van aert tour de france

Van Aert talks back trouble, Tour de France role, and courage involved in sprinting: "If I feel good, I will get opportunities"

Wout van Aert is back, now even more so than during his comeback in the Tour of Norway in May. On Sunday, the Belgian of Visma | Lease a Bike started in the Belgian National Road Championships and spoke briefly to VTM while in the mixed zone. Naturally, the big question was: how is he doing?

Van Aert was recently selected for the Tour de France, for which the expectations – just like for Jonas Vingegaard – are already being tempered. The all-rounder had a hard fall in March during Dwars door Vlaanderen and thus was particularly happy to be back to racing on Sunday morning. "The restart in Norway was nice, but racing in Belgium is still something else. In the meantime, I have also been able to work more on my form, so I am glad to be here at the start."

When asked how he is doing, he gave an honest answer, in line with remarks from his teammate Tiesj Benoot: "I feel good and my form is much better. I can train without limits, although I sometimes still have some back pain. It has been lingering for a long time and we are working every day to relieve the muscle tension. It's annoying, but I can't complain. I can train normally and have been able to make progress."

Continue reading below the photo .

Van Aert hints at prominent role in the Tour de France

The steps he took during altitude training were so encouraging that Van Aert will start in the Tour de France on June 29. "At one point, I indicated that I'd rather be there than not, and the role I'll play will depend on how my legs feel," he says on the matter. "If I feel good, I will get opportunities from the team and I will seize them. Otherwise, I will play an important role in the team, where I hope to improve during the Tour."

So, count Van Aert in for several Tour stages, and don't rule out the bunch sprints right away either. When asked if he dares to join a potential sprint at the Belgian Championships, Van Aert was clear: "Of course I will sprint. It's a very nice jersey and we are at the start here to compete. I hope the sprinting will be safe, and if I'm there, I will take my chance."

Wout van Aert: a tour de force among cycling professionals

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Wout Van Aert

A winner of uci cyclocross world cup series title in 2021, belgian rider wout van aert also is also a regular stage winner on the tour de france..

You can't really pigeon-hole Wout van Aert when it comes to his abilities

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The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible Arthur C. Clarke, writer and futurologist

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Wout van Aert Will Likely Skip the 2024 Tour de France

The Jumbo-Visma powerhouse will ride the spring classics, then ride the Giro for the first time before the Olympics.

Van Aert will look to the spring classics to prepare for his debut in the Giro d’Italia in May. While van Aert has ridden the Tour de France five times, and has won nine Tour de France stages in his career, this will be the first time he has been part of another Grand Tour. According to Cycling News , the 2024 Giro route includes 20 percent less climbing than in recent years, “with the two time trial stages giving Van Aert a chance to gain time on key rivals.”

This year, van Aert was superhuman in the Tour de France, working tirelessly to help Jonas Vingegaard get in position to win. He then left the Tour early , ahead of stage 18, to be with his wife as she gave birth to their second child.

Next year van Aert will get his legs Giro-ready by racing the spring classics in March and April. He’s still yet to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The Giro runs from May 4-26, and while plans aren’t set in stone, van Aert has given several indications that he’s ready to take on the race across Italy.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that, “The only thing missing is an official announcement from the team that will be made at their get together in December.” Jumbo-Visma will confirm rosters and rider goals on December 22.

With Vingegaard looking to lead the Tour, and Sepp Kuss targeting La Vuelta again, van Aert should have the Giro all to himself in terms of the GC. The goal will almost certainly be a top-five finish.

Then, it’s likely that van Aert will forgo the Tour de France in order to race in the Paris Olympics. There he will ride the time trial (July 27) and road race (August 4). The rest of the Belgian’s schedule will include preparations for the Road World Championships in Switzerland at the end of September.

It will certainly be an exciting and non-stop year for one of the biggest stars in the men’s WorldTour peloton.

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Will vingegaard and van aert be at the tour de france big hints emerge from team training camp, photo out of visma-lease a bike pre-tour camp on tignes suggests team is close to finalizing a final eight after season studded by injury disasters..

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 .

Visma-Lease a Bike might have dropped a big clue that Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert will be at the center of its Tour de France this summer.

The team posted a photo Sunday from its pre-Tour training camp in Tignes that gives significant insight into the shape of a possible “Tour Eight” that’s been stitched together after a season nearly derailed by disaster .

Vingegaard, Van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson , Christophe Laporte, Jan Tratnik, and Tiesj Benoot pose atop a barren French Alp, resplendent in their Visma-Lease a Bike kits. The image appears to have been captured  after the six gutted out a seven-hour training ride of 180km and 5,100m ascent [ see below – ed ].

It’s likely the sextet currently atop Tignes will be joined this week by Vuelta a España champion Sepp Kuss , who has been training at home in Andorra, and Wilco Kelderman, who hit a top-10 Sunday at the Tour de Suisse.

Postcard from Tignes. @MatteoJorg pic.twitter.com/5Vdf5zagWc — Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) June 16, 2024

Visma-Lease a Bike sources confirmed to Velo on Monday that the team will pin down its Tour de France selection this week, so nothing is certain just yet.

However, the photo shot Sunday does give a strong clue as to how the team might defend its maillot jaune after a season turned upside down by crashes.

Tour de France dead-certs Vingegaard, Van Aert, Steven Kruijswijk, and Dylan Van Baarle have all suffered devastating injuries at various points this year in what seems a curse on the “killer bees.”

Vingegaard was left with a list of fractures and a punctured lung at the Itzulia Basque Country and only got back on the bike six weeks ago.

Visma-Lease a Bike was quick to assert that Vingegaard would only return to the Tour de France if he was at “100 percent.” The two-time defending champion has been tapping up the thin air in Tignes most of this month, but team insiders recently suggested his status was still “50-50.”

Van Aert, who crashed at Dwars door Vlaanderen the week before Vingegaard’s fall and who suffered similar devastating consequences, made a faster comeback than his teammate and saw a low-key return last month at the Tour of Norway.

Strava suggests the Belgian baller has been training like a madman in the time since, but his return for a sixth Tour de France was complicated by his gold medal ambitions at the Paris Olympic Games.

Opinion: Visma-Lease a Bike’s woes extend beyond a looming Tour de France crisis. Jeremy Whittle writes that the roots of the blighted spring of the ‘Killer Bees’ is deeper than a string of debilitating crashes. https://t.co/lsjngyMh3E — Velo (@velovelovelo__) June 12, 2024

Meanwhile, Kruijswijk and Van Baarle both broke bones only two weeks ago at the Critérium du Dauphiné. Their logical replacements appear to be climber Kelderman and classics ace Laporte.

The status of Kuss may be causing some consternation in the Visma-Lease a Bike boardroom as the clock ticks toward the team’s showdown with arch-nemesis Tadej Pogačar.

Colorado’s climber king was off the boil at the Dauphiné earlier this month and exited the race one day early with sickness . Since then, Kuss returned home and has been tapping out some easy sessions , but has not shared any rides to Strava since Saturday.

The team will no doubt be hoping the next ride Kuss uploads to Strava is this week from a location atop Tignes.

Pogačar will be reading with interest from a few valleys away in Isola 2000 when the Dutch team confirms its eight Tour de France “Bees.”

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Wout van Aert leaves Tour de France to be with pregnant wife: 'It's an easy decision'

Bill Chappell

Wout van Aert is abandoning the Tour de France after learning that his pregnant wife's labor is "imminent." He's seen here earlier this week, ascending Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in the French Alps. Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Wout van Aert is abandoning the Tour de France after learning that his pregnant wife's labor is "imminent." He's seen here earlier this week, ascending Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in the French Alps.

The Tour de France will end in Paris in just a few days — but it will do so without one of its most exciting riders, as Wout van Aert quits cycling's biggest race to be with his wife, Sarah, who is expecting their second child.

"On the one hand it's a strange feeling but it's not a dilemma," Van Aert said in a video announcing his withdrawal. "It's an easy decision. I always thought that I would go home when my wife indicated that she needed me."

In this year's Tour, Van Aert has been a crucial ally of defending champion Jonas Vingegaard on Jumbo-Visma's eight-man team, using his unique strength and versatility to put pressure on Vingegaard's top rival, two-time winner Tadej Pogacar.

But Thursday's stage 18 began without Van Aert. He leaves this year's edition of cycling's landmark event without adding to his career nine stage wins. Van Aert said that while he had hoped to make it to Paris, he's been discussing a potential early exit with his team.

"I always thought that I would go home when my wife indicated that she needed me," the Belgian said. With the family's doctor assessing that labor is imminent, he said, "My place is now at home."

Van Aert, 28, said his teammates "are 100% behind me," and he's confident that they'll shepherd Vingegaard, who now has a comfortable lead of more than 7 minutes over Pogacar, to the podium in Paris.

This year's Tour de France brought a thrilling duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar, with the two most recent champions fighting for every second as the road race headed into its final week. But Vingegaard finally cemented his advantage in the Alps, in Tuesday's time trial and Wednesday's epic mountain stage.

For his part, Van Aert said, "I look back on this Tour in a positive way, but I will always remember this Tour as the one where I called home every day."

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Wout van Aert superstar

Wout van Aert took a solo victory in Calais after he failed to win the time trial and bunch sprints in Denmark. First on the line after three second places, the Belgian extended his lead in the overall classification on the eve of the cobbled stage to Arenberg. Jasper Philipsen won the bunch sprint eight seconds behind the Maillot Jaune and Christophe Laporte rounded out the podium.

MAGNUS CORT AWAY AGAIN, WITH ANTHONY PEREZ

176 riders took the start of stage 2 in Dunkirk at 13.29. Anthony Perez (Cofidis) was the first attacker, from the gun, quickly followed by Magnus Cort (EF Education-Easyport). They reached an advantage of 6’39’’ after 25km of racing before Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl got organised at the helm of the peloton. The time difference was down to 4’45’’ atop Mont Cassel where Cort took one more KOM point and thus secured his polka dot jersey for at least two more days. Quick Step put the hammer down in the descent and split the peloton in three pieces. The time gap went below 4’ before going on the up again as the bunch slowed down after regrouping. Perez was first on the line of the intermediate sprint at Lumbres (km 63).

PEREZ ON HIS OWN IN THE LAST HOUR OF RACING Perez and Cort got a maximum advantage of 7’15’’ at km 80. Lotto-Soudal, Alpecin-Deceuninck and later Trek-Segrafredo upped the tempo at the head of the peloton. As Cort took his ninth consecutive KOM victory at côte de Nielles-lès-Bléquin, he mathematically secured the polka dot jersey until stage 7 to La Super Planche des belles filles. He continued collecting KOM points at côte de Harlettes (km 102.7) where the time gap was reduced to 2’25’’ and côte de Ventus (km 123.6) where the peloton was timed only 1’15’’ adrift. Right after the second last climb of the day, Perez attacked to go solo with 45km to go.

VAN AERT ON THE OFFENSIVE IN THE LAST CLIMB Perez was reeled in before the top of Cap Blanc-Nez with 11km as Van Aert passed him after his Jumbo-Visma team sped up in the climb. The Maillot Jaune forged on by himself after Adam Yates and Jonas Vingegaard failed to remain in his slipstream. He kept going on a time trial mode till the finish line in Calais to grab one more spectacular stage victory, his seventh at the Tour de France but the first one with the yellow jersey on his shoulder. Another Belgian came second as Jasper Philipsen celebrated as well, obviously not knowing that his compatriot had remained alone ahead.

Wout van Aert: "I didn't want to risk losing"

“I didn’t want to take the risk of losing anymore. It was quite obvious that we were trying something with the team. We were in a perfect position with Nathan [van Hooydonck] and Steven [Kruijswijk]. Nathan opened up. We heard through the radio that some damage was made, so I went full gas to see what would happen. I was a bit in doubt, if I had to wait for Jonas [Vingegaard] and [Adam] Yates but I went full gas so Jonas didn’t have to ride. In the last10km I went all out. This jersey gives wings. It was definitely a tough climb but this stage was very...

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Wout van Aert to miss 2024 Tour de France

Belgian will make giro d'italia and vuelta a espana debuts.

Visma-Lease a Bike released its team schedule for 2024 on Thursday, with Wout van Aert missing the Tour de France for the first time in five years but racing both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana for the first time.

In that handful of Tours, the Belgian won eight stages and the 2022 green points jersey, while finishing in the GC top-20 twice.

Earlier in the month, van Aert won his first cyclocross race of the season on his first try, whipping the field at the Exact Cross round in Essen. After three more cyclocross races but no World Championships , the V-LAB rider will debut on the road February 2 in the Spanish UCI 1.1-rated Clásica Jaén Paraiso. Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race and the Giro are along Wout’s route to the Paris Olympic Games Road Race on August 8. V-LAB means to take more than one Grand Tour again this year, as Jonas Vingegaard, champion Sepp Kuss and Brit Ben Tullett will join van Aert at the Vuelta starting August 17.

At van Aert’s first Giro, he’ll race alongside new teammate and compatriot Cian Uijtdebroeks. Tour and Vuelta-bound Sepp Kuss will not race all three Grand Tours like last year, skipping the Giro, where he finished 14th helping Primoz Roglic to his first pink jersey and fourth Grand Tour triumph.

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Defending champ Jonas Vingegaard fit to compete at Tour de France

FILE -Tour de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, lifts his bicycle after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - Sepp Kuss of the U.S. rides during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) with start in Passy and finish in Combloux, France, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive. Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. is also part of the squad alongside countryman Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman and Jan Tratnik. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

FILE - Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. rides the last kilometers of the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 182.5 kilometers (113.5 miles) with start in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat and finish in Puy de Dome, France, Sunday, July 9, 2023. Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive. Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. is also part of the squad alongside countryman Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman and Jan Tratnik. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

FILE - Belgium’s Wout Van Aert rides during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, in Combloux, France, on July 18, 2023. Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive. His trusted teammate Wout van Aert, who broke his collarbone and several ribs in March in another crash, will also race in support of Vingegaard. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

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BRUSSELS (AP) — Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive.

Vingegaard was seriously injured in a crash in April but will be on the starting line next week when the race kicks off from Italy, the Danish rider’s Visma-Lease a Bike team said on Thursday.

His trusted teammate Wout van Aert, who broke his collarbone and several ribs in March in another crash, will also race in support of Vingegaard.

The three-week Tour starts on June 29 in Florence.

“I am excited to start the Tour. The last few months have not always been easy,” Vingegaard said. “We have worked together to get to this moment and, of course, I am very excited to see where I stand. I feel good and very motivated.”

Vingegaard was hospitalized for nearly two weeks in Spain in April following the multi-rider, high-speed crash in the Tour of the Basque Country. He sustained a broken collarbone and ribs and a collapsed lung.

Before the crash, Vingegaard was considered one of the Tour de France favorites alongside Tadej Pogacar, who won the Giro d’Italia and is aiming for a rare double next month.

“I am very proud of Jonas and the coaching team,” his team sporting director Merijn Zeeman said. “He is coming back from a serious injury. In the last few weeks, he has shown what a champion he is, both mentally and physically. Of course, we don’t know how far he can go yet. We are being cautious because he has not been able to race, and his preparation has been less than ideal, to say the least. But he will be there, healthy and motivated.”

Van Aert crashed during the Dwars door Vlaanderen in Belgium. He has been training at altitude in the French ski resort of Tignes with Vingegaard.

“Of course, this was not the plan initially, but after my development in the last weeks, I really wanted it, and the team agreed,” the Van Aert said. “Our main goal is, of course, to ride a top classification with Jonas. I want to contribute to that with an excellent team.”

Van Aert is widely considered one of the world’s best and most versatile riders. The three-time cyclocross world champion is also the winner of nine Tour stages and the points classification. He’s major race wins include Milan-San Remo, Strade Bianche, Gent-Wevelgem and the Amstel Gold Race.

Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. is also part of the squad alongside countryman Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman and Jan Tratnik.

“Matteo Jorgenson has already become one of the strongest riders in the team this year, with wins in Paris-Nice and Dwars door Vlaanderen, and his second place in the Dauphiné,” Zeeman said. “Sepp Kuss proved last year that he is a great climber, an important domestique, and a leader in his own right with a victory in the Vuelta a España.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Wout Van Aert leaves Tour de France ahead of birth of second child

'I always thought that I would go home when my wife indicated she needed me' says Jumbo-Visma rider

Wout Van Aert will not start stage 18 of the Tour de France on Thursday and will  head back to Belgium to be with his wife Sarah, who is due to give birth to their second child shortly.

The news was confirmed by a Jumbo-Visma Tweet on Thursday morning prior to the largely flat stage from Moutiers to Bourg-en-Bresse.

In a video put out by the team on Twitter , Van Aert said: “As everyone knows Sarah is pregnant. In consultation with the team, we have decided that my place is at home. We have been seeing the doctor at home and he has assessed that labour is imminent.”

Van Aert said that he and his wife had agreed before the Tour that he would head home if at any point she felt it was better that way.

Tour de France abandons: the full list of riders who have left the race 2023 Tour de France route Wout van Aert 'best of the normal people' in Tour de France time trial

“On the one hand it’s a strange feeling, but it’s not a dilemma. It’s an easy decision I always thought that I would go home when my wife indicated she needed me. That time has come.”

“I told the boys at dinner last night. I am delighted that they have all understood the decision and are 100 percent behind me. These seven guys will perform well for the rest of the Tour. Everything will be fine.”

Van Aert is the first Jumbo-Visma rider to leave the Tour this year. 

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He leaves the race at a point where leader Jonas Vingegaard is in a very strong position overall, dominating the race after the time trial stage and the Queen stage over the  Col  de la Loze. 

Having won at least one stage every year in the Tour since 2019, and three in 2021 and 2022, Van Aert was targeting for a tenth career stage victory. However he twice finishing second and twice third this year, missing out on the stage win he so  badly  wanted.

“I often had the legs to win the stage, but it didn’t happen,” Van Aert said in the same video. 

“It gives me mixed feelings. Results are one thing. How you feel on the bike is another.

“It was super good. The experience with the guys was excellent. To be able to fight for our goals again gave me morale. I look back on this Tour in a positive way.

“But I will always remember this Tour as the one where I called home every day and this is where I will leave the Tour.”

Another tweet from Jumbo-Visma added: "Thank you for another amazing Tour, we wish you and Sarah the best.” 

Van Aert’s next event is currently due to be the World Championships elite men's road race on Sunday August 6 in Scotland.

🇫🇷 #TDF2023 @WoutvanAert has left the Tour de France to be with his wife Sarah who will give birth to their second child soon. More in the interview recorded yesterday morning. 🎥 pic.twitter.com/WWA7uoCVz4 July 20, 2023

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

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Wout Van Aert to make the Tour de France? Nathan Van Hooydonck 'curious', says Belgian 'belongs there'

Published 24/05/2024 at 13:51 GMT

Wout van Aert is back in action this week at the Tour of Norway, as he makes his first appearance in a competitive race following his recovery from injury. According to former team-mate Nathan Van Hooydonck, Van Aert is "still in rehab" as he assessed whether the Belgian will even want to put himself forward for the Tour de France, which starts on June 29 in Florence.

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Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford

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All to play for as Romania and Slovakia vow not to settle for draw

Slovakia and Romania meet in Frankfurt on Wednesday knowing victory will secure a place in the last-16 of Euro 2024, but in the tightest of pools, a draw could send both teams through.

Tour de France 2024 start list: Mads Pedersen stars for Lidl-Trek; Arnaud De Lie leads Lotto Dstny

All the teams and riders for the 111th Tour de France

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With just ten days until the 2024 Tour de France , the squad announcements are gradually beginning to come in. 

Lidl-Trek, without Tao Geoghegan Hart , will aim for stage win glory through Mads Pedersen, a winner at the two previous editions, and Giulio Ciccone, the King of the Mountains at last year's race.

The pair will be joined by Julien Bernard, Tim Declercq, Ryan Gibbons, Toms Skujiņš, Jasper Stuyven, and Carlos Verona.

Lotto Dstny will be led by newly-crowned Belgian champion Arnaud De Lie at the Tour, which will not only be his first time at the race, but any Grand Tour. Having beaten last year's green jersey winner, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) at the nationals, he will hope he can do it again.

Together with Maxim Van Gils, Victor Campenaerts, Brent Van Moer, Jarrad Drizners, Harm Vanhoucke, Sébastien Grignard and Cedric Beullens, the goal is stage wins.

Meanwhile, Movistar will be led by Enric Mas, as the Spaniard mounts another GC challenge; his highest finish was fourth overall in 2021.

He will be joined by Oier Lazkano, Davide Formolo, Nelson Oliveira, Alex Aranburu, Fernando Gaviria, Gregor Mühlberger and Javier Romo.

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Bahrain-Victorious will take 2023 stage winners Pello Bilbao and Matej Mohorič , along with the former British champion Fred Wright . The latter will be hoping his luck finally holds if he makes it into a breakaway.

The trio will be joined by Wout Poels, Phil Bauhaus, Santiago Buitrago, Jack Haig and Nikias Arndt, in a team strong in stage-winning potential, with a GC bid also a possibility.

UAE Team Emirates' lineup was all but confirmed already , but it was published last week.

Assisting Tadej Pogačar in his bid for history - a Giro d'Italia and Tour double - will be Juan Ayuso, Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Nils Politt, Adam Yates, João Almeida and Tim Wellens.

In Ayuso, Yates and Almeida, UAE have three hyper-domestiques who could be team leaders at a Grand Tour themselves. Yates, in particular, will be key, with the Briton winning the recent Tour de Suisse, and also finishing third at the Tour de France last year.

Israel-Premier Tech also released their eight-man team sheet, which includes four debutants, two of whom are Brits: Jake Stewart, Stevie Williams, Pascal Ackermann and Derek Gee. Williams and Gee, in particular, have shown their top form at times this year.

The team has experience, in Guillaume Boivin, Jakob Fuglsang, Hugo Houle and Krists Neilands. Notably, there is no Chris Froome .

Visma-Lease a Bike will be led by Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert . The pair were judged to have sufficiently recovered to be there at the French Grand Tour when it gets underway.

The pair will be joined by Matteo Jorgenson,  Sepp Kuss , Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman, and Jan Tratnik.

Both Vingegaard and Van Aert have had injury-interrupted seasons, with the former in serious doubt for the Tour, with the defending champion rushing to recover from injuries sustained in the  horror crash at Itzulia Basque  Country in April. The Dane suffered  multiple broken ribs , a collapsed lung, and a broken collarbone in the incident.

However, his team confirmed that he has recovered enough to "fight for a good result" in the Tour.

Jayco AIUIa confirmed that Simon Yates, Michael Matthews and Dylan Groenewegen would lead the charge for the team as they hunt for stage wins and a high general classification finish for Yates. 

Luke Durbridge, Chris Harper, Chris Juul-Jensen, Luka Mezgec and Elmar Reinders complete the Jayco lineup. 

Uno-X Mobility were the first team to release their lineup.

The Norwegian team will be led by Magnus Cort and Alexander Kristoff, two riders who have tasted success at the French Grand Tour in the past.

The pair will be joined by six more Scandinavians - all Norwegians, incidentally - Jonas Abrahamsen, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Rasmus Fossum Tiller, Søren Wærenskjold, Johannes Kulset and Odd Christian Eiking.

The 2024 race begins on Saturday 29 June in Florence, Italy, and finishes in Nice, France, just over three weeks later on 20 July. Read our guide to the Tour's route here .

Eight men are allowed in each squad, with a mix of climbers, sprinters, general classification hopefuls and domestiques. All 18 WorldTour teams will be present, alongside ProTeams Israel-Premier Tech, Lotto Dstny, Uno-X, and TotalEnergies.

Below are the confirmed squads for the race. We will update this page with more riders as teams are announced.

Tour de France 2024 start list

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Arkéa-B&B Hotels

Astana-Qazaqstan

Bahrain-Victorious MOHORIČ Matej (Slo) POELS Wout (Ned) BILBAO Pello (Esp) BAUHAUS Phil (Deu) BUITRAGO Santiago (Col) HAIG Jack (Aus) WRIGHT Fred (GBr) ARNDT Nikias (Deu)

Bora-Hansgrohe

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale

dsm-firmenich PostNL

EF Education-EasyPost

Groupama-FDJ

Ineos Grenadiers

Jayco-AlUla DURBRIDGE Luke (Aus) GROENEWEGEN Dylan (Ned) HARPER Chris (AuS) JUUL-JENSEN Chris (Den) MATTHEWS Michael (Aus) MEZGEC Luka (Slo) REINDERS Elmar (Ned) YATES Simon (Gbr)

Intermarché-Wanty

Israel-Premier Tech ACKERMANN Pascal (Deu) BOIVIN Guillaume (Can) FUGLSANG Jakob (Den) GEE Derek (Can) HOULE Hugo (Can) NEILANDS Krists (Lat) STEWART Jake (GBr) WILLIAMS Stevie (GBr)

Lidl-Trek BERNARD Julien (Fra) CICCONE Giulio (Ita) DECLERCQ Tim (Bel) GIBBONS Ryan (RSA) PEDERSEN Mads (Den) SKUJINŠ Toms (Lat) STUYVEN Jasper (Bel) VERONA Carlos (Esp)

Lotto Dstny VAN GILS Maxim (Bel) DE LIE Arnaud (Bel) CAMPENAERTS Victor (Bel) VAN MOER Brent (Bel) DRIZNERS Jarrad (Bel) VANHOUCKE Harm (Bel) GRIGNARD Sébastien (Bel) BEULLENS Cedric (Bel)

Movistar MAS Enric (Esp) LAZKANO Oier (Esp) OLIVEIRA Nelson (Por) FORMOLO Davide (Ita) ARANBURU Alex (Esp) GAVIRIA Fernando (Col) ROMO Javier (Esp) MÜHLBERGER Gregor (Aut)

Soudal Quick-Step

TotalEnergies

UAE Team Emirates POGAČAR Tadej (Slo) ALMEIDA João (Por) AYUSO Juan (Esp) POLITT Nils (Deu) SIVAKOV Pavel (Fra) SOLER Marc (Esp) WELLENS Tim (Bel) YATES Adam (GBr)

Uno-X Mobility CORT Magnus (Den) KULSET Johannes (Nor) TILLER Rasmus (Nor) EIKING Odd Christian (Nor) KRISTOFF Alexander (Nor) WÆRENSKJOLD Søren (Nor) JOHANNESSEN Tobias Halland (Nor) ABRAHAMSEN Jonas (Nor)

Visma-Lease a Bike BENOOT Tiesj (Bel) JORGENSON Matteo (USA) KELDERMAN Wilco (Ned) KUSS Sepp (USA) LAPORTE Christophe (Fra) TRATNIK Jan (Slo) VAN AERT Wout (Bel) VINGEGAARD Jonas (Den)

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Adam is Cycling Weekly ’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.

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Defending champ Jonas Vingegaard fit to compete at Tour de France

FILE -Tour de France winner Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, lifts his bicycle after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive. Credit: AP/Thibault Camus

BRUSSELS — Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive.

Vingegaard was seriously injured in a crash in April but will be on the starting line next week when the race kicks off from Italy, the Danish rider’s Visma-Lease a Bike team said on Thursday.

His trusted teammate Wout van Aert, who broke his collarbone and several ribs in March in another crash, will also race in support of Vingegaard.

The three-week Tour starts on June 29 in Florence.

“I am excited to start the Tour. The last few months have not always been easy," Vingegaard said. "We have worked together to get to this moment and, of course, I am very excited to see where I stand. I feel good and very motivated.”

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Vingegaard was hospitalized for nearly two weeks in Spain in April following the multi-rider, high-speed crash in the Tour of the Basque Country. He sustained a broken collarbone and ribs and a collapsed lung.

Before the crash, Vingegaard was considered one of the Tour de France favorites alongside Tadej Pogacar, who won the Giro d’Italia and is aiming for a rare double next month.

Sepp Kuss of the U.S. rides during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) with start in Passy and finish in Combloux, France, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive. Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. is also part of the squad alongside countryman Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman and Jan Tratnik. Credit: AP/Daniel Cole

“I am very proud of Jonas and the coaching team," his team sporting director Merijn Zeeman said. "He is coming back from a serious injury. In the last few weeks, he has shown what a champion he is, both mentally and physically. Of course, we don’t know how far he can go yet. We are being cautious because he has not been able to race, and his preparation has been less than ideal, to say the least. But he will be there, healthy and motivated.”

Van Aert crashed during the Dwars door Vlaanderen in Belgium. He has been training at altitude in the French ski resort of Tignes with Vingegaard.

“Of course, this was not the plan initially, but after my development in the last weeks, I really wanted it, and the team agreed," the Van Aert said. "Our main goal is, of course, to ride a top classification with Jonas. I want to contribute to that with an excellent team.”

Van Aert is widely considered one of the world’s best and most versatile riders. The three-time cyclocross world champion is also the winner of nine Tour stages and the points classification. He's major race wins include Milan-San Remo, Strade Bianche, Gent-Wevelgem and the Amstel Gold Race.

Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. rides the last kilometers of the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 182.5 kilometers (113.5 miles) with start in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat and finish in Puy de Dome, France, Sunday, July 9, 2023. Two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard has recovered in time to defend his title next week although there are still doubts about his ability to be competitive. Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. is also part of the squad alongside countryman Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman and Jan Tratnik. Credit: AP/Daniel Cole

Matteo Jorgenson of the U.S. is also part of the squad alongside countryman Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman and Jan Tratnik.

“Matteo Jorgenson has already become one of the strongest riders in the team this year, with wins in Paris-Nice and Dwars door Vlaanderen, and his second place in the Dauphiné," Zeeman said. “Sepp Kuss proved last year that he is a great climber, an important domestique, and a leader in his own right with a victory in the Vuelta a España.”

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