chinese tour de france riders

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Cheng Ji first Chinese rider in Tour de France

• Copy Link copied

PARIS (AP) — Cheng Ji will become the first Chinese rider to race in the Tour de France when he lines up for Team Giant-Shimano at the start July 5 in Leeds, England.

Cheng was included Wednesday on the team’s nine-rider lineup for the 101st edition of the Tour. He will be part of Giant-Shimano’s sprint formations attempting to deliver Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb to stage victories.

Giant-Shimano coach Rudi Kemna said riding the Tour “will be huge for him and his country, and we look forward to seeing the impact this has on the globalization of the sport.”

Cheng was the first Chinese rider to compete in a Grand Tour race when he finished the 2012 Vuelta a Espana. Last year, he became the first to start the prestigious Giro d’Italia.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Last Over All in the Tour, but Blazing a Trail

By Ian Austen

• July 21, 2014

ST. LAURENT DE LA CABRERISSE, France — It was predictable that Marcel Kittel, the amiable sprinter who has won three stages in this year’s Tour de France, attracted a large crowd of reporters on the race’s rest day Monday.

But while Ji Cheng, the man on the Giant Shimano team who chases down breakaways so that Kittel can do his work, was less of an attraction, he does hold two distinctions. He is the Lanterne Rouge, the rider in the last position over all, 4 hours 13 minutes behind the leader, Vincenzo Nibali. And he is the first Chinese rider ever in the race.

While China is a nation where bicycles, despite a growing influx of cars and scooters, remain an important form of transportation, racing on them is far less common.

Ji started out as a runner. But a dislike of the cold in his northern hometown, Harbin, set him off on a path that led him to the Tour.

Rather than cross-country ski, the preferred method of off-season training for runners in Harbin, Ji sought the warmth of an indoor velodrome.

“The track is not fun,” Ji said Monday. “The track is always lap after lap and the trainer is looking at his stopwatch and saying, ‘O.K. you were one second slower.’ ”

In road racing, by comparison, “you can train outside and you can see the people, you can see the view,” said Ji, 27. “It’s amazing for me.”

Ji probably would not be racing in Europe if the Chinese subsidiary of Shimano, the large bicycle parts maker, had not set up a small program to get Chinese riders there in 2006.

Ji’s knowledge of European road racing at that point was not extensive and based entirely on watching television.

“When you watch on the TV, you say: ‘Ah that’s nice, ah that’s cool, ah you saw that climb, ah you saw that attack, cool.’ But you really enjoy the race,” he said. “When you know what’s going on, it’s totally different.”

In China, Ji raced on relatively small circuits made up of closed four-lane highways. Despite the comparative lack of danger, coaches instructed Ji to brake before the corners and take them slowly, a route to failure in European racing. At the time, there were only two road races a year in China. In Europe, Ji now rides in about 45 a year.

Although Ji cannot recall the name of the first race he rode in Europe, a one-day event in France in 2007, he certainly remembers the experience.

“It was many narrow roads, everybody was just nervous and people were fighting for position,” Ji recalled. “For me it was just unbelievable. Why are people fighting like that?”

Punched several times during the race by rivals trying to move ahead, Ji did not finish.

Ji and the other two Chinese riders were sent to northern Holland and entered in that country’s numerous amateur criteriums. Held on short, tight circuits, each is a small war. Ji soon learned how to follow the pack through corners at speed without braking and, just as important, how to move up through the group. The inexperienced Chinese riders were always lined up at the back.

“Of course we had a lot of crashes, we had a lot of bad experiences,” Ji said. “But we learned how to fight.”

He gradually moved up to higher levels of racing. In 2012, he raced in the Vuelta a España, and last year brought him to the Giro d’Italia. Both were Chinese cycling firsts.

He remains the only one of a handful of Chinese riders Shimano sent to Europe who is still racing. But it has come at a cost. When the European season winds down and he returns home, Ji said that he is expected to then start racing for the Chinese national team.

“In China, it’s not like Europeans who say, ‘No, I’m tired, I don’t want to do that.’ ”

His now successful bid to make it to the Tour de France meant that Ji went four years without seeing his father, and he has not seen his wife, whom he married last year, for eight months.

Ji said that his ride at the Tour was receiving considerable attention in China, where the race is broadcast daily.

Ji was not impressed by the cobblestones in one decisive stage of this year’s Tour. “When there’s such nice roads, why are you racing there?” he asked. And he finds noise from the large crowds sometimes headache-inducing.

He is, however, neither embarrassed nor bothered about being in last place. It is, Ji said, part of a plan. Mountain stages, days when his team leader, Kittel, will not be anywhere near the front to fight for the finish, he takes it easy to preserve energy for the flat days when he leads the Tour’s entire pack of riders. His only job on climbs is to make sure that everyone on his team avoids missing the time limit.

“I’ve really taken them easy,” he said of the Alpine stages. “Maybe I lost 20 minutes: That’s O.K., because I really need to relax to prepare for what’s coming.”

He added: “My parents, my friends understand why I’m in last position. When somebody don’t understand, that’s fine.”

Cycling Around the Globe

The cycling world can be intimidating. but with the right mind-set and gear you can make the most of human-powered transportation..

Are you new to urban biking? These tips  will help you make sure you are ready to get on the saddle .

Whether you’re mountain biking down a forested path or hitting the local rail trail, you’ll need the right gear . Wirecutter has plenty of recommendations , from which bike to buy  to the best bike locks .

Do you get nervous at the thought of cycling in the city? Here are some ways to get comfortable with traffic .

Learn how to store your bike properly and give it the maintenance it needs  in the colder weather.

  Not ready for mountain biking just yet? Try gravel biking instead . Here are five places in the United States  to explore on two wheels.

TOUR DE FRANCE

Don't miss a moment with our daily Tour de France newsletter.

Powered by Outside

Ji Cheng poised to make history as first Chinese finisher of Tour de France

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

On the cusp of history. He’s already the first Chinese rider to start the Tour de France; in one day’s time, Ji Cheng is set to be the first to finish the world-famous race. The Giant Shimano competitor has battled through the high mountains, fending off a leg injury which has sapped his power and pushed him to his limits.

The extent of that injury was obvious at the end of last Saturday’s stage 14 to the top of Risoul. Ji was in a bad way at finish, slumped over his bike and in some distress. He was unable to climb off his machine and had to be helped to dismount; a team worker then supported his body weight, half-carrying the shattered rider into the team bus.

He bounced back and continued to work hard for his Giant Shimano team, helping to control breakaways in the hope of setting up his team-mates to chase stage wins.

It’s been difficult, but also a testament to his determination.

“The problem is the left knee…my leg is all tense up to the hip,” Ji told journalists at the end of Saturday’s penultimate day time trial. “When the pain comes, it affects the whole leg…the power is gone.”

The issue hit him during the Alpine stages and compounded what were already very difficult days in the saddle. “I was really fighting the pain in my knee. Luckily I had one day’s rest [the rest day on Monday 21 July – ed.] and the doctor and the physiotherapist helped me to cool it down. I changed my shoes and did some good physiotherapy.

“I took one day really easy, the rest day, then finally it was a little less. But the problem is still there. When you start to cycle or you move your legs, there is still pain.”

The issue saw Ji end up as the Tour’s Lanterne Rouge, or last rider, but that’s fine; he’s been through a lot, and knows he is setting an important example in being the first Chinese rider to finish the Tour.

“I am proud of myself and the team,” he said. “I think tomorrow will be an amazing day for us. We will also have work to do [to try to help team-mate Marcel Kittel take his second consecutive stage win in Paris – ed.], but we’ll just go for it and then afterwards we can celebrate everything. It is done then.”

Ji didn’t want to tempt fate by talking about the Tour finish as a fait accompli ; time enough for that. “I’m almost there. Tomorrow I can say, ‘okay, I am here,’ he laughed.

Ji comes from Harbin in northern China. He was originally a runner, then took up cycling. He began with track racing, which enabled him to sidestep the problem with training on the road during freezing winters.

He continued to progress in the sport and signed a contract in 2007 with the Skil Shimano team, the forerunner of the current Giant Shimano setup. He won a stage of the Tour of South China Sea the following year, then in 2012 he rode his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España. He picked up the award for the most aggressive rider on stage 19 there.

Last season his Grand Tour experience continued to grow when he rode the Giro d’Italia. He was a non-finisher there, but has continued to develop. At 27 years of age he looks set to complete his first Tour de France and achieve an important result for Chinese cycling.

Ji knows that his progress has been recognised, and draws encouragement from that. “Every day I got a few hundred messages from China, from Twitter also. So thanks to everybody,” he said. “It kept me motivated in the race, to keep going.”

He is riding for himself and his team, but also realises that his example shows other Chinese riders that it’s possible to be part of the top rung of the sport. “I hope they can see this possibility,” he said, “that they can see that Chinese cyclists can be successful also.

“I hope they can see this for the future.”

Popular on Velo

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

Related content from the Outside Network

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

Chinese Rider Set to Make Tour de France History

Giant-Shimano's Ji Cheng will be the first rider from China to ever compete at the Tour

PARIS, June 25, 2014 (AFP) — Ji Cheng is set to make history as the first Chinese rider on the Tour de France after being named in the Team Giant-Shimano for the gruelling event.

The 26-year-old became the first Chinese to ride in a Grand Tour when he completed the Spanish Vuelta in 2012, later going on to compete in the Giro d'Italia a year later, although he failed to finish.

"When we started working with him as a young talented rider back in 2008 we made a long-term plan and this has seen him develop into the highest level of the sport and we see him now playing an important factor in the sprint formations," Giant-Shimano coach Rudi Kemna said of having Ji in the team.

"Having Cheng in the team as the first Chinese rider ever to ride the Tour de France will be huge for him and his country and we look forward to seeing the impact this has on the globalisation of the sport."

The team has targeted a goal of winning a stage and for this has developed two sprint formations, the first revolving around Marcel Kittel and the second around John Degenkolb.

During stages that are not suited to either sprint formations, riders will have opportunities to go on the offensive in the breakaways.

Kemna said of the selection: "It is always hard picking a selection for the Tour, and especially so this year when we have so many riders all at near enough the same level and capable of bringing a lot to the team. "With the team we have selected we have a strong group well balanced to race as well as possible towards our main objective—winning a stage of the Tour.

"The way we are heading in to the Tour is the way that I like to start a race—with a team full of confidence and with clear goals. I am looking forward to going to the Tour and showing the world who Team Giant-Shimano is."

Team Giant-Shimano Roy Curvers (NED), John Degenkolb (GER), Dries Devenys (BEL), Tom Dumoulin (NED), Ji Cheng (CHN), Marcel Kittel (GER), Koen De Kort (NED), Albert Timmer (NED), Tom Veelers (NED)

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

Tom Pidcock’s Tour de France Plans

Can Cavendish Win a 35th Tour de France Stage?

Pidcock to Race Crans-Montana XCO Ahead of Tour

Vingegaard Hits Mallorca for Tour de France Prep

Van der Poel Opts Out of Olympic Mountain Biking

Vingegaard Still May Not Be Tour de France Ready

The Kings and Queens of Cycling’s Iconic Climbs

How Pros Tackle Recovery During Tour de France

The Fastest Men and Women of the Grand Tours

What Do Riders Eat During the Tour de France?

How Fast Do the Pros Ride in the Tour de France?

Official games

2023 Edition

• Stage winners
• All the videos

Tour Culture

• Commitments
• key figures
• Sporting Stakes
• "Maillot Jaune" Collection
• The jerseys
• All the rankings

Tour de France China Criterium : The Tour de France in the country of bicycles !

On September 10, the Tour de France will make its debut in China with the Etape China by le Tour de France, a ride around the city of Changsa, the birth place of Mao, on a route combining the quality of the Etape series and the discovery of a region rich in history and authenticity. Several thousand enthusiasts are expected for this 1st edition, which now calls for others to respond to the growing enthusiasm of the Chinese for whom cycling is more than a sport; it is historical a way of life. This coming October 28 and 29, a peloton of 60 riders, bringing together the leaders of the elite teams and a selection of professional Chinese cyclists, will set off on the roads of Shanghai for the second part of the arrival of the Tour de France in China. A Critérium will be contested on a 3-kilometre circuit. Designed in part on the sites of the 2010 Universal Exhibition and the China Art Museum, the Tour de France China Critérium will take place among the prestigious sites in Shanghai. The professional riders will head into action at the conclusion of a weekend dedicated to bicycle riding during which several thousand amateurs are also expected to take part in the 22km family ride, which will start from the Oriental Pearl Tower, the symbol of the city’s modernity. To conclude the launch ceremony attended by Andy Schleck, who rode in the Yellow Jersey in the 2010 Tour, and Kathy Zou, Executive Director of Activation Sports, A.S.O. President Jean-Etienne Amaury said how thrilled he was about the partnership that has been put in place: “We want to share the passion all over the world. The Tour de France is reinventing itself and thriving in the context of the global development of cycling. We believe that Activation Sport, with its strong desire to develop a healthy and sustainable sport-oriented lifestyle, will be the ideal gateway for us to reach the millions of bicycle lovers in China. "

You may also enjoy

Watch season 2 of series "Unchained" now

Fantasy by Tissot is back!

Vote now for best Krys white jersey victory!

Receive exclusive news about the Tour

Accreditations

Privacy policy, your gdpr rights.

Navigation for News Categories

Chinese to make tour de france history.

Ji Cheng is set to make history as the first Chinese rider on the Tour de France.

The 26-year-old became the first Chinese to ride in a Grand Tour when he completed the Spanish Vuelta in 2012, later going on to compete in the Giro d'Italia a year later, although he failed to finish.

The Giant-Shimano team has been working developing Cheng as a 20-year-old, and his progress could have a signficant impact on the globalisation of road cycling.

Copyright © 2014 , Radio New Zealand

• Yachting NZ Olympic selection 'debacle' was waiting to happen, windsurfing veteran says
• USA reach T20 World Cup Super Eights after washout, Pakistan eliminated
• Super Rugby Pacific: Fast-starting Blues beat Brumbies to reach final

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs

Top News stories

• Putin lays out his terms for ceasefire in Ukraine
• Kate making good progress with cancer treatment, will attend event
• 'A Cinderella industry': The secret life of bees
• 'Mouse jigglers' pretending to work fired by US bank

We have regular online commentary of local and international sport.

Follow RNZ News

• My View My View
• Following Following
• Saved Saved

Ji to become the first Chinese rider in Tour de France

• Medium Text

Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

Sports Chevron

Berlin fan zone reaches capacity amid Euro fever

A fan zone at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate was filled to capacity ahead of the Euro 2024 opening game between Germany and Scotland on Friday, with police saying the venue could hold no more people and the local underground station was also closed.

• Tour de France
• Giro d'Italia
• La Vuelta ciclista a España
• World Championships
• Amstel Gold Race
• Milano-Sanremo
• Tirreno-Adriatico
• Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• Il Lombardia
• La Flèche Wallonne
• Paris - Nice
• Paris-Roubaix
• Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
• Critérium du Dauphiné
• Tour des Flandres
• Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields
• Clásica Ciclista San Sebastián
• INEOS Grenadiers
• Groupama - FDJ
• EF Education-EasyPost
• Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
• BORA - hansgrohe
• Bahrain - Victorious
• Astana Qazaqstan Team
• Intermarché - Wanty
• Lidl - Trek
• Movistar Team
• Soudal - Quick Step
• Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
• Team Jayco AlUla
• Team Visma | Lease a Bike
• UAE Team Emirates
• Arkéa - B&B Hotels
• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Grand tours
• Countdown to 3 billion pageviews
• Favorite500
• Profile Score
• Stage 1 Game
• Stage 1 LiveStats
• Top competitors
• Startlist quality
• All stage profiles
• Hardest stages
• Winners and leaders
• Prizemoney ranking
• Fastest stages
• Statistics - Statistics
• Startlist - Startlist
• More - More
• Teams - Teams
• Nations - Nations
• Route - Route
• Results - Results
•   »  

Preliminary startlist

• - LAFAY Victor
• - GALL Felix
• - GODON Dorian
• - NAESEN Oliver
• - BENNETT Sam

• - PHILIPSEN Jasper
• - VAN DER POEL Mathieu
• - VERMEERSCH Gianni
• - DILLIER Silvan
• - GHYS Robbe
• - KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren
• - LAURANCE Axel
• - RICKAERT Jonas
• - RIESEBEEK Oscar

• - DÉMARE Arnaud
• - VAUQUELIN Kévin

• - CAVENDISH Mark
• - MØRKØV Michael
• - BALLERINI Davide
• - LUTSENKO Alexey

• - MOHORIČ Matej
• - POELS Wout
• - BILBAO Pello
• - BAUHAUS Phil
• - BUITRAGO Santiago
• - HAIG Jack
• - WRIGHT Fred
• - ARNDT Nikias

• - HINDLEY Jai
• - VLASOV Aleksandr
• - VAN POPPEL Danny
• - DENZ Nico
• - SOBRERO Matteo
• - ROGLIČ Primož
• - JUNGELS Bob
• - HALLER Marco

• - COQUARD Bryan
• - MARTIN Guillaume
• - OLDANI Stefano
• - ZINGLE Axel
• - RENARD Alexis
• - GESCHKE Simon
• - HERRADA Jesús
• - IZAGIRRE Ion

• - CARAPAZ Richard
• - POWLESS Neilson
• - HEALY Ben
• - VAN DEN BERG Marijn
• - BETTIOL Alberto

• - GAUDU David
• - MADOUAS Valentin
• - GRÉGOIRE Romain
• - KÜNG Stefan

• - PIDCOCK Thomas
• - THOMAS Geraint
• - RODRÍGUEZ Carlos
• - KWIATKOWSKI Michał
• - BERNAL Egan
• - DE PLUS Laurens

• - MEINTJES Louis
• - GIRMAY Biniam
• - REX Laurenz
• - PAGE Hugo
• - TEUNISSEN Mike
• - ZIMMERMANN Georg
• - GOOSSENS Kobe
• - THIJSSEN Gerben
• - PETIT Adrien

• - VINGEGAARD Jonas
• - KUSS Sepp
• - BENOOT Tiesj
• - JORGENSON Matteo
• - LAPORTE Christophe
• - TRATNIK Jan

• - GEOGHEGAN HART Tao
• - PEDERSEN Mads
• - KIRSCH Alex
• - CICCONE Giulio

• - CAVAGNA Rémi
• - MAS Enric
• - MÜHLBERGER Gregor
• - FORMOLO Davide
• - OLIVEIRA Nelson
• - ARANBURU Alex

• - EVENEPOEL Remco
• - LANDA Mikel
• - VAN WILDER Ilan
• - VERVAEKE Louis
• - PEDERSEN Casper
• - LAMPAERT Yves
• - MOSCON Gianni

• - JAKOBSEN Fabio
• - BARDET Romain
• - BARGUIL Warren

• - GROENEWEGEN Dylan
• - MEZGEC Luka
• - YATES Simon
• - REINDERS Elmar
• - MATTHEWS Michael

• - POGAČAR Tadej
• - AYUSO Juan
• - ALMEIDA João
• - YATES Adam
• - SIVAKOV Pavel
• - SOLER Marc
• - WELLENS Tim
• - POLITT Nils

• - WILLIAMS Stephen
• - ACKERMANN Pascal
• - GEE Derek
• - SCHWARZMANN Michael
• - HOULE Hugo
• - TEUNS Dylan
• - NEILANDS Krists

• - DE LIE Arnaud
• - CAMPENAERTS Victor
• - VAN GILS Maxim

• - CORT Magnus
• - LEKNESSUND Andreas
• - KRISTOFF Alexander
• - WÆRENSKJOLD Søren
• - JOHANNESSEN Tobias Halland
• - ABRAHAMSEN Jonas

• - BURGAUDEAU Mathieu
• - CRAS Steff
• Alphabetical
• Previous performance
• Youngest and oldest
• Best per specialty
• Race ranking
• Peloton averages
• Contribute to startlist
• Statistics team line-ups
• Top GC riders
• TT Specialists
• Best classic riders
• Top-100 riders competing
• National champions
• Starting other race
• National startlist quality
• First first participations
• Birthdays during race
• Injury history per rider

Grand Tours

• Vuelta a España

Major Tours

• Volta a Catalunya
• Tour de Romandie
• Tour de Suisse
• Itzulia Basque Country
• Milano-SanRemo
• Ronde van Vlaanderen

Championships

• European championships

Top classics

• Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
• Strade Bianche
• Gent-Wevelgem
• Dwars door Vlaanderen
• Eschborn-Frankfurt
• San Sebastian
• Bretagne Classic
• GP Montréal

Popular riders

• Tadej Pogačar
• Wout van Aert
• Remco Evenepoel
• Jonas Vingegaard
• Mathieu van der Poel
• Mads Pedersen
• Primoz Roglic
• Demi Vollering
• Lotte Kopecky
• Katarzyna Niewiadoma
• PCS ranking
• UCI World Ranking
• Points per age
• Latest injuries
• Youngest riders
• Grand tour statistics
• Monument classics
• Latest transfers
• Favorite 500
• Points scales
• Profile scores
• Reset password
• Cookie consent

About ProCyclingStats

• Cookie policy
• Contributions
• Pageload 0.0613s

Netflix's Tour de France: Unchained - Gino Mäder's death hangs heavily over the second season

C ycling is supposed to be having its moment. Netflix and the Tour de France organisers hoped to drive a huge influx of new fans to pro cycling via the Tour de France: Unchained series. Can the second season push fans into the sport like Drive to Survive did for Formula 1?

Previewing the series before today's release, one major flaw stuck out that will probably prevent the series from tapping into the US market like Drive to Survive did: The biggest influx of new fans to F1 came from North America and it might be that Unchained: Tour de France is too French to have the same effect.

Netflix France was behind the show and it seems as if they formulated a script to appeal to the home base rather than to try to reach across the Atlantic. The show uses Steve Chainel and Orla Chennaoui as narrators, giving a nice balance between a pro commentator and ex-professional cycling. While Chainel has great insights, there are numerous established English-speaking former pro commentators who could have provided the same service without the subtitles.

Having to read subtitles isn't a big problem for most Americans, especially younger generations who watch TV with the closed captions on even if it's in their native language, but the way the subtitles jump between the bottom of the screen and the top and disappear amid light backgrounds was super frustrating and distracted from the content.

The season also spends more time on French riders than on other stories that are more appealing to Netflix's largest customer base in North America, and it spends too much time on a petty squabble between team managers Richard Plugge and Marc Madiot without really getting to the heart of the issue.

There were 22 teams in the 2023 Tour de France but if you watch Unchained, you wouldn't know it. Lidl-Trek are hardly mentioned and Mads Pedersen's win on stage 8 is skipped over in between episodes 3 and 4.

Even with a French production, the series overshadows Cofidis' first stage win in 15 years , framing Victor Lafay's stellar stage 2 victory as a massive failure for Wout van Aert. Movistar, DSM, Intermarché, Israel-Premier Tech, Jayco-AlUla, Arkéa-Samsic, Lotto Dstny, Uno-X and TotalEnergies hardly get a mention.

Yes, teams have to sign on to be in the series but how realistic a portrayal of the Tour de France is it if half of the peloton is completely ignored?

From the teams that are featured, there is plenty for even the most devoted cycling aficionados to enjoy, with pre-race interviews in riders' homes and other never-before-seen moments. The in-race visuals are stunning and the production reproduces the feeling of being on the Tour by amping up the contrast between the raucous noise of the crowds on the climbs and the silence on the descent.

The series does a great job of digging deep into topics like how Bahrain Victorious riders cope with the tragic death of Gino Mäder , AG2R La Mondiale's inner struggles after Ben O'Connor's GC ambitions evaporated, and Thibaut Pinot's search for glory in his final Tour.

However, the outline of the series is also somewhat disjointed as the producers backtrack to follow different storylines, and like the race itself, the thrilling battle between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard is over before the show's season, making the last couple of episodes a French-focussed denouement.

While there might not be as much broad appeal as the producers hoped, the seasoned cycling fan will find it hard to stop bingeing.

Episode 1: No Risk, No Reward

The series opens with in-home interviews with Julian Alaphilippe, Thibaut Pinot, and Tadej Pogačar, highlights Pogačar's crash in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and has one very poignant scene from AG2R's training camp where the team's trainer has to tell Ben O'Connor that his friend Mäder has died. Two weeks later, Mäder's teammates and friends have to start the Tour de France. Alaphilippe sums it up: "It makes you realise you're nothing on this earth - we're nothing, especially me on a bike".

The rest of the episode focuses on EF-EasyPost's GC hopes evaporating when Richard Carapaz crashes and ends with Lafay's stage win. Unfortunately, even though the American team were signed on to star in the series, most of their coverage ends along with Carapaz's abandon. 

It seems as if the producers started with who won and worked their way backwards to find the good stories rather than the other way around, and that's not how pro cycling works.

Episode 2: The Third Man

This episode focuses on Ben O'Connor's GC hopes, which started to evaporate on stage 4 and contrasts his fortune and his personality with compatriot Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), who took the yellow jersey on the same stage. O'Connor comes off as quite whiny, negative and a bit entitled compared with Hindley, which hardly seems fair. He gets a chance for his gracious side to show later on in the season, however.

This episode also features Pogačar's time loss on the stage and his comeback on the next stage.

Striking : this episode made me wonder what Grischa Niermann did to deserve such an unflattering camera angle.

Episode 3: No Mercy

Jasper Philipsen gets his well-deserved highlight, transforming from 'Jasper disaster' in season 1 to the best sprinter in the race. He even folds his clothes! We also get to see Mark Cavendish and Fabio Jakobsen's races get ruined by crashes.

The episode looks back on Van Aert's horrific 2019 Tour de France crash and zooms in on the massive scar on his hip during a massage.

Striking : There's something vaguely unsettling about how Alpecin-Deceuninck director Christoph Roodhooft is framed in shadows as if they're trying to portray him as a crime boss - telling Philipsen to push the other sprinters.

Surely he didn't mean it literally but Roodhooft's comment makes it seem like the ensuing incident where Philipsen boxed Van Aert in along the barriers as the road curved as planned.

Episode 4: For Gino

Bahrain Victorious feature heavily in this episode as the team fight to win a stage in memory of Mäder. Pello Bilbao and Matej Mohorič come away as the most human characters in the entire season, and neither can contain their emotions when talking about their fallen teammate but use their grief as motivation. 

Mohorič climbs out of his skin amid the dead silence on the Puy de Dôme but is passed by Michael Woods and misses the stage win. Then, Bilbao gets the win on stage 10 and the emotion comes pouring out in the post-stage interview.

It's too bad the show decided to interrupt this compelling life-and-death storyline to fold in more drama between O'Connor and his AG2R management as they switch GC focus to Felix Gall.

Striking : In context, Bilbao's interview is even more powerful than it was on the day, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house last July.

Episode 5: The Enemy Within

We get a rare look inside the headless Ineos Grenadiers team who are in their first Tour de France without a podium contender. No spoilers, but Tom Pidcock doesn't come off well as the team find Carlos Rodriguez to be the more dependable GC rider.

Striking : Tom Pidcock jokes he's going to attack over the top of the Joux Plane and descend to the win before stage 14 but it's Rodriguez who actually does it. Editing or fact?

Episode 6: Domination

The yellow jersey contenders finally come back into focus after four episodes of sideshows. Unfortunately, the 15 stages where the battle was excruciatingly tight ended up largely on the cutting room floor to make room for the crushing performance of Vingegaard in the stage 16 time trial, and the subsequent speculation about doping. Groupama-FDJ seem to be the main instigators of the trash talk as a foreshadowing.

Striking : The best part of the episode is the race director's car stalling out on the climb to Courchevel - the cameras provide a real feeling of frustration and panic - and Gall's reaction to his stage win. The worst was poor Pogačar's devastating collapse.

Episode 7: Kamikaze Mission

Soudal-Quickstep is the focus of this episode. With Fabio Jakobsen heading home due to his crash injuries, the team are facing their first Tour de France in decades without a stage win. Kasper Asgreen to the rescue! It's too bad Lotto Dstny weren't part of the series because Victor Campenaerts deserved to be featured after ensuring that the breakaway succeeded only for his teammate Pascal Eenkhoorn to get beaten.

The episode ends with more Mohorič - including some footage of him training in Slovenia and revealing how much analysis he does about every aspect of cycling. The episode brings together all of the previous ones when Mohorič, O'Connor and Asgreen end up in the three-man breakaway on stage 18 and Mohorič gets the team's third stage win .

Striking : What happened to Wout Poels' victory on stage 15? Was he not emotional enough?

Mohorič's post-stage interview - with him explaining how cycling is cruel because only one rider can win, and 'you almost feel like you've betrayed them because you beat them' - is stitched in beautifully with clips of Asgreen being frustrated.

This should be the first episode to show to any non-cycling fans who want to get into the sport.

Episode 8: The Last Dance

What should have been a wrap-up of a thrilling Tour de France descends into that previously mentioned petty squabble. The episode begins with Marc Madiot having to explain to his riders how Jumbo-Visma boss Richard Plugge has said the team aren't serious because they drink beer during the Tour.

It's classic deflection by Plugge, going on the attack to change the narrative over speculation that Vingegaard must be doping because of his huge winning margin. So, when Madiot refuses to just laugh it off, Plugge wins. The final episode is too much about whether or not Groupama-FDJ riders drink beer.

Thibaut Pinot's final chance at glory has some great in-race visuals of his supporters crowding the roadsides and then booing at Vingegaard. "Thanks for that, Richard," Niermann says as we can hear impacts on the of who-knows-what on the team car.

We get to see Pogačar out-sprint Vingegaard to win stage 20, and Meeus winning the final sprint stage but if the Netflix producers wanted to make this show memorable to non-cycling fans to get them interested in the sport, one has to question why they spent so much time on Groupama-FDJ's beer consumption.

In between Mäder's death and the final stage of the 2023 Tour de France, there are many moments not captured in this season of Unchained that could have made for a better series. However, the eight episodes are still must-see watching for a cycling fan.

Striking : After Jordi Meeus wins the final stage ahead of four-time stage winner Jasper Philipsen, Bora-Hansgrohe's DS Rolf Aldag actually says that Meeus "is the only sprinter to beat Philipsen in the whole Tour de France" - and the directors fail to correct that - Mads Pedersen beat him on stage 8.

Tour de France 2024 – Comprehensive team-by-team guide

A full rundown of all the teams, their leaders and the riders to watch at this year's race

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Arkéa-b&b hotels, astana qazaqstan, bahrain victorious, decathlon ag2r la mondiale, dsm-firmenich postnl, ef education-easypost, groupama-fdj, ineos grenadiers, intermarché-wanty, israel-premier tech, jayco-alula, lotto-dstny, red bull-bora-hansgrohe, soudal-quickstep, totalenergies, uae team emirates, uno-x mobility, visma-lease a bike.

As the 2024 Tour de France rolls out from Florence, Italy on June 29, there will be 176 riders competing across 22 teams – some with a target on overall victory, others looking for stage wins and more still pleased with any opportunity that comes along their way to gather publicity on the biggest cycling stage in the world. 

All 18 WorldTour teams, plus the two best-ranked ProTeams – Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto-Dstny – got their automatic invitations to race while organisers ASO handed out wild card entries to Uno-X Mobility and TotalEnergies.

Crashes, form and Olympic goals have shaped the selections and ambitions for the teams but regardless all will be fighting to make an impression as the 21 days of racing over 3497.3km from Tuscany to Nice in the south of France unfolds.

Cyclingnews has pored through every squad, assessing their leaders, objectives and chances of success to bring you this comprehensive team-by-team guide.

• Team leader: Jasper Philipsen
• Objective: Stage wins, points classification
• Rider to watch: Mathieu van der Poel

In the bunch sprints of the Grand Tours of recent years, one team has stood out above the rest as masters of the lead-out train: Alpecin-Deceuninck .

They were a prominent presence throughout the bunch finishes at the recent Giro d’Italia, but Kaden Groves wasn’t able to ride them to victory. However, at the Tour de France, the team will have Jasper Philipsen , the quickest sprinter in the peloton.

Philipsen was one of the stars of last year’s Tour, storming to four stage wins (as many as any sprinter has managed at a single Tour since the 2011 edition), as well as riding consistently enough to claim the green jersey. He didn't slow down this spring, either, with victories at Milan-San Remo and the Classic Brugge-De Panne, as well as a second place at Paris-Roubaix, among his very impressive results.

Not only is Philipsen the quickest sprinter in the race, but he’ll also have the quickest lead-out man riding for him in Mathieu van der Poel . The pair work brilliantly together, as seen not just at last year’s Tour sprints, but also during the spring, when Van der Poel helped Philipsen to triumph at Milan-San Remo, and vice versa at Paris-Roubaix.

Van der Poel will also go hunting for stage wins on appropriate stages, most likely on days with punchy parcours too hard for sprinters but not hard enough for climbers. For a man so untouchable in the Classics, it’s perhaps surprising that he only has one stage win to his name from three Tour appearances, but he has often ridden here with a future goal in mind, as will be the case this year as he builds towards the Olympics.

• Team leader: Arnaud Démare
• Objective: Stage wins
• Rider to watch: Kévin Vauquelin

With Warren Barguil having followed Nairo Quintana out the door, Arkéa-B&B Hotels are going in a fresh direction for the 2024 Tour with sprinter Arnaud Démare as their new talisman.

Having grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of opportunities provided him by his former Groupama-FDJ team, who selected him for only one Tour de France start in the last five years, Démare has moved to a team where he won’t just be picked but will command unified support behind him.

It’s hoped that as a winner of two Tour stages in the past, Démare can deliver the team their long-awaited first-ever following ten winless Tours, but does the Frenchman have the shape to do so? He hasn’t made the top ten of any race for almost four months, and recently fractured a finger at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, plunging his Tour preparations into doubt.

It could therefore be up to others in the line-up to deliver, from which Kévin Vauquelin has shown particular potential. The 23-year-old has done everything this year, from making the top 10 at both Itzulia Basque Country and Tirreno-Adriatico, finishing second on the Mur de Huy at La Flèche Wallonne and winning a time trial at Etoile de Bessèges. He could be a contender for a variety of different stages though specialises in climbing hills and mountains.

• Team leader: Mark Cavendish
• Rider to watch: Alexey Lutsenko

At last, it's nearly time for the race that Astana Qazaqstan 's whole season has been building up towards.

Since signing Mark Cavendish in January 2023, they've made it their foremost mission to deliver the Manxman to the elusive win number 35, move clear of Eddy Merckx, and thereby become the outright record holder for most stage wins at the Tour de France.

It had initially been intended as a one-year plan, but after the heartbreak of last year’s race, where Cavendish crashed out at the end of the first week , he and the team have decided to have one last shot at history this July.

Unlike last year, when he went into the Tour off the back of a final-day victory in Rome at the Giro d’Italia, Cavendish has shown only sporadic signs of form this season, confined to smaller races. He won a stage during his first race of the season at the Tour of Colombia in February but had to wait another three months for a first victory on European roads at the Tour of Hongrie.

The Astana team is set to be built entirely around him. Veteran lead-out master Michael Mørkøv was signed exclusively to deliver him in the sprints, while Cees Bol and Davide Ballerini will sacrifice their own sprinting ambitions to form part of his lead-out train.

One rider who might be granted some freedom to ride for himself is Alexey Lutsenko . He showed great form by winning Il Giro d’Abruzzo before abandoning the Giro d’Italia and finishing seventh and eighth on GC in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He has two Tour de France GC top 10s, as well as a stage win in 2020, on his palmarès, so another top showing isn't out of the question.

• Team leaders: Pello Bilbao
• Objective: GC, stage wins
• Riders to watch: Santiago Buitrago, Matej Mohorič

What Bahrain Victorious lacks in a single stand-out GC contender, they make up for in strength in depth. Following Antonio Tiberi’s fifth place at the Giro d’Italia, they’re hoping to extend their run of top-six finishes on GC to a fifth consecutive Grand Tour and have several riders potentially capable of doing so.

Their best candidate is Pello Bilbao , based on his performance at the Tour last year and in stage races so far in 2024. He was sixth place last year and has been building nicely towards that level again this year with sixth-place finishes at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Itzulia Basque Country, plus third at the UAE Tour in between.

Santiago Buitrago is poised to make his Tour debut. He brings with him considerable expectations off the back of his stage wins and top-ten finish at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, respectively, as well as his impressive showing at Paris-Nice earlier this year.

It’s also hoped that Jack Haig can rediscover some form ahead of the race, while even veteran Wout Poels could post a high GC finish based on his recent third and sixth-place finishes at the Tour de Hongrie and Tour of the Alps, respectively.

Poels and Bilbao were two of the three different riders to win a stage at last year’s Tour, along with Matej Mohorič, who will again be using his nous and engine to target breakaways. The Slovenian has three Tour stage wins on his career palmarès and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him add another win here.

With Phil Bauhaus , a debutant last summer, also posing a threat in the bunch sprints, Bahrain Victorious has the resources to target a win on almost every stage.

• Team leaders: Guillaume Martin
• Riders to watch: Bryan Coquard, Ion Izagirre.

For the first time in many years, Cofidis can go into a Tour de France without being badgered about questions of whether this will be the year they at last manage to claim a stage win.

By triumphing on stage 2 of last year’s edition, Victor Lafay ended the team’s 15-year drought and then Ion Izagirre added another stage a week later.

Lafay has since left for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale but Izagirre remains and is set to ride, with stage wins on hilly and mountainous days again likely to be the target.

Guillaume Martin will ride his eighth consecutive Tour de France and will be the team’s leading GC hope. He’s placed eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th in past appearances, but has never won a stage, so he may prioritise trying to take one from a breakaway.

Bryan Coquard is another rider without a Tour stage win to his name despite many near misses, including a couple of fourth-place finishes last year. He’ll be the team’s man for the bunch sprints, especially on hillier days that weaken the specialists.

While these riders bring experience, 25-year-old Axel Zingle has form and potential. He’s been consistently in contention for multiple semi-Classics over the last few months and could win from a breakaway if he picks the right move.

• Team leader: Felix Gall
• Rider to watch: Sam Bennett, Benoît Cosnefroy

In the middle of an exceptional season, in which they have already racked up more victories than they managed in the last two seasons combined, expectations are high for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale as they head into the biggest race of the year.

Although the men who delivered stage wins (Valentin Paret-Peintre and Andrea Vendrame) and fourth overall (Ben O’Connor) at the Giro d’Italia will sit this one out as they rest and recover, the core of the other names who have made 2024 such a success are set to be present.

Benoît Cosnefroy has been the team’s biggest contributor with seven of their 23 wins (as of the end of May) and will target the hilly stages, while Dorion Godon will be a candidate in reduced bunch sprints, having won two sprint finishes at the Tour de Romandie in late April.

In the pure flat finishes, Sam Bennett will still be their main candidate, having recently shown signs of returning to form with a haul of wins and GC at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque.

Felix Gall might have had a quieter season to date, but he'll still be the team’s main man for the mountains and their GC candidate.  He finished eighth overall last year after breaking through with a series of good performances in the spring, while he'll also be hoping to replicate his breakaway stage win at Courchevel.

• Team leader: Fabio Jakobsen, Romain Bardet
• Rider to watch: Warren Barguil

For the Tour de France, DSM-Firmenich PostNL are making the unusual move of deploying the same two leaders as they did at the Giro d’Italia.

In the bunch sprints, Fabio Jakobsen will again line up as he continues to rediscover his mojo. The Dutchman still only has one win to his name (at the Tour of Turkey) since signing for the team this year, and he failed to get involved in the Giro bunch sprints before abandoning during the second week. However, the team still retains faith that he can reach the level that saw him win a stage on his Tour debut two years ago.

Romain Bardet fared better at the Giro than Jakobsen, finishing ninth overall while coming close to a stage win on Bocca della Selva. Though he has made the top 10 in all but two of the eight Tours he has finished throughout his career, his excursions in Italy may mean he targets stage wins this time instead.

With 11 wins to their name – including just one WorldTour race and only three outside the Tour of Turkey – DSM need some big results. That means that another French climber, Warren Barguil , will likely be given the freedom to attack and get into breakaways.

• Team leader: Richard Carapaz
• Rider to watch: Neilson Powless, Ben Healy

Last season was the first in EF Education-Easy Post ’s 16-year history that they did not place a rider in the top 10 of any of the Grand Tours. That run continued at the Giro d’Italia last month, where they aggressively targeted stage wins rather than GC via constant attacks, and were eventually rewarded in the final week with success from Georg Steinhauser in the Dolomites.

Nevertheless, they intend to strive to finish as high as possible at the Tour with Richard Carapaz as their leader. The 2021 podium finisher and 2019 Giro champion was signed in 2023 to do precisely that but he endured an under-par season last year and is only just showing signs of some form recently, with a stage win and seventh overall at the Tour de Romandie. 

With Carapaz’s form still uncertain, there ought to be plenty of scope for the rest of the line-up to chase their own personal ambitions. Neilson Powless , for instance, could either chase GC as he did in 2023 (when he finished 12th), or stage wins and the polka-dot jersey as he did last year.

Irish puncheur Ben Healy is set to make his Tour debut, and if his Giro debut from last year and performances in the Classics are anything to go by, we can expect him to attack at every opportunity.

Alberto Bettiol ’s form during the spring suggests he could add a Tour stage win to the one he managed at the 2021 Giro, while Marijn van den Berg has also earned a spot on the team thanks to his impressive early season performances.

• Team leader: David Gaudu
• Rider to watch: Stefan Küng

A new dawn awaits Groupama-FDJ as they embark upon the first Tour de France of the post-Thibaut Pinot era. Before retiring at the end of last year, Pinot had been the fulcrum of the team, appearing for them in all but two of the last 12 editions — sometimes with great success, other times with great heartbreak.

David Gaudu will seek to fill the void left by Pinot, as he has for several years now. Fourth overall in 2022 remains his highest finish at any Grand Tour, and though a repeat of that looks ambitious given his stuttering form this year, he’s still dreaming of a podium finish.

If Gaudu doesn’t have the legs to mount a serious GC challenge, targeting stage wins may be the team’s optimum approach, and they have plenty of riders capable of delivering on that front.

Rising star Lenny Martinez misses the race in favour of the Vuelta a España, but 21-year-old Romain Grégoire is set to make his Tour debut on the back of some very impressive results this year, including a stage win at Itzulia Basque Country

Valentin Madouas has become a recognisable face from recent Tours without quite winning a stage, though he certainly has the talent to do so. Stefan Küng will, as ever, be a candidate for both the time trials as well as select breakaways.

• Team leaders: Carlos Rodríguez
• Objective: GC
• Rider to watch: Tom Pidcock, Egan Bernal

Last year was only the second time in the last decade that Ineos Grenadiers failed to put a rider on the GC podium at the Tour de France. Even since their run of yellow jersey-winning Tours came to an end in 2020, up until then they had still managed to crack the podium through Richard Carapaz (in 2021) and Geraint Thomas (in 2022), but last year their highest finisher, Carlos Rodríguez , finished further down in fifth place.

Still, that result means Rodríguez is the obvious choice to lead the team’s 2024 GC bid, and the 23-year-old has bolstered his status with overall victory at the Tour de Romandie and second place behind Juan Ayuso at Itzulia Basque Country.

Also in the squad are other, more wildcard options for GC. Geraint Thomas would usually be a dependable candidate, but it’s unclear how fresh he will be, having dug deep to seal third place at the Giro d’Italia , while Tom Pidcock has stated that he intends to concentrate on the GC rather than stage wins, despite failing to make the top ten last year.

And what of Egan Bernal ? The 2019 champion has for the first time since his horror crash two and a half years ago shown form approaching his best, with third overall at Volta a Catalunya and top tens at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie, but it remains to be seen if he can manage a sustained GC bid over three weeks.

Michał Kwiatkowski and Laurens De Plus will be on hand to help the aforementioned trio achieve their GC goals, even if the Belgian could harbour ambitions of his own after racing to an unexpected and impressive fifth overall at the Critérium du Daupihiné. 

• Team leader: Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes
• Rider to watch: Georg Zimmermann

Biniam Girmay returns to the Tour de France hoping for a positive turn in fortunes. So far his season has been blighted by interruptions, with promising form in the early spring classics halted by a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, and another crash spelling the end of his Giro d’Italia one day after finishing third in Fossano.

He’s since returned to winning ways with victory at the Circuit Franco-Belge , and looks on course to arrive at the Tour in form. As Intermarché-Wanty ’s star, the onus is on the Eritrean to make an impact and he has the chance to make history as the first-ever Black African to win a stage of the Tour de France. His consistency and versatility also make him a candidate for the green jersey.

Like Girmay, who failed to show his best self at last year’s Tour, Louis Meintjes will be hoping to return to the form that saw him finish seventh overall in 2022 rather than crash out last year.

Meintjes will be the team’s GC leader, but the rest of the line-up will have the freedom to get into break and chase stage wins, much as Georg Zimmermann (who was second on stage 10) did last year. Rouleurs like Laurenz Rex and Hugo Page might fancy their chances of winning a stage this way, too.

• Team leader: Stephen Williams
• Rider to watch: Derek Gee, Pascal Ackermann

Israel-Premier Tech 's high ambitions from 2021, when they gambled on signing Chris Froome in the hope that he could recover from his horror crash two years earlier and revive his Tour-winning form of old, have since been significantly tempered.

Now no longer a WorldTour team, they've instead depended upon a wildcard to earn entry into the Tour de France, and their hopes are limited to chasing stage wins rather than mixing it up in the battle for the yellow jersey.

Froome himself is still fighting for selection. He’s eager to avoid a repeat of last year when he was left out of the Tour line-up, but his hopes of proving himself worthy were compromised when a fractured wrist sustained during Tirreno-Adriatico forced him to miss almost three months of racing.

His compatriot Stephen Williams is enjoying a terrific season, winning both La Flèche Wallonne and the Tour Down Under. He'll therefore be a top contender for stage wins in the hilly terrain.

The team should have a presence in the sprints, where Tour debutant Pascal Ackermann aims to add to his Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España stage wins and complete the Grand Tour clean sweep.

The rest of the line-up will be made up of stage hunters such as Dylan Teuns (who won here in both 2019 and 2021), and Derek Gee . The Canadian, who last year burst onto the scene with a series of breakaway second places at the Giro d'Italia, makes his Tour debut in the form of his life after scoring a stage win and third overall at the Critérium du Dauphné .

• Team leader: Simon Yates, Dylan Groenewegen
• Riders to watch: Michael Matthews

For a second successive season, Jayco-AlUla leader Simon Yates has foregone his usual Giro d’Italia participation in order to concentrate more committedly on the Tour de France.

Last year, this approach turned out to be a success, as he came to the Tour with some of the best legs of his career, eventually finishing fourth overall, and only missing out on a podium finish by 87 seconds to his brother Adam. His build-up to this year’s Tour isn’t so encouraging, however, having not shown much form since winning the AlUla Tour in the winter.

Jayco-AlUla aren’t putting all their eggs in the single basket of Yates’ GC bid. Dylan Groenewegen will be led out in the sprints by the likes of Luka Mezgec to see if he can add to his five Tour career stage wins, having come close last year with a second and third-place finish at Moulins and Paris, respectively.

On days too hilly for Groenewegen, Michael Matthews will step up, and may also try to get into some breakaways as he did to win a stage in 2022. He looked in fantastic form this spring, placing second at Milan-San Remo and, before being relegated for deviating from his line, third at the Tour of Flanders.

• Team leader: Mads Pedersen, Tao Geoghegan Hart
• Rider to watch: Giulio Ciccone

As a team boasting a diverse range of talent, Lidl-Trek could feasibly compete for all three of the major jerseys.

For the yellow jersey, they have Tao Geoghegan Hart . He’s only done the Tour de France once in his career and is eager to target GC here while still in his prime years. Victory might seem implausible, but that was also the case when he triumphed at the Giro d’Italia in 2020.

Mads Pedersen finished a distant second to Jasper Philipsen in the points classification last year, though he did score his second stage win in as many years. He's shown the kind of excellent form throughout this year to suggest he could bridge that gap, as well as add to his stage win tally.

As for the king of the mountains, Giulio Ciccone won that classification last year and will now be present to potentially defend that title after saddle sore surgery forced him to skip the Giro d’Italia.

Lidl-Trek might even have had a prime candidate for the white jersey if Matias Skjelmose had opted to ride, but he plans to skip the Tour and save himself for a Vuelta a España overall bid instead.

• Team leader : Arnaud De Lie
• Rider to watch: Maxim Van Gils

Compared to other teams, Lotto-Dstny have a laser-focussed approach when it comes to the Tour de France. Not only will it be their first Grand Tour of the season, having opted out of the Giro d’Italia, but they have also narrow down their ambitions to focus exclusively on stage wins, having not placed a rider in the top 10 for 14 years.

They haven’t had success on these terms recently, though, with no stage win to their name since Caleb Ewan’s victories in the sprints during the 2020 edition. The Australian has led the team for the past five Tours, bringing much success initially with multiple stage wins in 2019 and 2020, but nothing in the three editions since then.

He’s now left the team for Jayco-AlUla, and taking his place as Lotto’s leader will be Arnaud De Lie . Much is hoped from the 22-year-old debutant based on his rapid rise over the past two years, and he'll be especially threatening on hillier days where the pure sprinters will struggle.

However, the Tour will be a big step up from the level of competition he’s used to, and he’s only recently r eturned to form after suffering from Lyme disease during the spring.

De Lie might be the most hyped name, but another young Belgian, Maxim Van Gils , has been the team’s best performer so far this season. He finished second on the stage to Grand Colombier last year and has since established himself as one of the very best puncheurs in the world following podium finishes at Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne, and a fourth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

2023 super-combativity winner Victor Campanaerts is also set to ride again, though his season to date has been a quiet one.

• Team leader: Enric Mas
• Rider to watch: Rémi Cavagna

2024 has so far been another difficult season for Movistar , with Pelayo Sánchez’s stage victory at the Giro d’Italia their only win at WorldTour level all year.

That doesn’t bode well for their prospects at the Tour de France, where they have, in recent years, laboured to reach the levels of the past. They’ve now gone two successive Tours without placing a rider in the top 10, having done so in eight of the nine previous editions.

If any of their roster is to break that duck, it’ll be Enric Mas . The Spaniard has generally been one of the most dependable GC riders of his generation, making the top six in six of his last eight Grand Tour appearances.

However, he has been forced to abandon both of his last two Tours de France, with his participation last summer ending on the first day following a crash.

So far, Mas has enjoyed a solid season without causing too much of a stir, finishing fifth overall at Volta a Catalunya and sixth at the Tour de Romandie. Considering that he normally ups his game for the Grand Tours, that’s encouraging.

New signing Rémi Cavagna is a dependable name in the time trials, breakaways and in helping team leaders on the flat, though the Frenchman hasn't scored a WorldTour win of his own since 2021. Returning star Nairo Quintana won't make the race, meanwhile, after breaking his hand in a crash at the Tour de Suisse.

• Team leaders: Primož Roglič
• Riders to watch: Jai Hindley, Aleksandr Vlasov

For the 2024 season, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe signed Primož Roglič with the primary objective of winning the Tour de France.

The team might never before have made the podium at any previous edition in their 10-year history, but Roglič has the calibre to challenge for yellow, as well as the desire, having moved from Visma-Lease a Bike for that specific purpose.

The Slovenian has left it to the last minute to show the kind of form he'll need to challenge for the yellow jersey, with his Critérium du Dauphiné victory his best showing of 2024 so far. The week-long warm-up race marked his first race since the heavy crash suffered by him, Remco Evenepoel, and Jonas Vingegaard at Itzulia Basque Country.

His two stage wins at the late summit finishes at Le Collet d'Allevard and Samöens 1600 were his first since the opening day at Itzulia, though a shaky final stage showing – where he shed almost a minute to Matteo Jorgenson and only held onto yellow by eight seconds – could provoke some cause for concern. 

Roglič’s presence means last year’s leader Jai Hindley — who enjoyed a day in the yellow jersey after winning stage five in Laruns before back pain contributed to a slip down to seventh on GC — will be demoted to the role of super-domestique.

While Hindley’s form has tailed away since his impressive third-place finish at Tirreno-Adriatico, Aleksandr Vlasov might believe he has the results to justify potential co-leadership status. With a second place at Tour de Romandie, sixth at Volta a Catalunya and fifth at Paris-Nice, he has been among the team's top performers this year. At the Dauphiné, he proved a reliable and strong deputy for Roglič.

Elsewhere, the rest of the team is geared exclusively towards targeting the yellow jersey, with Champs-Elysées-winning sprinter Jordi Meeus missing out on selection as the team looks to domestiques Danny van Poppel , Nico Denz , Marco Haller , Matteo Sobrero , and Bob Jungels .

• Team leader: Remco Evenepoel
• Rider to watch: Mikel Landa, Ilan Van Wilder

In a drastic change of approach, Soudal-QuickStep have abandoned their usual Tour de France strategy of targeting bunch sprints and stage wins, and instead are going all in on Remco Evenepoel ’s push for GC.

This is set to be Evenepoel’s debut Tour, and it’s a hugely anticipated one, given the already enormous star profile he’s built for himself through many superb performances and major results including two Liège–Bastogne–Liège victories, the world title in 2022, and the GC at the Vuelta a España that same year.

His build-up has been compromised after a crash and fractured collarbone at Itzulia Basque Country stalled the momentum that had already seen him win Volta ao Algarve and finish second at Paris-Nice, but the plan remains the same.

His first race back, the Critérium du Dauphiné, saw him score a dominant time trial win, though he faded hard in the closing three mountain stages, losing 2:58 to Primož Roglič. That will be a major cause for concern heading into July.

As part of the team building around Evenepoel, Mikel Landa has been signed up as a super-domestique. The Spaniard has performed this role in the past – at Sky to help Chris Froome win the 2017 Tour de France, and at Movistar for Richard Carapaz’s 2019 Giro d’Italia triumph. Second at Volta a Catalunya and 10th at the Dauphiné suggests he has the legs to do something similar this year, too

Landa will be joined by Evenepoel’s familiar right-hand man, Ilan Van Wilder . The Belgian has ridden in support of Evenepoel many times, most notably during his triumphant Vuelta a España effort two years ago and should be in solid form, too, having placed fourth at the Tour de Romandie.

The team’s focus on GC means there will be no room for in-form sprinter Tim Merlier, despite his success at the Giro d’Italia, nor even home favourite Julian Alaphilippe, as the remaining spots instead go to domestiques including Yves Lampaert , Casper Pedersen , Louis Vervaeke and Gianni Moscon .

• Team leader: Mathieu Burgaudeau
• Rider to watch: Steff Cras

When TotalEnergies signed Peter Sagan for the 2022 season, they hoped the Slovakian would be the star name to make them protagonists at the Tour de France. His first edition for them was typically consistent, finishing in the top six of five different stages, but lacking the edge of his heyday; by the following year his powers had seriously waned, and he only made the top ten once.

Sagan now having retired, the team must embark on a new direction. They’ve struggled at the Tour in recent years, and haven’t won a stage since Lilian Calmejane in 2017.

It will be hard for them to break that duck this year. Of the four non-WorldTour entries, they probably have the weakest roster, as reflected by the fact that they’d only won three races this season as of the beginning of June.

Consequently, they’re strategy will be to buy daily tickets in the lottery that is getting into the breakaway. Mathieu Burgaudeau is a particular specialist at this, having finished second and third on stages of last year’s race, and placed second in the King of the Mountains classification at this year’s Paris-Nice riding similarly aggressively.

The likes of Pierre Latour, Anthony Turgis, Geoffrey Soupe and Alexis Vuillermoz all provide experienced options for TotalEnergies to potentially select. And though the team don’t tend to target GC anymore, Stef Cras ’ 11th place finish at the Vuelta a España last year suggests he could become their first rider to crack the top ten since Pierre Rolland in 2015 — although his participation remains up in the air due to his involvement in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country.

• Team leaders: Tadej Pogačar
• Rider to watch: Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso

Phase one of UAE Team Emirates ’ great ambition to win the Giro/Tour double this year with Tadej Pogačar was a success, with the Slovenian waltzing to an enormous victory at the first Grand Tour . Now, it’s time for the hard part.

Pogačar won the Giro at a canter, almost 10 minutes clear of second place as he won a staggering six stages without ever appearing to have to stretch himself. But at the Tour, he’ll be up against a much stronger field of GC candidates, none of whom have the accumulated fatigue of having already completed a Grand Tour this season – even if Evenepoel, Roglič, and Vingegaard are all making comebacks from that brutal Itzulia crash.

UAE Team Emirates provided ample support to him at the Giro, with Rafał Majka and Vegard Stake Laengen impressing in particular, but the team is set to ring in the changes with an all-new line-up at the Tour.

On paper, it’s a much stronger group of riders. In Adam Yates , they have the man who finished third last summer, even if his form this year is in more doubt having performed only in patches since winning the UAE Tour in February. Juan Ayuso provides another potential GC option, making his Tour debut on the back of a podium finish at the Vuelta a España and overall victory at Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year. 

More climbing firepower will come from João Almeida , another rider who would slot in as a GC leader at most of the other teams in the peloton. Elsewhere, Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler bolster the climbing line-up along with Tim Wellens and Nils Politt , the latter pairing set to feature in the engine room during flatter stages.

The team will be hoping Ayuso, Sivakov, Wellens, and Politt recover well from a mass spill at the Critérium du Dauphiné, with Ayuso forced out of the race with pain in both hips as a result.

• Team leader: Alexander Kristoff
• Riders to watch: Andreas Leknessund, Magnus Cort

After making a successful Tour de France debut last year, Uno-X Mobility have been invited back by ASO as a wild card entry again.

Last year, they impressed by being active in the breakaways, with Tobias Halland Johannessen enjoying particular success with three top-six finishes. He’s set to return this year and on the back of some good form, too, having finished sixth at La Flèche Wallonne during the spring.

This time, they’ll have more strings to their bow. In new signing Andreas Leknessund , they have a rider capable of challenging for GC, even if he hasn’t yet shown the form this season that saw him finish eighth overall at the Giro d’Italia last year. And Magnus Cort brings considerable experience as a two-time former stage winner at the Tour, and will be dangerous from an intermediate stage break or reduced bunch sprint.

They will also again have Alexander Kristoff for the bunch sprints, who, though poised to turn 37 during the Tour, has been winning regularly this past month or so and could have it in him to add to his four career Tour stage wins. 

But they are also sure to be one of the main presences in the breakaways, with Jonas Abrahamsen posing a particular threat, having recently won the Brussels Cycling Classic that way.

• Team leader: Jonas Vingegaard
• Rider to watch: Sepp Kuss, Wout van Aert

As the Tour approaches, Visma-Lease a Bike are still sweating on the fitness of Jonas Vingegaard . The defending champion’s participation was plunged into doubt when he crashed out of Itzulia Basque Country in April and hasn’t raced since. He has recently returned to training at high altitude, though his exact racing level won't become apparent before the Tour.

Given the severity of that fall, the fact he has a genuine chance of returning in time feels miraculous, but doing so with the form to win the yellow jersey again will be an even bigger ask.

Prior to that crash, Vingegaard had started the season in intimidatingly good form, triumphing at both Tirreno-Adriatico and O Gran Camiño while claiming five stage wins in total, and would surely be the overwhelming favourite for yellow were it not for his fitness and form doubts. 

Should the Dane fail to recover in time, it might be up to Sepp Kuss to fill his boots. The peerless climbing super-domestique proved himself as a Grand Tour GC rider by winning the Vuelta a España last year, though he hasn’t shown anything like that form so far this year. On top of that, he abandoned the Critérium du Dauphiné before the final day of racing as he wasn't feeling 100% .

Like Vingegaard, Wout van Aert , too, is a doubt as he tries to recover in time from the injuries that ruled him out of both the Giro d’Italia and the major spring Classics, though he has returned to racing at the Tour of Norway.

He hopes to join other stalwarts of the previous yellow jersey-winning campaigns Tiesj Benoot , Dylan van Baarle and Christophe Laporte . Matteo Jorgenson will make for a very useful addition to the line-up, bringing a diverse range of talents that has this year seen him win Paris-Nice and Dwars door Vlaanderen and score a surprising second overall at the Dauphiné.

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

Join now for unlimited access

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

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

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

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

Stephen Puddicombe is a freelance writer based in Bristol. He has written for Cyclingnews since 2020, and has covered cycling professionally as a freelancer since 2013, writing for outlets such as Rouleur , Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport , among other publications. He is the author of The World of the Tour de France, published by Sona Books. Outside of cycling he is a passionate cinephile, and a long-suffering Spurs fan.

2024 Olympic Games cycling selections

Unlock Your Full Cycling Potential with BKOOL: The Ultimate Virtual Training Experience

Ashleigh Moolman Pasio holds onto Olympics and Tour de France Femmes hopes after back injury

Most Popular

您使用的瀏覽器版本較舊，已不再受支援。建議您更新瀏覽器版本，以獲得最佳使用體驗。

啟用Javascript

請在瀏覽器上啟用JavaScript來瀏覽頁面中的所有內容。

Why does the Tour de France have so few Asian riders, and no representation from Hong Kong?

South china morning post.

• A focus on cycling has not translated into success in the world’s most famous road race despite success in other forms of the sport, like in the velodrome
• Even those cyclists with a chance to make it at World Tour level have chosen not to take the opportunity

It's sad to see there is just one Asian rider at this year's Tour de France, Kazakh racer Alexey Lutsenko of the Astana team. This is despite the sport seemingly pushing so hard to become truly global, and to accommodate rising talent from minority cycling nations.

There is just one Chinese rider registered to a World Tour cycling team, Wang Meiyin of the Bahrain Merida squad, and there has only ever been one Chinese rider in the Tour de France, Ji Cheng, who rode in 2013 and 2014, finishing only the latter, and in last place.

What of Hong Kong? There has never been a Hong Kong rider at the Tour unless you count retired British pro David Millar, who moved to Hong Kong aged 13 and moved back to the UK after school.

Over the years, Hong Kong has produced several top quality bike racers, riders who were more than capable of at least taking a shot at racing at World Tour level. Some may assume it to be lack of opportunity, after all Hong Kong is on the opposite side of the world to Europe, the heartland of professional bike racing. There are also the cultural barriers. Bike racing isn't mainstream enough here to be considered a viable career path to many, nor is Hong Kong a cycling paradise.

There have been several Hong Kong riders who have overcome these barriers and had the doors opened for them to compete at the highest level, and they chose not to.

Wong Kam-po, what an amazing talent he was. Wong was the first Hongkonger to make serious waves in international cycling terms. He was so gifted and versatile that he could have been great, yet he chose to stay at home.

He took Hong Kong's first-ever cycling world title in 2007 (The only other being Kwok Ho-ting in the same event in 2011), winning gold in the 15km scratch race on the velodrome. Unfortunately, it was still a million track laps away from the Tour de France.

Almost 18 years ago I spoke at length with him at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, where he had earlier become the only Asian rider ever to win a mountain stage " dropping former Grand Tour winners along the way. He was concerned about leaving behind all that was familiar to him, and having to deal with language barriers.

In 2006, we caught up again. He admitted that maybe he did regret not taking his chance, and that his advice to younger riders would be to go to Europe to learn their trade.

Wong was also treated as a superstar at home. Why would he want to up sticks and throw himself into the cauldron of pro bike racing, where he would have intern status, need to race and travel a whole lot more, be unable to go home after races, and also probably not be any better off financially?

One of the young riders who grew up in the dominant shadow of Wong was Choi Ki-ho, who looked set to take on the mantle from his grandmaster teammate. Following a stunning win in the Tour of Korea at just 19 years old, he was offered a coveted slot with the Orica Green Edge team from Australia (who are now Mitchelton-Scott). The team are well known for picking up young talent and allowing riders to develop without the stresses to perform, a rarity in pro sport.

Much to everyone's surprise, he turned down the offer and quit cycling for good. Statements at the time said he felt burned out, and had decided to concentrate on a business degree. That could be seen as a sensible choice, especially given the turbulence pro bike racing has gone through with doping scandals.

Tour de France Asia-style: seven of the best bike climbs in Asia

There have been many more who clearly showed the talent, and who were also seemingly well supported along the way " often far more so than many of their western compatriots. Could it be that such support leads to excess comfort and quells the hunger it takes to become a professional athlete in a far-flung country?

One beacon of hope was Hong Kong clothing brand Champion System, which had its own team competing on the Professional Continental tour level, one below World Tour.

The roster was a mix of Hong Kong, mainland Chinese and seasoned western pros. For a while, it looked like they may be on to something, but sadly it was not to be. The team disbanded in 2013, but the company continues to sponsor UAE Emirates, and some other World Team teams.

Lois Shih, one the company founders said: "We were lucky to have a manager and staff committed to developing Hong Kong and Chinese riders. Unfortunately, the riders we were able to sign were already in their mid 20s, and had not had enough exposure to European racing. I think for any Hong Kong or Chinese riders to make that step up they must be exposed to this as early as their junior years."

Sure enough, the Asian racing scene is thriving, but it's still a huge step away from the Tour de France and, as other nations have learned, the only way to get there is to go and live in the arena without the frills of home to hand.

Steve Thomas is a well-travelled cyclist and freelance writer/photographer

Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beijing’s South China Sea stance is driving Vietnam into America’s arms

Hong kong mall operator sun hung kai properties to hire extra security and train staff ahead of saturday protests in yuen long after earlier mob violence, mtr maintenance train derails in hong kong leading to service suspensions on east rail line.