Cycling: The 111th Tour de France begins on Saturday in Florence, Italy. The team line-ups have been finalized. In the first part of our team presentation, we look at the top teams in this Tour de France.
Visma – Lease a Bike
Nachdem jonas vingegaard won the last two editions of the Tour de France, the only goal this year can only be: to defend his title again. However, there is a big question mark over the Dane's condition. He has not competed in a race since his fall at the Tour of the Basque Country. The fact that he is at the start gives hope, however. If he is not in good shape, Matteo Jorgenson sprint into the breach for him. The American has shown that he has what it takes to be a good GC rider of the future. They can count on support in the mountains from Wilco Kelderman, Tiesj Benoot, Bart Lemmen and Jan Tratnik For at least one stage win and maybe the green jersey, wout van aert in the squad. With Christophe Laporte he has a top helper at his side.
UAE Team Emirates
No one has managed to do this since Marco Pantani won the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 1998. This season it could happen again. We could witness a historic event if Tadej pogacar after the Tour of Italy, he can also win the overall ranking in France. This year, the Slovenian seems almost unbeatable. If he can show this form over three weeks in the Tour, no one can hold a candle to him. And his team is bursting with quality. With Joao Almeida, Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates There are at least three colleagues in the squad who could also make it to the podium in a Grand Tour. Pavel Shivakov and Marc Soler are at least drivers for the top 10. In the high mountains, the UAE Team Emirates will be hard to beat. Nils Politt is used for work on the level and Tim Wellens rounds off the incredibly strong eight-man squad as a hill specialist. Has there ever been such a well-staffed squad? Probably not.
Bora-hansgrohe
The Bora – hansgrohe team has worn the yellow jersey several times. Last year we were also able to wear the Maillot Jaune on the shoulders of Jay Hindley This season, however, the Australian will only start as a helper in the Grand Boucle. The new captain of the German racing team is Cousin Roglic. As one of the best GC riders of the past ten years, he has won the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana, among others. Now the Tour victory is finally coming – for Bora and Roglic. He will also be supported in the mountains by Aleksandr Vlasov. On the plain and on slightly hilly terrain, Marco Haller, Bob Jungels, Matteo Sobrero, Nico Denz and Danny van Poppel with all their experience. As we know Bora - hansgrohe, these riders will also be allowed to pursue their own ambitions from time to time. For example, van Poppel could try his luck in a mass sprint or Denz could ride to a stage win in a breakaway group. Overall, the Bora - hansgrohe squad can be considered very strong, although they are somewhat weaker in the high mountains than their top competitors. However, they have nominated a much stronger squad for the flat terrain.
Ineos Grenadiers
The British team Ineos Grenadiers is going into the 2024 Tour de France with three potential captains. Egan Bernal won his first Grand Tour here in France in 2019. Geraint Thomas was successful in 2018. With their experience, they should actually be among the top contenders for the title. But Bernal is not quite back to his old self after his serious accident and Thomas is already 38 years old and has the Giro in his legs. Captain of Ineos Grenadiers will therefore probably Carlos Rodriguez Last year he won a section here and finished fifth in the GC. Another big help in the mountains could be Laurens de Plus The Belgian has been extremely strong recently and could have taken another step in his development. The squad is completed by a good portion of experience and a lot of quality on the level. Michal Kwiatkowski, Jonathan Castroviejo, Thomas Pidcock and Ben Turner are riders you can always rely on. If the GC podium is out of reach, anyone in this squad can go for a stage win. They certainly have the skills to do so.
Soudal – Quick Step
All for one is also the motto of the Soudal – Quick-Step team. Remco Evenepoel should at least reach the podium at the Tour de France 2024. However, many experts doubt that the Belgian will be able to do so. But his team boss believes in him. With Mikel Landa He has been given a top mountain rider to assist him, who was signed especially for this role. Jan Hirt can be a great help in the high mountains, as he finished eighth in the overall rankings at this year's Giro d'Italia. The two Belgians Louis Vervaeke and Ilan van Wilder are a great help when going uphill. The latter could even be a candidate for the day's victory on all hilly finishes. The strong line-up is completed by Casper Pedersen, Yves Lampaert and Gianni Moscon. The Dane, the Belgian and the Italian are all responsible for their captain on the flat, but they can also go on stage hunts themselves if they are allowed the freedom to do so.
Bahrain–Victorious
With a strong team as usual, Team Bahrain – Victorious will start the Tour de France 2024. There is no clear captain, even if the team management Santiago Buitrago on the overall ranking. Wout Poels, Pello Bilbao and Jack Haig have what it takes to make it into the top ten in a Grand Tour. However, a stage win will probably be valued more highly and they will therefore be given more freedom for breakaway groups. The same could happen Matej Mohoric and Fred Wright tackle if the stage profiles are slightly flat and not too hilly. If it is flat, you will hold back and sprint for Phil Bauhaus The most important man for him is likely to be fellow countryman Nickias Arndt .
dsm-company PostNL
Stage hunt – that is also the motto of the Dutch team dsm-firmenich PostNL. While Romain Bardet in the high mountains is good for a daily victory and Warren Barguil could even go for the mountain jersey, Fabio Jacobsen be the trump card in the mass sprints. The experienced John Degenkolb acts as road captain. Nils Eekhoff and Bram worlds are extremely important for the sprint preparation. We can especially look forward to Franck van den Broeck and Oscar Onley. Both the Dutchman and the Brit are competing in their first Tour de France. Onley, at least, can be expected to achieve a good result. If he can keep up with the front runners right from the start, he might even be allowed to ride on the GC. In any case, the time has come for him to mature from a talent into a fully-fledged rider.
Lidl-Trek
Actually, Tao Geoghegan Hart was supposed to take part in the 2024 Tour de France as captain for Lidl – Trek. But the Briton is simply unlucky and will miss the Tour de France due to injury or illness. His role as captain will now Julius Ciccone The Italian could aim for the overall ranking in the Tour or – if he falls behind early on – the mountain jersey and stage wins. Carlos Verona, Julian Bernard and Tom's Skujins are made for escape groups. In the mountains and on hilly sections we will certainly see them on the offensive more than once. The best chance of a stage win for Lidl – Trek, however, is Mads pedersen The Dane is from Jasper Stuyven, Tim Declerq and Ryan Gibbons Pedersen will have a tough time against the sprinter competition on the flat sections, but this year the organizers have also included a few stages for his type of rider in the program. He will be the favorite at the start and will try to live up to this role with his team.