Cycling: The starting signal will be given tomorrow: The Tour de France 2021 begins. High time to publish the last part of our preview. We look at all the remaining teams, drivers and targets, including the wildcard teams.
Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux: Always be active
Since this season, the Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux team has been part of the WorldTour. However, the team does not really have a suitable squad for this. That's why they naturally appear like a wildcard team in the most important cycling races in the world. Always active, always offensive. We will see them in the same way at the 2021 Tour de France. While Jan Bakelants and Louis Meintjes can play to their strengths on uphill terrain, numerous drivers in the squad have their qualities more in the sprint. Boy and Danny van Poppel can hold their own in a mass sprint, as can Germany's Jonas Koch and Georg Zimmermann. However, it is much more likely that they will also go in groups on flat stages in order to increase the chances of winning the day.
- Jan Bakelants
- Jonah Koch
- louis meintjes
- Loic Vlichen
- Danny van Poppel
- Boy van Poppel
- George Zimmerman
- Lorenzo Rota
Israel Start-Up Nation: Age does not protect against good results
In the meantime, even the last fan of this team will have to admit that the Israel Start-Up Nation has gambled. With Chris Froome, a four-time tour winner has been brought into the team to win the Tour of France. André Greipel, Dan Martin and Michael Woods have also been committed. All of the drivers mentioned have reached the age of 30 and have been on the decline for many months. No wonder top results are in short supply. After all, it has been admitted that Chris Froome can no longer win the tour. Captain is now said to be Michael Woods. Of course you can achieve something together in the mountains, but you won't have a decisive influence on the overall ranking. And whether André Greipel with the starter and compatriot Rick Zabel is still able to win a mass sprint is also questionable. After all, the German duo can try.
- Rick Zabel
- André Greipel
- Chris Froome
- Omer Goldstein
- Reto Hollenstein
- Guillaume Boivin
- Dan Martin
- Michael Woods
DSM: full throttle on the hunt for stages
At last year's Tour de France, the DSM team was probably the biggest surprise. The German team was able to win three stages. Now Marc Hirschi is missing, but the strategy is the same. Sören Kragh Andersen wants to repeat his coup from last year. Like the Belgian Tiesj Benoot, the Dane can launch painful attacks and exploit the hesitation of the opponents – regardless of whether the terrain is flat or slightly wavy. In the mass sprints one hopes for success with Cees Bol. The Dutchman has developed a lot, but has not yet risen to the ranks of the absolute top sprinters. Maybe he can do that in the next three weeks. The German Jasha Sütterlin will help out, deliver good time trials and be found in early breakaways from time to time.
- Soren Kragh Andersen
- Tiesj Benoot
- Cees Bol
- Mark Donovan
- Nils Eekhoff
- Joris Nieuwenhuis
- Casper Pederson
- Jasha Sutterlin
Alpecin – Fenix: Everything revolves around Van der Poel
Mathieu van der Poel will contest his first Tour de France. The Belgian is automatically one of the top favorites in some stages. Therefore, the wildcard team has a direct chance to compete for daily victories. If there is a mass sprint or if the terrain is slightly bumpy, the multiple cross world champion will be the first choice. But especially in a Sprint Royale, the team can also play other cards. Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen are also capable of winning part of the bunch sprint. The rest of the squad will support the three fast men and may want to take their own chances on mountain stages. Xandro Meurisse is a candidate for that. Petr Vakoc doesn't like it all that mountainous, but on hilly stages he's also a man for a long run.
- Peter Vakoc
- Kristian Sbaragli
- Tim Merlier
- Xandro Meurisse
- Mathieu van der Poel
- Sylvan Dillier
- Jasper Phillipsen
- Jonas Rickaert
TotalEnergies: Latour could go for the general classification
The star of the TotalEnergies squad is Pierre Latour. As is well known, the Frenchman is a strong climber who certainly has a chance of a top placement in a Grand Tour. However, he cannot rely on a particularly strong team – especially in the mountains. With Victor de la Parte and Julien Simon, he has at least two helpers at his side who can bring him water bottles when the terrain is slightly uphill. Edvald Boasson Hagen and Anthony Turgis can probably ride on their own good results. However, they like it a little less demanding and, as classic specialists, prefer the plains.
- Pierre Latour
- Anthony Turgis
- Victor de la Parte
- Cristian Rodriguez
- Edvald Boasson Hagen
- Julien simon
- Fabien Doubey
- Jeremy Cabot
Arkéa – Samsic: Well-known, but also successful?
The French team Arkéa – Samsic will tackle the 2021 Tour de France with the best possible line-up. Warren Barguil and Nairo Quintana are well known to every cycling fanatic. Unfortunately, the Frenchman and the Colombian are past their best, but they can still produce good results in a major tour of the country. It is possible that Warren Barguil is looking at the mountain jersey and Nairo Quintana is aiming for the top 10 in the overall standings again. The two will definitely enrich the mountain stages and go in breakaway groups from time to time. Nacer Bouhanni is the captain on the flat, but he has also been chasing his former best in recent years. In mass sprints, it is unlikely that he will be able to celebrate a stage win. In general, the wildcard team will therefore go into escape groups a lot. Elie Gesbert is predestined for this.
- Warren Barguil
- Bouhanni born
- Nairo Quintana
- Elie Gesbert
- Connor Swift
- Anthony Delaplace
- Daniel McLay
- Clement Russo
B&B Hotels p/b KTM: 8 French for a stage win
The B&B Hotels p/b KTM team will start without a single foreigner. Led by climber Pierre Rolland, the sports directors are hoping for at least one stage win. And the chances of that happening aren't that bad. Because with Bryan Coquard there is also a top sprinter in the squad. The rest of the squad will be responsible for always representing the team in escape groups. We should pay particular attention to Quentin Pacher. The Frenchman proved last year that he can keep up in the mountains and is a good candidate for stage victory.
- Pierre Roland
- Quentin Pacher
- Maxim Chevalier
- Frank Bonnamour
- Cyril Barthe
- Cyril Gautier
- Cyril Lemoine
- Bryan coquard
