey Amador; Richard Carapaz; Jonathan Castroviejo; Michal Kwiatkowski; Luke Rowe; Pavel Sivakov; Dylan van Baarle
Israel Start Up Nation (Isr)
Chris Froome’s 2021 team make their Tour debut, a curious mix with veterans in Dan Martin – assuming he has got over his Dauphiné crash – and André Greipel and a pure locomotive in Nils Politt; fortunately sprinter Hugo Hofstetter is in form, but they will find it hard figuring out where they fit.
Main man Martin. Likable Birmingham-born Irishman with a proven Tour record of two stages and three top 10s. He is struggling with injury but should make the start.
Team Dan Martin; André Greipel; Ben Hermans; Hugo Hofstetter; Krists Neilands; Guy Niv; Nils Politt; Tom Van Asbroeck
Jumbo Visma (Neth)
Their “trident” of leaders became a pitchfork when Steven Kruijswijk injured his shoulder, and there are doubts about the fitness of co-leader Primoz Roglic. If Roglic starts and finds form, they will be by far the toughest opponents Dave Brailsford and company have faced in the last 10 years.
Main man An inseparable duo: Tomoz Rogoulin or Primoz Duglic. The plethora of steep climbs favours Roglic but Dumoulin has enjoyed the perfect buildup.
Team Tom Dumoulin; George Bennett; Robert Gesink; Amund Grøndahl Jansen; Sepp Kuss; Tony Martin; Primoz Roglic; Wout van Aert
Lotto-Soudal (Bel)
It’s all about winning stages for one of pro cycling’s oldest squads. Their main goal is to support Caleb Ewan in the sprints but they can also look to hard men Philippe Gilbert and Thomas De Gendt on the hilly days. In the high mountains, it’s mainly about survival.
Main man Ewan. Australian sprinter who landed three Tour stages among his 10 wins last year. Unstoppable on his day but will need to be sharp this year with so few sprint stages.
Team Caleb Ewan; Steff Cras; John Degenkolb; Jasper De Buyst; Thomas De Gendt; Philippe Gilbert; Roger Kluge; Frederik Frison
Mitchelton-Scott (Aus)
With the overall standings beyond their leaders, the cuddly Aussie team are now targeting stage wins. Esteban Chaves, Mikel Nieve and Daryl Impey have landed 10 between them across the three Grand Tours while Adam Yates’s class is undoubted. Will be quiet on the flat stages but will be key players when the road goes uphill.
Main man Yates. Hasn’t kicked on since finishing fourth in 2016, but is adept in the mountains and with four Tours under his belt is now amply experienced.
Team Adam Yates; Jack Bauer; Sam Bewley; Esteban Chaves; Daryl Impey; Christopher Juul-Jensen; Luka Mezgec; Mikel Nieve
Movistar (Sp)
Since the 80s the team formerly known as Banesto have targeted the overall. This year, however, Alejandro Valverde looks well past it, while Enric Mas has yet to mature. A stage win or two in the many climbers’ days will do nicely, and almost every rider here is capable of landing one.
Main man Valverde. Long past his doping ban, and long in the tooth at 40, but the former world champion is still hungry and as tactically smart as ever.
Squad (provisional) Alejandro Valverde; Imanol Erviti; Enric Mas; Lluís Mas; Nelson Oliveira; Antonio Pedrero; José Joaquín Rojas; Carlos Verona
NTT (SA)
Now rebuilding under the tutelage of Bjarne Riis, “Africa’s team” include just one African, Ryan Gibbons, and will be firmly targeting a stage win, although Domenico Pozzovivo will hope to cling on in the mountains for a top 15 overall. Should be prominent when it gets hilly but crossing the line first won’t come easy.
Main man A trident! Michael Valgren hasn’t won big since the 2018 Het Nieuwsblad Classic; Edvald Boasson Hagen has two stages in the Tour to his credit; sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo has just won the Italian championship.
Team Ryan Gibbons; Michael Gogl; Edvald Boasson Hagen; Roman Kreuziger; Giacomo Nizzolo; Domenico Pozzovivo; Michael Valgren; Max Walscheid
Sunweb (Ger)
A team in a leadership hiatus with Tom Dumoulin gone, Romain Bardet pending, and former points winner Michael Matthews heading for the Giro. They will target stage wins from Nicolas Roche, starting his 23rd Grand Tour, sprinter Cees Bol and climber Marc Hirschi. Best bet is lanky Belgian Tiesj Benoot.
Main man Benoot. The 26-year-old isn’t a prolific winner, but came close three times last year on hilly stages. Not a pure mountain man but the lumpy days will suit him.
Team Tiesj Benoot; Nikias Arndt; Cees Bol; Marc Hirschi; Søren Kragh Andersen; Joris Nieuwenhuis; Casper Pedersen; Nicolas Roche
Total Direct Energie (Fr)
Perennial triers who have flown the tricolour under various sponsors for 20 years notably with Thomas Voeckler. A stage win is the dream but far more likely is a daily presence in the break and a lot of television time for the sponsors. Popular and professional but lacking horsepower at this level.
Main man Lilian Calmejane. Aggressive 27-year-old from Albi who won a stage in fine style in 2017 and flew the flag winning the King of the Mountains in the Route d’Occitanie this year.
Team Lilian Calmejane; Niccolò Bonifazio; Mathieu Burgaudeau; Jérôme Cousin; Fabien Grellier; Romain Sicard; Geoffrey Soupe; Anthony Turgis
Trek-Segafredo (US)
Trek will look for solid but probably unspectacular top-10 places overall from Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema – a 2017 stage winner – and fortunately have some interesting firepower in support. The youthful world champion Mads Pedersen, Toms Skujins or climber Kenny Elissonde are all capable of landing a stage win on their day.
Main man Porte. Fragile 35-year-old Australian who has delivered only one top 10 at the Tour since leaving Team Sky in 2016. Still looks promising but stuff just tends to happen to him.
Team Richie Porte; Niklas Eg; Kenny Elissonde; Bauke Mollema; Mads Pedersen; Toms Skujins; Jasper Stuyven; Edward Theuns
UAE Team Emirates (UAE)
A mishmash of nationalities containing some serious talent. Fabio Aru remains unpredictable but in recent weeks David de la Cruz, Davide Formolo and Tadej Pogacar have been flying, and the latter could be a top-six contender. If the overall is ruled out, they will be very active on the mountain days tilting for stage wins.
Main man Aru. One of the handful of Tour starters to have won a Grand Tour, although his Vuelta was back in 2015 and he hasn’t looked at his best since 2017.
Team Fabio Aru; David de la Cruz; Davide Formolo; Alexander Kristoff; Vegard Stake Laengen; Marco Marcato; Tadej Pogacar; Jan Polanc
