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Tour de France 2023 riders and teams: Every cyclist at this year’s race

The race comprises 22 teams with eight riders in each, article bookmarked.

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The Tour de France , cycling’s premier race, got underway on Saturday 1st July in Bilbao. The multi-stage race will see the best cyclists in the world race across different terrains and locations throughout France and the Basque country.

In total, the race is made up of 22 teams. All 18 WorldTour teams automatically qualify, as do the two best-ranked ProTeams. The organisers also give out two invites which this year went to Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X.

Each team is made up of eight riders meaning 176 cyclists will compete in this year’s race. Britain’s Mark Cavendish will race for Astana Qazaqstan as he targets his 35th stage win to break the record held by Eddy Merckx.

There will be no place in the 2023 peloton for four-time winner Chris Froome , however. The 38-year-old has struggled with injury and form and was omitted from Israel-Premier Tech’s eight-man squad.

Here is the full list of teams and riders for the 2023 Tour de France:

Ag2r-Citroën: Ben O’Connor, Oliver Naisen, Benoit Cosnefroy, Nans Peters, Felix Gall, Aurelien Paret-Peintre, Stan Dewulf, Clement Berthet.

Alpecin-Deceuninck: Mathieu van der Poel, Michael Gogl, Quinten Hermans, Soren Kragh Andersen, Jasper Philipsen, Jonas Rickaert, Ramon Sinkeldam, Silvan Dillier.

Arkéa-Samsic: Warren Barguil, Clement Champoussin, Anthony Delaplace, Laurent Pichon, Simon Guglielmi, Jenthe Biermans, Luca Mozzato, Matis Louvel.

Astana Qazaqstan: Mark Cavendish (GB) , Alexey Lutsenko, Gianni Moscon, Yevgeniy Fedorov, Cees Bol, David de la Cruz, Luis Leon Sanchez (abandoned after stage four), Harold Tejada.

Bahrain Victorious: Nikias Arndt, Phil Bauhaus, Pello Bilbao, Jack Haig, Mikel Landa, Matej Mohoric, Wout Poels, Fred Wright (GB) .

Bora-Hansgrohe: Emanuel Buchmann, Jai Hindley, Jordi Meeus, Nils Politt, Danny van Poppel, Bob Jungels, Marco Haller, Patrick Konrad.

Cofidis: Bryan Coquard, Simon Geschke, Ion Izagirre, Guillaume Martin, Anthony Perez, Axel Zingle, Victor Lafay, Alexis Renard.

DSM-Firmenich: Nils Eekhoff, Matthew Dinham, Sam Welsford, Romain Bardet, John Degenkolb, Kevin Vermaerke, Chris Hamilton, Alex Edmondson.

EF Education-EasyPost: Alberto Bettiol, Rigoberto Uran, Neilson Powless, Esteban Chaves, Magnus Cort, Andrey Amador, James Shaw (GB), Richard Carapaz (abandoned after stage one).

Groupama-FDJ: David Gaudu, Kevin Geniets, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Thibaut Pinot, Lars van den Berg, Olivier Le Gac, Quentin Pacher.

Ineos Grenadiers: Egan Bernal, Jonathan Castroviejo, Michal Kwiatkowski, Daniel Martínez, Tom Pidcock (GB) , Carlos Rodríguez, Ben Turner (GB) , Omar Fraile.

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty: Lilian Calmejane, Rui Costa, Biniam Girmay, Louis Meintjes, Adrien Petit, Dion Smith, Georg Zimmermann, Mike Teunissen.

Jayco-Alula: Simon Yates (GB) , Dylan Groenewegen, Luka Mezgec, Elmar Reinders, Lawson Craddock, Luke Durbridge, Chris Harper, Christopher Juul-Jensen.

Jumbo-Visma: Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman, Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Wout van Aert, Dylan van Baarle, Nathan van Hooydonck, Jonas Vingegaard (defending champion) .

Lidl-Trek: Giulio Ciccone, Tony Gallopin, Juan Pedro López, Alex Kirsch, Mads Pedersen, Quinn Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose, Jasper Stuyven.

Movistar: Matteo Jorgenson, Ruben Guerreiro, Nelson Oliveira, Gorka Izagirre, Gregor Muhlberger, Antonio Pedrero, Alex Aranburu, Enric Mas (abandoned after stage one).

Soudal-Quick Step: Julian Alaphilippe, Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert, Remi Cavagna, Tim Declercq, Michael Morkov, Fabio Jakobsen, Dries Devenyns.

UAE Team Emirates: Mikkel Bjerg, Felix Grossschartner, Rafal Majka, Tadej Pogacar , Marc Soler, Vegard Stake Laengen, Matteo Trentin, Adam Yates (GB) .

Lotto-Dstny: Victor Campenaerts, Jasper De Buyst, Pascal Ennkhoorn, Frederik Frison, Jacopo Guarnieri (abandoned after stage four), Maxim Van Gils, Florian Vermeersch, Caleb Ewan.

TotalEnergies: Peter Sagan, Daniel Oss, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Pierre Latour, Anthony Turgis, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Steff Cras, Valentin Ferron.

Israel-Premier Tech: Guillaume Boivin, Simon Clarke, Hugo Houle, Krists Neilands, Nick Schultz, Corbin Strong, Dylan Teuns, Michael Woods.

Uno-X Pro: Torstein Traeen, Soren Waeenskjold, Anthon Charmig, Jonas Gregaard, Rasmus Tiller, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Alexander Kristoff, Jonas Abrahamsen.

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No Irish cyclists in the Tour De France is very disappointing after a great year for our professional cyclists

Team Jayco AlUla's Irish rider Eddie Dunbar attends the presentation of the teams prior to the eighteenth stage of the Giro d'Italia 2023 cycling race, 161 km between Oderzo and Val di Zoldo, on May 25, 2023. . (Photo by Luca Bettini / AFP) (Photo by LUCA BETTINI/AFP via Getty Images)

2023 has been a fantastic year for Irish professional cycling, hence why it is so disappointing that the grand départ of the Tour de France takes place in Bilbao in the Basque region of northern Spain this Saturday without any Irish involvement.

Last month Cork’s own Eddie Dunbar finished seventh in the Giro d’Italia, in what was the highest finish by an Irishman in the Giro since Stephen Roche’s momentous victory back in 1987. 

That win proved to be the first in his historic Triple Crown of Giro, Tour and World Championships in a single year, a feat that has only been achieved one other time in the history of cycling when the remarkable Eddy Merckx won all three events in 1974.

The Banteer Eddie may not be at ‘Cannibal’ level just yet, but to come seventh in what was only his second ever Grand Tour (with the last being back in the 2019 when he came 22nd at that year’s Giro) was a superb showing, and such is his climbing prowess that we can expect him to regularly contend for podium places in the coming years.

While he will not be contending this year’s Tour if he can put in a similar performance at the Vuelta a Espana in late August for his Jayco-AlUla team then he might get a crack next year.

The other good news story has been the impressive breakout performances of EF Education-EasyPost rider Ben Healy. 

The 22-year-old first came to the attention of Irish cycling fans with his victory in the national road race championships of 2020, but he announced himself to the cycling world this spring with some superb performances.

After some early season wins he really announced himself with his second place behind Tadej Pogacar in the Amstel Gold Race, and followed that up with a creditable fourth place finish behind world champion Remco Evenepoel at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

With that kind of form in the legs he started the Giro with the expectancy of landing a maiden stage win, and did not disappoint, winning into Fossombrone on May 13, to become only Ireland’s ninth ever Grand Tour stage winner.

Dunbar and Healy were never in line to contest this year’s Tour, but Sam Bennett was, so his omission from Bora-Hansgrohe’s Tour roster will have come as a huge blow to the Carrick-on-Suir sprinter.

While he will likely go to the Vuelta in August it is the Tour that he would have been targeting. 

It seems crazy to think that the last time Bennett lined up at the Tour was the day he won on the Champs-Elysées in 2020 while securing the green jersey for winning the points classification.

He will be 33 next year, and most likely at a different team. 

It really does feel like three years wasted for Bennett, and his absence also means that his lead out man Ryan Mullen, the three-time Irish road race champion, and six-time TT champion, also misses out on Tour selection.

As for the Tour itself, it has the potential to be one of the greatest renewals ever, with the last two winners likely to go head-to head in what could be one of the most exciting battles in Tour history.

Pogacar looked practically unbeatable when winning the 2020 and 2021 renewals by the ripe old age of 22, and looked on course for a hat-trick last year until he inexplicably cracked in stage 11, with the previous year’s third-placed rider, Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark, capitalising by taking 2 minutes and 51 seconds out of the Slovenian. 

Given that the gap between the pair in Paris was 2.43 this one moment of weakness by Pogacar proved to be the difference.

Pogacar was back to his supremely dominant self this spring, with a series of shock and awe displays ensured he won Paris-Nice before seeing off the classic specialists on his way to winning the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallone, only for him to receive a huge setback when breaking a wrist at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, which will have impacted his Tour prep.

Meanwhile, Vingegaard looked imperious in destroying the entire field at the recent Criterium du Dauphine, finishing well over two minutes clear of the field in the eight-day pre-Tour prep race.

It is genuinely difficult to split the pair. 

The bookies, just about favour the Dane, but the smart money should go on Pogacar to prove that it is he who is cycling’s alpha dog.

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Six Irish riders who won Tour de France stages as Sam Bennett makes history

Bennett won Stage 10 of the famous race this afternoon

• 20:40, 8 SEP 2020
• Updated 15:22, 9 SEP 2020

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Sam Bennett became just the sixth Irish rider to win a stage at the Tour de France this afternoon as he claimed Stage 10 of the historic race.

The 29-year-old followed in the footsteps of Shay Elliott, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Martin Earley and Dan Martin in achieving the feat.

Here, Mirror Sport looks at the five other riders who have claimed stages at the Tour.

Shay Elliott

One of Ireland's greatest riders on the international stage and the first English-speaker to lead the Giro D'Italia, Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France.

Dubliner Eliott held the yellow jersey for three days and was the first Irishman to win a stage at the 1963 Tour de France.

15 years after Elliott conquered a stage, Sean Kelly claimed success in Stage 6 in 1978.

In 1980 he was the victor in two Tour de France stages and also won stages in 1981 and 1982.

The decorated rider finished a glittering career with 193 professional wins, including the Vuelta a Espana in 1988, a UCI Road World Cup in 1989 and four top-10 overall finishes in the Tour de France.

Stephen Roche

The 1987 Tour de France winner won individual stages in 1985, '87 and '92.

Dubliner Roche ended his career with 58 professional wins, including the triple crown of the Giro d'Italia, World Road Race Championship and Tour de France in that famous 1987 season.

Martin Earley

Earley's Stage 8 win at the 1989 Tour de France was one of his nine professional victories before a switch to mountain biking, the sport in which he competed at the 1996 Olympics.

Current Irish star Dan Martin won Stage 9 at the Tour de France in 2013 and won Stage 6 two years ago in 2018.

He is 66th in the general standings of this year's competition, the highest-placed Irishman currently in the leaderboard.

Bennett, meanwhile, is leading the points classification and holds the green jersey.

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Tour de France 2023 - Five key stages

From the Pyrenees to Alsace, the days that could decide the race

Picking out five key stages from a Tour de France route has rarely been this difficult. With five mountain ranges – the Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura, Alps and Vosges – all visited across the route of the 2023 Tour, there are potentially pivotal days at just about every turn next July.

What’s more, in this breathless modern era, even seemingly milder days have the potential to catch fire. Witness Wout van Aert’s one-man show of force on the road to Longwy in 2022, for instance, or Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphilippe’s two-up effort en route to Saint-Étienne in 2019.

And yet, when the lights go up in the Palais des Congrès every October, some stages stand out more than others. In 2023, mind, there were at least eight or nine stages that caught the eye, and some particularly arduous days have been cast aside from this (very) short list, including the tough summit finish on the Grand Colombier on stage 13 and the passage over the Col de Joux Plane a day later. 

At this early juncture, here are five stages that whet the appetite ahead of the big show in July.

Stage 6 : Tarbes - Cauterets-Cambasque, 145km

When the Grand Départ last took place in the Basque Country in 1992, the Tour paid only a most perfunctory visit to the Pyrenees on its passage back into France. Javier Murguialday won in Pau after skirting the mountains on stage 3, while his breakaway companion, a youngster called Richard Virenque, announced himself to Le Grand Public by taking temporary hold of the yellow jersey. The GC men, including Miguel Indurain, preferred to keep their powder dry for the challenges ahead, namely the 63.5km team time trial two days later and the 65km individual time trial in Luxembourg at the end of the opening week.

Unlike in the Jean-Marie Leblanc era, there is no respite for overall contenders in the modern Tour. The men with designs on yellow in Paris will again be forced into action early and often in 2023. After a hilly opening stanza in the Basque Country, the Tour swings into the Pyrenees for two stages that could make a deep early impression on the general classification. The first, on stage 5, features the short but stiff Col de Marie Blanque ahead of the finish in Laruns, but the second to Cauterets is the main event.

Though just 145km in length, stage 6 from Tarbes features three mountain passes. First up is the Col d’Aspin (12km at 6.5%) after 68km, followed by the mighty Col du Tourmalet (17.1km at 7.3%), which returns to the route after being overlooked in 2022. The long drop to Luz Saint Sauveur notionally offers a chance for the race to regroup, but anybody who went too deep on the Tourmalet might pay for that effort on the final haul to Cauterets. The 16km climb has an average gradient of just 5.4%, but statistics can be deceptive on a day such as this. A Pyrenean stage of this magnitude this early in the Tour is certain to create ructions.

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Stage 9 : Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat - Puy de Dôme, 184km

In the summer of 2001, the Luxembourg Gardens doubled as the site of an outdoor exhibition of the greatest photographs ever to grace the pages of L’Équipe . The railings along the perimeter were adorned with striking images, from fencing to football, from Alain Prost to Zinedine Zidane. But, like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, one picture attracted more footfall than any other on those balmy evenings: Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor, elbow to elbow on the Puy de Dôme, locked in combat for the 1964 Tour.

It’s likely that more words have been written about that Tour than any other, and plenty more will follow over the next eight months. The Puy de Dôme is one of the Tour’s holy sites but it has not featured on the route since 1988 due to the construction of a panoramic railway up the dormant volcano that overlooks Clermont Ferrand. Cycling is strictly prohibited on the narrow road alongside the railway, but on joining ASO in 2004, Christian Prudhomme made returning to Puy de Dôme an objective. It even featured on his initial route plans in 2012, but it took until 2023 before the logistics could be thrashed out.

Unlike that indelible afternoon in 1964, when half of France seemed to have congregated on the mountainside, no spectators will be permitted on the final 4km of the climb next July, but the televised spectacle should be no less enthralling. Clermont native Raphaël Geminiani knows the climb better than anyone. He raced up on its first appearance in the Tour in 1952, when Fausto Coppi won at the summit, and he was Anquetil’s directeur sportif a dozen years later. “There’s the Alpe d'Huez, but nothing can compare to the Puy de Dôme. It’s a straight line and it just goes straight up...” Geminiani told France 3. “It is very difficult.”

In 2023, the Puy de Dôme comes at the end of a rugged stage through the Auvergne. Although there are no extreme ascents on the agenda beforehand, the terrain is latently demanding, with some 3,600m of total climbing. The day’s highlight, of course, comes on the vicious climb to the finish. The full ascent from Clermont is 13km in length at an average of 7.7%, but the key difficulty comes in that steep and straight final 4km, where the gradient never drops below 11%. Sweltering heat is often a factor in this corner of the world in July.

The final stage before the Tour’s first rest day could be pivotal.

Stage 16 : Passy – Combloux, 22km (Individual time trial)

With such a preponderance of mountain stages, it’s easy to overlook the significance of the lone time trial on this Tour route. And yet, in modern Grand Tours, even the smallest portion of time trialling kilometres can add up to a hell of a difference over three weeks. The 2017 Tour was a case in point, where Romain Bardet had Chris Froome’s measure in the mountains but still finished the race in third place, his 2:20 deficit essentially amassed in just 36km of time trialling.

The controlled racing of 2017, of course, already feels an eon removed from the remorseless chaos that seems to be routinely unleashed these days by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and his Jumbo-Visma rivals. But it’s still notable that Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) do not tend to be very easily separated when they go head-to-head in the high mountains.

Last July, it took Jumbo-Visma’s all-out assault on the Granon to split the two main men in the mountains, while Pogačar’s crash on the Spandelles surely had an impact on his travails on the Hautacam a week later. Otherwise, when the pair were both fit and firing, they essentially matched one another pedal stroke for pedal stroke every time the road climbed.

In that light, the 22km time trial from Passy to Combloux could be hugely significant, particularly as it’s something of a hybrid test: not a full mountain time trial, but certainly not a flat one either. The short Côte des Soudans features early on, while the final 6.5km from Domancy are all uphill. The toughest section comes on the 3km-long Côte de Domancy, which was where Bernard Hinault forged his World Championships victory in 1980. Indeed, the entire finale of this stage already formed part of a strikingly similar time trial in 2016.

On that occasion, the course continued climbing past Combloux to take in the Côte des Chozeaux. This time out, the route is not as demanding, but the gaps will hardly be any smaller for it. The transition from the flat mid-section to the stiff finale will not be straightforward, and bike selection – or perhaps even a bike change – will be key. Pogačar, winner of the two-part time trial to La Planche des Belles Filles in 2020, might like what he finds here.

Stage 17 : Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc-Courchevel, 166km

Identifying the toughest mountain stage of this Tour is largely in the eye of the beholder, but the position of this Alpine leg – not to mention its 5,000m of altitude gain – puts it firmly in contention for that honorific. Coming in the third week of the race and just 24 hours after the Tour’s lone time trial, it’s difficult to envisage anything other than significant time gaps come the finish at Courchevel’s altiport.

There are four classified climbs on the agenda, starting with the Col des Saisies (13.km at 5.3%). The wicked Cormet de Roseland (19.9km at 6%) brings the race just shy of the 2,000m mark, before a long drop past two evocative names in Tour history – Les Arcs and La Plagne – en route to the base of the day’s third ascent. The Côte de Longefoy is relatively short (6.6km at 7.6%), but, cruelly, the road briefly kicks up once more after the official summit.

The day’s key obstacle, however, is the interminable Col de la Loze, which drags inexorably upwards for 28.4km at an average gradient of 6%. If the steepness and the sheer length don’t splinter the race, then the altitude surely will. At 2,304m, the Col de la Loze is the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, the highest point of the entire Tour.

When the Tour first visited in 2020, the Col de la Loze served as a summit finish, with Miguel Ángel López soloing to victory while Primož Roglič  (Jumbo-Visma) snatched what felt like a decisive 15 seconds from Pogačar. This time out, the race continues for another 6.5km, dropping over the summit and back towards Courchevel, where there is a sting in the tail, with the steep kick up to the finish line at the altiport.

Stage 20 : Belfort - Le Markstein Fellering, 133 km

Among the innovations of the Prudhomme era at the Tour has been the regular insertion of full mountain stages on the fourth weekend of the race ahead of a long transfer to Paris on the final day. The experiment has had the occasional damp squib – the rain-sodden procession to Morzine in 2016 springs to mind – but there has been more than enough late drama over the years to justify the concept.

The biggest turnaround came in the Vosges in 2020 when Pogačar upset all the odds in that time trial up La Planche des Belles Filles , and the Tour returns to the mountain range for its final shake-up in 2023. The short leg through Alsace has the potential to be a miniature epic, particularly if the margins are still surmountable atop the overall standings. Five classified ascents pepper the 133km route, with a total of some 3,600m of climbing on the road from Belfort to Le Markstein.

A familiar name is first up. The Ballon d’Alsace (11.5km at 5.3%) began the Tour’s relationship with mountain passes back in 1905, though it has only featured four times in the past 40 years. The ascent comes early here and could shatter the peloton into shards with over 100km still to race.

The Col de la Croix des Moinats, Col de Grosse Pierre and the uncategorised Col de la Schlucht are wedged into a demanding middle section before the drop to Munster offers some respite. It doesn’t last long. The road climbs once more with the sharp Petit Ballon (9.3km at 8.1%), followed shortly afterwards by the Col du Platzerwasel (7.1km at 8.4%).

The summit comes just over 8km from the finish, but the day’s hardship isn’t yet over, as the route traverse the undulating ridge that leads towards Le Markstein ski resort, which was the site of the finish of the penultimate stage of last year’s Tour de France Femmes. Annemiek van Vleuten’s solo exhibition there turned the race on its head and put her into yellow. Alsace might offer similar fireworks in the men’s race next July.

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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation , published by Gill Books.

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Škoda ring of clare 2024, the 2023 tour de france: a feast of pedal power.

As the world’s most celebrated cycling competition, the Tour de France has painted the French countryside with a breathtaking blend of passion, determination and cycling prowess. From thrilling sprints to gruelling climbs, this year’s Tour has once again captivated fans with its fair share of trials and tribulations.

Join us as we delve into the unforgettable journey of the 110th edition of the famed race…

This year’s tour

Once again, the Tour de France route included its fair share of challenging climbs, thrilling sprints, and intense time trials that tested the limits of both endurance and tactical acumen.

The Tour took the cyclists on a 3,500 km journey through the heart of France, showcasing the country’s diverse landscape. From the flat terrain of the country’s north, to the challenging mountainous stretches of the Alps and Pyrenees, the Tour route was an epic battleground where cyclists fought hard to achieve the ultimate prize: the coveted yellow jersey.

As always, the competition was divided into 21 stages, running over the course of 23 days with two rest days in-between. The 2023 route promised a mix of flat, hilly and mountain stages along with two individual time-trials, each bringing a unique set of challenges and requiring different skill sets from the competitors. The riders will finally end their adventure in the heart of Paris, on the Champs-Élysées, making it a truly picturesque and symbolic finale to this pinnacle of road racing.

The all-important results

While it’s disappointing there was no Irish involvement in this year’s edition, the Tour de France always brings out the very best from its participants and this year was absolutely no exception!

Two-time champion, Tadej Pogačar, was certainly one to watch. After his stellar performance in 2020 and 2021, the Slovenian superstar returned to the race, more determined than ever. However, he faced stiff competition from reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard, the Danish powerhouse who has consistently shown that he can go toe-to-toe with the very best.

In a surprising turn of events on the final stage in Paris, Belgium’s Jordi Meeus sprinted to a surprise victory, denying fellow Belgian Jasper Philipsen a repeat win on the iconic Champs Elysees.

At the end of it all, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard secured his second consecutive Tour de France triumph, finishing 7 minutes and 29 seconds ahead of his closest rival, two-time winner Tadej Pogacar. British cyclist Adam Yates claimed the third overall position, one spot above his twin brother Simon.

Expressing his joy, Vingegaard referred to the Tour as being a ‘tough rate’ and enjoyed ‘a great battle with Tadej.’ The Dane also has his sights set on a third Tour de France victory next year. Only eight individuals have achieved three or more Tour de France victories since the race’s inception in 1903, so we’ll be eagerly awaiting to see if Vingegaard becomes the 9th name to grace the Tour’s history books.

Vingegaard’s next goal is to conquer another Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España, commencing at the end of August. He will be riding alongside his Jumbo-Visma teammate and three-time Vuelta winner, Primoz Roglic, who recently triumphed in this year’s Giro d’Italia. The duo aims to achieve the first-ever clean sweep of the three most prestigious stage races in cycling.

Throughout the Tour, Vingegaard and Pogacar engaged in a closely contested battle, with just 10 seconds separating them after 15 stages. However, Vingegaard took control when the race entered the Alps in the final week, ultimately extending his lead to almost 2 minutes after an exceptional individual time trial and a strong performance on the challenging queen stage.

In other notable achievements, the Tour also saw Giulio Ciccone from Italy win the King of the Mountains prize for the best climber, and Philipsen took home the green jersey for winning the points category. Philipsen’s stage victories denied British cycling legend Mark Cavendish the chance to break the all-time record for Tour stage wins, leaving Cavendish tied with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx at 34 wins.

Now you’re up to speed on this year’s Tour de France, why not take a trip down memory lane and explore Ireland’s famous cycling faces and memorable races?

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Race information

• Date: 23 July 2023
• Start time: 16:40
• Avg. speed winner: 39.19 km/h
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 115.1 km
• Points scale: GT.A.Stage
• UCI scale: UCI.WR.GT.A.Stage
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore: 14
• Vertical meters: 577
• Departure: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
• Arrival: Paris
• Race ranking: 1
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• Won how: Sprint of large group
• Avg. temperature:

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Tour de France

Tour de France 2024

Tour de France 2024 race news, previews, results, tour map, race tech, analysis, and photos. Follow for breaking on twitter , instagram , or facebook .

Dates: June 29 - July 21 Stages:  21 Rest days: 2 Start:  Florence, Italy Finish:  Nice, France

The 2024 Tour de France will take place June 29 - July 21. The 111th edition of the race starts in Florence, Italy, before crossing back into France for stage 4. In total there are 21 days of racing and two rest-days. The final stage ends in Nice, a highly unusual finish outside of Paris due to the Olympic Games.

Latest Tour de France News

55 mins ago

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/why-pogacar-cant-be-happy-with-his-tour-de-france-position/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "All Aggression Little Advantage: Why Pogačar Can’t Be Happy with His Tour de France Position"}}' > All Aggression Little Advantage: Why Pogačar Can’t Be Happy with His Tour de France Position

Pogačar couldn't crack his rivals before meeting his kryptonite high mountains during an exhausting opening week on the attack.

2 hours ago

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/opinion-why-sundays-thriller-proves-gravel-belongs-in-the-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Opinion: Why Sunday’s Thriller Proves Gravel Belongs in the Tour de France"}}' > Opinion: Why Sunday’s Thriller Proves Gravel Belongs in the Tour de France

Tour de Hoody: The wild dust-up was the best day of racing so far and confirms that Strade Bianche-inspired sector-based gravel stages deserve a place in the Tour de France. 

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/team-smallest-budget-most-prize-money-so-far/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Team With ‘Smallest Budget’ Has Won The Most Prize Money So Far"}}' > Tour de France Team With ‘Smallest Budget’ Has Won The Most Prize Money So Far

Two stage wins have harvested more than 43,000 euros for an underdog team, while Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team languishes at the bottom with only 2,390 euros.

14 hours ago

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/evenepoel-pogacar-upset-visma-tour-de-france-tactics-stage-9-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘I Think Vingegaard Is Afraid of Me’: Pogačar, Evenepoel Unhappy with Visma Tour de France Tactics"}}' > ‘I Think Vingegaard Is Afraid of Me’: Pogačar, Evenepoel Unhappy with Visma Tour de France Tactics

GC contenders critical of Jonas Vingegaard’s refusal to pull when clear in gravel stage breakaways.

15 hours ago

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/highlights-tour-de-france-stage-9-was-dusty-nonstop-gravel-action/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Highlights: Tour de France Stage 9 Was Dusty, Nonstop Gravel Action"}}' > Highlights: Tour de France Stage 9 Was Dusty, Nonstop Gravel Action

Stage 9 of the 2024 Tour de France delivered wall to wall action over 200km, including 14 gravel sectors totaling 32km.

17 hours ago

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/two-puncture-racing-wrong-bike-vingegaard-gravel-nightmare/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Two Punctures and Racing on the Wrong Bike: Jonas Vingegaard Survives Tour de France Gravel Nightmare"}}' > Two Punctures and Racing on the Wrong Bike: Jonas Vingegaard Survives Tour de France Gravel Nightmare

Defending champion finishes on flat tire and slams gravel sectors in Tour as ‘unnecessary risk’ after racing most of stage on bike of teammate Jan Tratnik.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/im-a-bit-gutted-pidcock-stuyven-gee-devastated-by-near-misses-on-tour-de-france-gravel-epic/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘I’m Gutted’: Tom Pidcock in Rare Near-Miss in Tour de France Gravel Epic"}}' > ‘I’m Gutted’: Tom Pidcock in Rare Near-Miss in Tour de France Gravel Epic

In a sport where winning is the only thing that counts, Pidcock, Gee and Stuyven struggled to make sense of the finish-line disappointment: 'I saw the line, I saw clean air and I thought, I’ve got this.'

19 hours ago

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-9-report-and-results/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 9: Pogačar Can’t Drop Rivals in Wild Gravel Stage, Turgis Kicks to Breakaway Win"}}' > Tour de France Stage 9: Pogačar Can’t Drop Rivals in Wild Gravel Stage, Turgis Kicks to Breakaway Win

'Visma only focused on me': Pogačar irrepressible but can't make the difference in all-attacking assault on controversial gravel stage.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-9-results/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 9 Results"}}' > Tour de France Stage 9 Results

Stage 9 results and the general classification, points, KOM, young rider, and team classification of the 2024 Tour de France.

22 hours ago

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-gravel-stage-descends-into-chaos/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Gravel Chaos at the Tour de France: Riders Forced to Run Up Dirt Roads in Mid-Stage Mayhem"}}' > Gravel Chaos at the Tour de France: Riders Forced to Run Up Dirt Roads in Mid-Stage Mayhem

The GC riders were braced for carnage over Sunday's 32km of fine white dirt, and it happened as early as the second sector.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/andre-drege-norwegian-pro-cyclist-who-died-in-crash-was-set-to-join-worldtour-with-jayco-alula-in-2025/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "André Drege, Norwegian Pro Cyclist Who Died in Crash, Was Set to Join WorldTour with Jayco-AlUla in 2025"}}' > André Drege, Norwegian Pro Cyclist Who Died in Crash, Was Set to Join WorldTour with Jayco-AlUla in 2025

'He was a late-bloomer': Drege won the 16th Tour of Rhodes in March to put him on the radar of the top WorldTour teams.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/remco-evenepoel-tour-de-france-gravel-stage-will-be-one-of-the-most-watched-events-of-the-year/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Remco Evenepoel: Tour de France Gravel Stage ‘Will Be One of the Most Watched Events of the Year’"}}' > Remco Evenepoel: Tour de France Gravel Stage ‘Will Be One of the Most Watched Events of the Year’

Belgian relishing chance to chase yellow across the 14 dirt road sectors in Sunday’s stage 9 of the Tour.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/i-dont-know-what-is-going-on-michael-matthews-on-tour-de-france-woes/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘I Don’t Know What Is Going on’: Michael Matthews on Tour de France Woes"}}' > ‘I Don’t Know What Is Going on’: Michael Matthews on Tour de France Woes

Australian sprinter and puncheur finishes a long, long way back on a stage he had targeted.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/video-highlights-tour-de-france-stage-8-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Video Highlights: Tour de France Stage 8"}}' > Video Highlights: Tour de France Stage 8

Stage 8 of the Tour de France came down to a bunch sprint on a slight uphill finish.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/gravel-in-the-tour-de-france-is-nonsense-pogacar-lefevere-and-evenepoel-divided-over-rough-stuff-ahead-of-key-stage/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘Gravel In the Tour de France is Nonsense’: Pogačar, Lefevere, Evenepoel Divided Over Dirt Roads Ahead of Key Stage"}}' > ‘Gravel In the Tour de France is Nonsense’: Pogačar, Lefevere, Evenepoel Divided Over Dirt Roads Ahead of Key Stage

Rough road sectors around Troyes on stage 9 set to shake up race and nervous Tour de France contenders. 'Anything can happen,' says Remco Evenepoel.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/rift-within-the-uae-ranks-well-see-the-mood-in-the-last-weekend/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Tensions at UAE? Pogačar Addresses Ayuso vs. Almeida Drama"}}' > Tour de France Tensions at UAE? Pogačar Addresses Ayuso vs. Almeida Drama

Pogačar tamps down any hint of drama between his two ambitious UAE teammates Ayuso and Almeida: 'We all know why we are here.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-8-biniam-girmay-makes-it-two-with-uphill-sprint-win/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 8: Biniam Girmay Makes It Two with Classy Uphill Sprint Win"}}' > Tour de France Stage 8: Biniam Girmay Makes It Two with Classy Uphill Sprint Win

Green jersey leader Girmay boosts points advantage with victory over Philipsen and De Lie.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-8-results-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 8 Results"}}' > Tour de France Stage 8 Results

Stage 8 results and the general classification, points, KOM, young rider, and team classification of the 2024 Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/raphael-geminiani-surviving-the-nazis-racing-with-coppi-and-bartali-guiding-anquetil/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Raphael Géminiani: Surviving the Nazis, Racing with Coppi and Bartali, Guiding Anquetil"}}' > Raphael Géminiani: Surviving the Nazis, Racing with Coppi and Bartali, Guiding Anquetil

A fascinating interview with one of the most captivating personalities in cycling, who died on Friday.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/matej-mohoric-issues-gc-warning-for-tour-de-france-gravel-stage-accidents-can-happen-very-quickly/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Matej Mohorič Sounds GC Alarm for Tour de France Gravel Stage: ‘Accidents Can Happen Very Quickly’"}}' > Matej Mohorič Sounds GC Alarm for Tour de France Gravel Stage: ‘Accidents Can Happen Very Quickly’

Gravel world champion predicts nervous stage over 14 sectors and 32.2km of gravel: 'The most limiting factor is that it is narrow. The gravel itself is quite fast.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/mads-pedersen-abandons-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Mads Pedersen Abandons Tour de France, Leaves Pothole in Lidl-Trek’s Plans"}}' > Mads Pedersen Abandons Tour de France, Leaves Pothole in Lidl-Trek’s Plans

Team loses stage-hunting ace to injuries sustained in sprint crash in another blow after Geoghegan Hart's DNS: 'We will work out a Plan B to race aggressively.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/matteo-jorgenson-claws-back-into-tour-de-france-top-10-the-crash-hit-me-harder-than-i-expected/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Top American Hope Matteo Jorgenson Claws Back Into Top-10 at Tour de France"}}' > Top American Hope Matteo Jorgenson Claws Back Into Top-10 at Tour de France

'I tried to go all in': American talent up to 9th overall after flying TT despite suffering body aches and immune responses after heavy stage 2 crash.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/primoz-roglic-insists-he-can-be-optimistic-about-tour-de-france-following-tt/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Primož Roglič Insists He ‘Can Be Optimistic’ about Tour de France Following TT"}}' > Primož Roglič Insists He ‘Can Be Optimistic’ about Tour de France Following TT

Slovenian expects ongoing improvements in race, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe remain upbeat despite further time loss to Pogačar.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/uci-jury-fines-french-rider-for-stopping-to-kiss-wife-son-during-time-trial-at-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "French Cyclist Fined for Heartwarming Mid-Stage Kiss with Wife and Son at Tour de France"}}' > French Cyclist Fined for Heartwarming Mid-Stage Kiss with Wife and Son at Tour de France

French rider Julien Bernard receives 200CHF fine for show of affection during the middle of Friday's time trial stage at the Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/need-keep-eye-remco-pogacar-changes-tour-focus/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘I Need to Keep An Eye On Remco’: Tadej Pogačar Switches Tour de France Focus"}}' > ‘I Need to Keep An Eye On Remco’: Tadej Pogačar Switches Tour de France Focus

Satisfied yellow jersey wearer rates his performance higher than Giro TT win and is happy to take time on rivals Vingegaard and Roglič.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/better-than-expected-jonas-vingegaard-stays-within-striking-distance-after-tour-de-france-time-trial-test/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Jonas Vingegaard Exceeds Expectations in Key TT Test to Stay Within Striking Distance at Tour de France"}}' > Jonas Vingegaard Exceeds Expectations in Key TT Test to Stay Within Striking Distance at Tour de France

Matteo Jorgenson roars to 7th while Van Aert loses nearly 2 minutes in warning ahead of Olympic Games: 'I hope for better legs during the Games.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/from-wobble-to-win-remco-evenepoel-keeps-cool-to-emerge-as-tour-de-france-threat/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Remco Evenepoel Smashes TT to Emerge as Pogačar Threat No. 1 at Tour de France"}}' > Remco Evenepoel Smashes TT to Emerge as Pogačar Threat No. 1 at Tour de France

'Tadej is going to be pretty unreachable': Evenepoel delivers TT victory and trims Pogačar's lead from 45 seconds to 33 seconds to solidify podium position.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-7-results-highlights-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 7 Results: The First TT Showdown"}}' > Tour de France Stage 7 Results: The First TT Showdown

Stage 7 results and the general classification, points, KOM, young rider, and team classification of the 2024 Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-7-report-and-results/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 7: Evenepoel Tears to TT Victory, Slashes Gap to Pogačar in ‘Big 4’ Showdown"}}' > Tour de France Stage 7: Evenepoel Tears to TT Victory, Slashes Gap to Pogačar in ‘Big 4’ Showdown

Evenepoel moves to 33 seconds back on Pogačar, Vingegaard resilient in first TT since injury, Roglič up to fourth overall.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/cavendish-2/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Mark Cavendish Sanctioned For Drafting in Thursday’s Sprint Stage at Tour de France"}}' > Mark Cavendish Sanctioned For Drafting in Thursday’s Sprint Stage at Tour de France

The incident came with about 75km to go when the bunch split in crosswinds and briefly caught out yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar without teammates.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/greatest-sprinter-of-all-time-cavendish-vs-merckx-who-is-the-tour-de-france-goat/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Cavendish vs. Merckx, Who Is the Tour de France GOAT? ‘Today It’s Way Harder to Win’"}}' > Cavendish vs. Merckx, Who Is the Tour de France GOAT? ‘Today It’s Way Harder to Win’

'Those days of Merckx are over. What Cavendish did is just insane:' Belgian pro Oliver Naesen says peloton holds deep respect for what the Manxman accomplished.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/i-try-to-be-a-fair-sprinter-philipsen-plays-defense-after-critics-call-out-tour-de-france-aggression/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘I Try to Be a Fair Sprinter’: Jasper Philipsen Plays Defense After Critics Call Out Tour de France Aggression"}}' > ‘I Try to Be a Fair Sprinter’: Jasper Philipsen Plays Defense After Critics Call Out Tour de France Aggression

Philipsen issues apology to Wout van Aert, defends tactics amid growing concerns over Tour de France sprint safety.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/workout-of-the-week-pogacars-devastating-long-attacks-at-the-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Workout of the Week: Pogačar’s Devastating Long Attacks at the Tour de France"}}' > Workout of the Week: Pogačar’s Devastating Long Attacks at the Tour de France

Tadej Pogačar is able to attack for more than a minute, putting his rivals into the red and worse. Here's how to train like him.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/did-the-batman-glasses-deliver-dylan-groenewegen-the-tour-de-france-winning-edge-maybe-it-was-just-enough/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Did the ‘Batman’ Glasses Deliver Dylan Groenewegen the Tour de France Winning Edge? ‘Maybe it was Just Enough’"}}' > Did the ‘Batman’ Glasses Deliver Dylan Groenewegen the Tour de France Winning Edge? ‘Maybe it was Just Enough’

The UCI momentarily banned aero-designed 'Batman' glasses until Groenewegen put them up for sale in his bike shop: 'Maybe it was the difference today.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/clash-of-the-time-trial-titans-evenepoel-pogacar-dreams/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Clash of the Tour de France TT Titans: Will Evenepoel Topple Pogačar Against the Clock?"}}' > Clash of the Tour de France TT Titans: Will Evenepoel Topple Pogačar Against the Clock?

‘There will be five seconds between Evenepoel and Pogačar’: contenders and their teams talk confidence, homework and tech marginal gains ahead of 25km time trial.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/wout-van-aert-calls-out-jasper-philipsen-after-relegation-in-bunch-sprint-thats-a-bad-habit-of-his/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘That’s a Bad Habit of His’: Wout van Aert Calls Out Jasper Philipsen After Relegation in Messy Tour de France Sprint"}}' > ‘That’s a Bad Habit of His’: Wout van Aert Calls Out Jasper Philipsen After Relegation in Messy Tour de France Sprint

Pedersen peeved at 'most aggressive' prize as green jersey battle heats up: 'I would prefer to shower and get the bandage off.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-6-results-highlights-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 6 Results: Photo Finish Sprint!"}}' > Tour de France Stage 6 Results: Photo Finish Sprint!

Stage 6 results and the general classification, points, KOM, young rider, and team classification of the 2024 Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-6-report-and-results/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 6: Groenewegen Nips Photo Finish, Philipsen Relegated After Blocking Van Aert"}}' > Tour de France Stage 6: Groenewegen Nips Photo Finish, Philipsen Relegated After Blocking Van Aert

Race leader Pogačar cruises home safe after being pressured in cross winds, Philipsen relegated after crossing line second behind Groenewegen.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/trading-hot-dogs-for-rice-cakes-american-cyclists-chasing-their-tour-de-france-dreams-on-the-4th-of-july/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Trading Hot Dogs for Rice Cakes: American Cyclists Chasing Their Tour de France Dreams on the 4th of July"}}' > Trading Hot Dogs for Rice Cakes: American Cyclists Chasing Their Tour de France Dreams on the 4th of July

Jorgenson, Powless, and Quinn give up barbecues and picnics to follow their racing dreams: 'Maybe I'd rather be at a lake with my friends, but I am living my dream.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/jacques-delaye-the-designer-who-brought-cool-to-the-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Jacques Delaye: The Designer Who Brought Cool to the Tour de France"}}' > Jacques Delaye: The Designer Who Brought Cool to the Tour de France

French artist invented some of the most fantastic vehicles ever seen in the Tour publicity caravan.

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This Colnago V4Rs is a Tour de France bike that obsesses over the details. It's not just an off-the-shelf range-topper for the Tour's yellow jersey.

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All the emotions, euphoria and reflections as Astana-Qazaqstan teammates and Cavendish confidants react to a fairytale 35th stage win.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/high-speed-bunny-hop-in-tour-de-france-sprint-saves-mads-pedersen-from-severe-injury/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "High-Speed Bunny-Hop in Tour de France Sprint Saves Mads Pedersen from Severe Injury"}}' > High-Speed Bunny-Hop in Tour de France Sprint Saves Mads Pedersen from Severe Injury

Alex Zingle's fast-twitch muscle reaction saved Pedersen — and himself — from perhaps more serious injury: 'I was coming too fast to brake.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/gallery-every-single-mark-cavendish-tour-de-france-stage-win/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Gallery: Every Single Mark Cavendish Tour de France Stage Win"}}' > Gallery: Every Single Mark Cavendish Tour de France Stage Win

Cavendish's career has spanned decades. Here's a look at every single one of his record 35 Tour de France stage wins.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/argy-bargy-improvisation-and-instinct-nothing-routine-about-mark-cavendishs-tour-de-france-masterpiece/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Argy-bargy, Improvisation, and Instinct: Nothing Routine about Mark Cavendish’s Tour de France Masterpiece"}}' > Argy-bargy, Improvisation, and Instinct: Nothing Routine about Mark Cavendish’s Tour de France Masterpiece

'Sometimes you have to use your head': The 5 key moments where Cavendish used all his tradecraft and acumen to deliver a stunning win for his history-making sprint.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/video-the-bike-mark-cavendish-used-to-set-the-tour-de-france-stage-win-record/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Video: The Bike Mark Cavendish Used to Set the Tour de France Stage Win Record"}}' > Video: The Bike Mark Cavendish Used to Set the Tour de France Stage Win Record

Wilier put together a special bike for Mark Cavendish's pursuit of a record setting 35th Tour de France stage win.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-5-results-highlights-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 5 Results and Highlights: Cavendish Sets All-Time Stage Win Record"}}' > Tour de France Stage 5 Results and Highlights: Cavendish Sets All-Time Stage Win Record

Stage 5 results and the general classification, points, KOM, young rider, and team classification of the 2024 Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/mark-cavendish-sets-all-time-tour-de-france-record-of-35-stage-wins/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 5: Mark Cavendish Sets All-Time Record With 35 Stage Wins"}}' > Tour de France Stage 5: Mark Cavendish Sets All-Time Record With 35 Stage Wins

Manxman achieves long-targeted goal, moving past Eddy Merckx with blistering sprint finish.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/race-leader-tadej-pogacar-dodges-possible-disaster-in-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "What a Save! Tadej Pogačar Avoids Possible Disaster in Tour de France"}}' > What a Save! Tadej Pogačar Avoids Possible Disaster in Tour de France

Lightning-quick reflexes and strong bike handling skills save race leader, but others go down.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/whats-up-with-primoz-roglic-red-bull-captain-dodges-bullet-on-the-galibier-im-still-here/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "What’s Up with Primož Roglič? Red Bull Captain Dodges Bullet on the Galibier: ‘I’m Still Here’"}}' > What’s Up with Primož Roglič? Red Bull Captain Dodges Bullet on the Galibier: ‘I’m Still Here’

Roglič limits losses in explosive opener. That's all that matters in this Tour de France full of questions and uncertainties among all the major favorites.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/you-want-to-make-everything-count-renewed-sam-bennett-racing-the-clock-at-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘You Want to Make Everything Count’: Renewed Sam Bennett Racing the Clock at Tour de France"}}' > ‘You Want to Make Everything Count’: Renewed Sam Bennett Racing the Clock at Tour de France

‘My sprint is still good enough to win’: 33-year-old speedster returns to the Tour wiser, stronger, and chasing his 2020 prowess.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-not-over-pogacar-still-has-a-three-week-problem/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘It’s a Very Long Way to Nice’: Tadej Pogačar Still Has a Three Week Tour de France to Solve"}}' > ‘It’s a Very Long Way to Nice’: Tadej Pogačar Still Has a Three Week Tour de France to Solve

Pogačar and UAE Emirates ruled the Galibier, but third-week individual strength will determine the true king of Le Tour.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/visma-lease-a-bike-missing-sepp-kuss/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘We Don’t Have a Climber Like Sepp Kuss’: Visma-Lease a Bike Missing Its Kryptonite at Tour de France"}}' > ‘We Don’t Have a Climber Like Sepp Kuss’: Visma-Lease a Bike Missing Its Kryptonite at Tour de France

Vingegaard right-hand man Jorgenson rues his 'bad day’ as team plan to minimise Pogačar explosivity on Galibier falls flat.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/big-names-who-lost-time-tour-de-france-stage-4-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "On the Back Foot: The Big Names Who Lost Time on Tour de France Stage 4"}}' > On the Back Foot: The Big Names Who Lost Time on Tour de France Stage 4

Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team hammers several big GC rivals on Tour de France's first big mountain stage.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/uae-so-strong-its-attacking-entire-teams-not-just-rivals-now-we-are-comfortable-in-yellow/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Pogačar’s UAE Is So Strong It’s Attacking Entire Teams, Not Just Rivals at Tour de France"}}' > Pogačar’s UAE Is So Strong It’s Attacking Entire Teams, Not Just Rivals at Tour de France

UAE is leaving nothing to chance as Pogačar takes control of the Tour de France: 'It was important to see the level of each team.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/jonas-vingegaard-my-time-will-come/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Jonas Vingegaard: ‘My Time Will Come’ in This Tour de France"}}' > Jonas Vingegaard: ‘My Time Will Come’ in This Tour de France

Vingegaard exceeds his own expectations, but lacks 'last bit of confidence' on descents, says Visma-Lease a Bike coach Niermann.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/i-tried-to-follow-but-pogacar-is-above-my-level-remco-evenepoel-stands-tall-in-early-gc-test/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘I Tried to Follow but Pogačar Is Above my Level’: Remco Evenepoel Stands Tall in Early GC Test"}}' > ‘I Tried to Follow but Pogačar Is Above my Level’: Remco Evenepoel Stands Tall in Early GC Test

The Belgian star survives the first major mountain test of the 2024 Tour and eyes a strong time trial Friday to fuel his podium dreams: 'I'm getting better.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-4-results-highlights-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 4 Results"}}' > Tour de France Stage 4 Results

The first big GC test of the 2024 Tour de France delivered fireworks.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-4-report-and-results/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 4: Pogačar Powers into Yellow with Sledgehammer Galibier Attack"}}' > Tour de France Stage 4: Pogačar Powers into Yellow with Sledgehammer Galibier Attack

'I wanted to hit hard today': Pogačar uncorks monster attack to drop Vingegaard, Carapaz and the GC 'bigs', moves 45 seconds clear in the classification battle.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-tales-girmays-journey-to-stardom/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage Winner Biniam Girmay’s Long Journey to Stardom"}}' > Tour de France Stage Winner Biniam Girmay’s Long Journey to Stardom

How a kid from one of the world’s least developed nations conquered the Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tom-pidcock-is-the-ultimate-tour-de-france-wild-card-we-will-keep-him-in-the-gc/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tom Pidcock is the Ultimate Tour de France Wild Card"}}' > Tom Pidcock is the Ultimate Tour de France Wild Card

Ineos Grenadiers is committed to protecting Carlos Rodríguez and Egan Bernal across this Tour de France, but Pidcock could play a decisive GC 'joker' role.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-bike-check-geraint-thomas-adds-a-3d-printed-garmin-mount-to-his-pinarello-dogma-f/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Bike Check: Geraint Thomas Adds a 3D Printed Garmin Mount to His Pinarello Dogma F"}}' > Tour de France Bike Check: Geraint Thomas Adds a 3D Printed Garmin Mount to His Pinarello Dogma F

It almost looks like we’ve seen this bike before but the new Pinarello Dogma F has some subtle design updates for the Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-power-analysis-the-leg-busting-watts-of-the-opening-weekend/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Power Analysis: The Leg-Busting Watts of the Opening Weekend"}}' > Tour de France Power Analysis: The Leg-Busting Watts of the Opening Weekend

We dive into the power numbers of Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Frank van den Broek at the Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/the-giro-ditalia-tour-de-france-double-and-the-triple-crown/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "The Giro d’Italia-Tour de France Double—and the Triple Crown?"}}' > The Giro d’Italia-Tour de France Double—and the Triple Crown?

If Tadej Pogačar wins this race, he will join a small and elite group of riders in completing the Giro-Tour double. But if he goes on to win the world championship too, he would become only the third rider ever to do that.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/every-tire-teams-using-tour-de-france-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tech Check: Every Tire Used in the 2024 Tour de France"}}' > Tech Check: Every Tire Used in the 2024 Tour de France

Tubes, tubeless, and all kinds of width: All of the nerdy details you ever wanted about what tires teams are riding in the Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/efs-tour-de-france-yellow-jersey-surprise-it-was-touch-or-go-that-we-were-going-to-bring-carapaz/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "EF’s Tour de France Yellow Jersey Surprise: ‘It Was Touch or Go That We Were Going to Bring Carapaz’"}}' > EF’s Tour de France Yellow Jersey Surprise: ‘It Was Touch or Go That We Were Going to Bring Carapaz’

No one dreamed that Carapaz could put the American squad into yellow so soon: 'That's the crazy nature of our sport.'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/results-highlihgts-tour-de-france-stage-3-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 3 Results and Highlights"}}' > Tour de France Stage 3 Results and Highlights

Stage 3 results and the general classification, points, KOM, young rider, and team classification of the 2024 Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/real-carnage-hottest-hardest-hectic-grand-depart/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Hottest, Hardest, Most Hectic Tour de France Start Ever? ‘It Was Real Carnage’"}}' > Hottest, Hardest, Most Hectic Tour de France Start Ever? ‘It Was Real Carnage’

Soudal-Quick Step DS calls for more fan 'discipline' as peloton reacts to hot, harrowing, history-making Italian stages.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tales-of-the-unexpected-how-italys-tour-champions-overcame-the-odds/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tales of the Unexpected: How Italy’s Tour Champions Overcame the Odds "}}' > Tales of the Unexpected: How Italy’s Tour Champions Overcame the Odds 

In this second “Tales of the Unexpected,” John Wilcockson tells the startling stories of Italy’s Tour de France winners, including the three being honored at this year’s opening stages.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-3-results-and-report/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 3: Cavendish Caught Behind Crash as Girmay Blows Away Sprint Favorites"}}' > Tour de France Stage 3: Cavendish Caught Behind Crash as Girmay Blows Away Sprint Favorites

Eritrean star becomes first Black African to win a Tour stage, Carapaz moves into yellow on countback as GC favorites finish safe.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/can-mark-cavendish-do-it-rivals-and-experts-weigh-in-on-tour-de-france-record-chances/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Can Mark Cavendish Do It? Rivals and Experts Weigh in on Tour de France Record Chances"}}' > Can Mark Cavendish Do It? Rivals and Experts Weigh in on Tour de France Record Chances

The first of eight predicted sprint opportunities beckon, putting the spotlight on an unprecedented 35th stage victory.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/groenewegen-rocks-aero-beak-glasses-at-tour-de-france/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "And You Thought TT Helmets Were Weird: Groenewegen Rocks ‘Aero Beak’ Glasses at Tour de France"}}' > And You Thought TT Helmets Were Weird: Groenewegen Rocks ‘Aero Beak’ Glasses at Tour de France

Dylan Groenwegen uses Scicon sunglasses with plastic aerodynamic nosepiece for first Tour de France bunch sprint Monday: 'Every little thing adds up'

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/matteo-jorgenson-crash-scare/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘It Was Bad Luck’: Matteo Jorgenson Brushes Off Tour de France Crash Scare"}}' > ‘It Was Bad Luck’: Matteo Jorgenson Brushes Off Tour de France Crash Scare

Visma-Lease a Bike star escapes pothole fall with abrasions; believes confident team can look to win their third Tour de France.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/all-the-unreleased-tech-weve-found-at-the-2024-tour-de-france-so-far/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "All the Unreleased Tech We’ve Found at the 2024 Tour de France (So Far)"}}' > All the Unreleased Tech We’ve Found at the 2024 Tour de France (So Far)

A new Van Rysel aero road bike, new saddles from Specialized and Cadex, a new Poc helmet, wheels from Black Inc, and more found at the Tour de France 2024.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-3-the-first-chance-for-the-sprinters/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 3 Preview: The First Chance for the Sprinters"}}' > Tour de France Stage 3 Preview: The First Chance for the Sprinters

Your guide to stage 3 of the 2024 Tour de France. The sprinters should get their opportunity on this stage.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/i-didnt-have-the-legs-primoz-roglic-yields-time-at-tour-de-france-remco-evenepoel-storms-back/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘I Didn’t Have the Legs’: Primož Roglič Yields Time at Tour de France, Remco Evenepoel Storms Back"}}' > ‘I Didn’t Have the Legs’: Primož Roglič Yields Time at Tour de France, Remco Evenepoel Storms Back

Tour debutant Evenepoel makes big recovery to move up to second overall behind Pogačar.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/that-went-way-better-than-expected-vingegaard-more-surprised-by-anyone-by-tour-de-france-revival/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘That Went Way Better Than Expected’: Vingegaard More Surprised Than Anyone by Tour de France Revival"}}' > ‘That Went Way Better Than Expected’: Vingegaard More Surprised Than Anyone by Tour de France Revival

Dane believes he is almost back to his best after going toe-to-toe with Pogačar into Bologna.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/visma-has-been-bluffing-tadej-pogacar-tests-his-tour-de-france-rivals-and-only-vingegaard-can-answer/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "‘Visma Has Been Bluffing’: Tadej Pogačar Tests His Tour de France Rivals and Only Vingegaard Can Answer"}}' > ‘Visma Has Been Bluffing’: Tadej Pogačar Tests His Tour de France Rivals and Only Vingegaard Can Answer

'Today we wanted to test the rivals': Sunday's first punch wasn't the knockout blow that some were expecting, but Pogačar is one step closer to the Giro-Tour double.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/results-highlights-tour-de-france-stage-2-2024/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Results: Tour de France Stage 2"}}' > Results: Tour de France Stage 2

French riders continue their incredible start to the 2024 Tour de France, while the GC gets its first battle.

>", "path": "https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-stage-2-report-and-results/", "listing_type": "category", "location": "hero", "title": "Tour de France Stage 2: Pogačar Into Yellow After Scuffle with Vingegaard, Vauquelin Surges to Solo Win"}}' > Tour de France Stage 2: Pogačar Into Yellow After Scuffle with Vingegaard, Vauquelin Surges to Solo Win

Roglič, Jorgenson, Ayuso, Bardet lose 21 seconds in breathless final through Bologna in mouthwatering taste of GC battles to come.

Tour de France Writers

Andrew Hood

Andrew Hood, aka “EuroHoody,” is the European editor for Velo . Since joining the title in 2002, he’s been chasing bike races all over the world. He’s covered dozens editions of the spring classics and the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España, as well as numerous world championships in road, track, and mountain biking. He’s also covered five Olympic Games and traveled across six continents for bike races. Beyond the Outside cycling network, his work has appeared in The New York Times , Sports Illustrated , ESPN , Outside , SKI ,  Traveler Magazine , Washington Post , Dallas Morning News , and Denver Post . He’s a voting member of the Velo d’Or prize committee, and he’s appeared on CNN, NBC, NPR, and BBC. Chances are if there’s a bike race, EuroHoody’s been to it, or will be going soon.

Betsy Welch

Betsy writes about off-road racing, culture, and personalities for Outside’s cycling group. As a rider, she loves big adventures on the bike. Some of her most memorable reporting/riding trips include the Migration Gravel Race in Kenya, bikepacking the Colorado Trail, and riding from Torino to Nice after the inaugural Tour de France Femmes. In the summer, she loves to run, ride, and hike through the Elk Mountains in her backyard; in the winter, she skis uphill.

I’m a UK-based editor and reporter focusing on road racing, training, and nutrition. I’ve developed a bank of experience working on the ground at all three grand tours, Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Strade Bianche, road worlds, and many more. I have my own ‘ Behind the Ride ‘ series of features that digs into how riders in the pro peloton have become the best in the world. It’s a wide-ranging column that’s covered diet, training, recovery, altitude camps, and a lot more. And when I’m not working? After a few decades of mostly dismal results, I’ve hung up the wheels on my bike racing career. Instead, now, I’m training for trail running races … but don’t hold that against me.

Andy McGrath

Formerly editor of Rouleur magazine, Andy McGrath is a freelance sports journalist and has covered the Tour de France, Tour of Italy and the sport’s big one-day Classics. He covered the 2023 Tour de France for VELO.

Shane Stokes

Shane Stokes has written about pro cycling for over 25 years, covering grand tours, world championships, Classics and other major events during that time. He’s been the Irish Times cycling correspondent for over two decades, appeared regularly on that country’s national broadcaster RTE in analyzing the sport, and contributed to Velo and many of the sport’s international outlets. When not writing about cycling he’s happiest in nature on a sunny day, particularly with a dog or two in tow.

Will Tracy is a San Francisco based editor interested in all things cycling. Since getting his start in cycling journalism with Peloton Magazine , he has reported from the Tour de France; the Taipei Cycle, Eurobike, and Sea Otter trade shows; and covered the biggest events in gravel racing including Unbound and SBT GRVL. When not biking, he stays active with climbing and running and likes to take photos, cook, and serially dabble in new hobbies.

Alvin Holbrook

Alvin is a tech editor for Velo. He covers road, gravel, and e-bikes after nearly a decade in the bike industry. In addition, he uses his background in urban planning to cover stories about active transportation, policy, tech, and infrastructure through the Urbanist Update series. He currently lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and an ever-growing stable of bikes and kitchen utensils. Meet Alvin

Josh hails from the Pacific Northwest but when it’s time to ride, hot and dry is better than cold and wet. He will happily talk for hours about the minutiae of cycling tech but understands most people just want things to work. He is a road cyclist at heart and doesn’t care much if those roads are paved, dirt, or digital. Although he rarely races, if you ask him to ride from sunrise to sunset, and beyond, the answer is always yes.

How to watch the Tour de France in 2024

Outside the United States and Canada Eurosport will show the race in Europe. Other options include Rai Sport in Italy, L'Equipe TV in France, and Sporza in Belgium.

Results and Highlights From the 2023 Tour de France

Stage-by-stage updates, results, and highlights from this year’s race.

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

Read below for stage-by-stage updates, results, and highlights from each stage of the 2023 Tour de France

Stage Winner : Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe)

Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) was a surprise winner of Stage 21 of the 2023 Tour de France. Meeus won a sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées over the Tour’s top sprinters, Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, and Mads Pedersen.

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) enjoyed some champagne on the ride in and was officially crowned winner of the Tour de France for a second year, winning by 7 minutes, 29 seconds over second place Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)—by the largest margin of victory since 2014.

Final General Classification Standings

• Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma): 82:05:42
• Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): -7:29
• Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates): -10:56
• Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla): -12:23
• Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers): -13:17

Stage Winner : Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won Stage 20 of the 2023 Tour de France. Pogačar was able to outsprint Jonas Vingegaard and a few other strong riders at the on the flat drag at the top of the Col du Platzerwasel. The win was Pogačar’s second stage win of the this Tour and his 11th career Tour stage win. Vingegaard was third to Pogačar (Stage 17 winner Felix Gall was second), losing just a few bonus seconds, and maintaining his lead in the yellow jersey competition heading into the mostly ceremonial final Stage 21.

The Winner of the Day

He won’t win the yellow jersey in this year’s Tour de France, but Tadej Pogačar was able to go out with a bang on Saturday. Pogačar won a sprint to the finish on a mountain stage—something he’s done many times in the Tour de France. But this win comes only a few days after Pogačar cracked on Stage 17 and effectively lost the GC to Vingegaard. Pogačar never lost faith, securing his 11th TdF stage win and his fourth white jersey of his still very young career.

The Other Winner of the Day

Of course, we be remiss not to mention Jonas Vingegaard, who did exactly what he needed to do on the penultimate stage to win the 2023 Tour de France—barring a Sunday disaster. Stage 20, in fact, mirrored a lot of what Vingegaard was able to do during the middle portion of the Tour, prior to his big gains on the Stage 16 TT and the Stage 17 mountain stage. He hung right with Pogačar and never let his top rival’s advantage on a given stage swell too much. Vingegaard, of course, is a worthy champion that will enjoy some champagne on the Champs-Élysées.

And One More Winner of the Day

Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Lidl) earned maximum points on the first four categorized climbs of the stage, and with it, claimed the King of the Mountains classification at the 2023 Tour de France (as long as he crosses the finish on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday). Ciccone seized the polka dot jersey on Stage 15 and rode brilliantly to pick up points where he could throughout the Tour’s final week. Ciccone becomes the first rider to win the KOM and not win the GC in the same Tour since Romain Bardet in 2019. Sometimes it’s more fun when we spread the wealth.

Best Moment of the Day

It wasn’t a big surprise to see Thibaut Pinot get in the breakaway on the last mountain stage of his storied Tour de France career. And I guess it’s not much of a big surprise that Pinot launched a solo attack with over 30K to go in the stage. The three-time TdF stage winner put on a show for the home fans in France on Stage 20, and what a sight it was to see his supporters on his solo ride up the Petit Ballon. The dream wasn’t to be though, as the yellow jersey group caught Pinot up the Col du Platzerwasel. Merci, Thibaut. Merci.

Stage Winner : Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious)

It doesn’t get any closer than that! Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) took a sprint finish to win Stage 19 of the 2023 Tour de France. Mohorič got in a breakaway that included many of the top sprinters and classics riders. That breakaway included the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen, so Mohorič knew he had to make a move early and that’s exactly what he did, breaking free, along with Stage 18 winner Kasper Asgreen and Ben O’Connor, of that breakaway with 30K to go in the stage.

Despite a good effort by the chasers—including Philpsen, his Alpecin teammate Mathieu van der Poel, and Pederson—to try and bring back the three attackers, they ultimately couldn’t gain ground and seemed to lack full cooperation. But the pure strength of Mohorič, Asgreen, and O’Connor showed through. Down the final stretch, O’Connor, knowing his speed couldn’t match that of Mohorič or Asgreen, made his move, but that was quickly answered by the pair and it was a drag race between Mohorič and Asgreen, who gapped O’Connor and made their dash for the line. It was a photo finish, but Mohorič narrowly edged out Asgreen for the stage win.

Stage Winner : Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step)

Kasper Asgreen won Stage 18 of the Tour de France in dramatic fashion. Asgreen got in the original breakaway of the day at kilometer zero. On a stage that seemed destined for a sprint finish out of the peloton, Asgreen and the others in the break managed to fend off the hungry peloton. Asgreen outsprinted Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto-Dstny) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) for the win at line.

The Biggest Winner of the Day

It’s no secret that it’s been a rough Tour de France for the Soudal Quick-Step team. The team’s top sprinter, Fabio Jakobsen, withdrew from the race after Stage 12. The squad’s top stage hunting threat, Julian Alaphilippe, has struggled to be a factor in any stage. But Asgreen got Soudal Quick-Step off the schneid Thursday, winning in the most unlikely of ways. Asgreen got himself in the early break and held out just long enough to claim the Stage 18 victory—the first grand tour stage win of his career.

The Biggest Loss of the Day

This goes to anyone from the peloton that was hoping to get the stage win today. The flat stage was tailor-made for the pure sprinters, but the peloton struggled to pull back the four-man breakaway. It seemed in the last 10K that a catch was inevitable, but the break stayed strong and held out just long enough. Alpecin-Deceuninck, which has already racked up four stage wins this Tour, is the team that loses the most on the day. Their top sprinter Jasper Philipsen—responsible for those four wins—was fourth on the stage and the top finisher from the peloton. It would have been his stage to win—if the peloton caught the break, that is.

Stage Winner: Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën)

Felix Gall won Stage 17 of the Tour de France, a stage that ended up being the craziest of the 2023 Tour so far. Gall made his move from the breakaway and rode away from a talented group of riders to claim the first grand tour stage win of his career.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of fireworks behind Gall. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) cracked on the stage losing well over five minutes to Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey. Vingeagaard placed fourth on the stage and gained a significant amount of time that will likely carry him to Paris in the maillot jaune.

We’ll get to the stage winner shortly, but first we must acknowledge that Vingegaard won the 2023 Tour de France on Wednesday. First, Pogačar massively cracked on the Col de la Loze, then Vingagaard went on the offensive to deliver the dagger. Vingegaard finished fourth on the stage, 1:52 back of the stage winner Gall, but more importantly, he gained 5:45 on the man that was by his side for the first 15 stages of the Tour, Pogačar. With just four stages remaining, Vingegaard now leads by a whopping 7:35 over Pogačar. Assuming he stays upright, Vingegaard will win his second straight Tour de France on Sunday.

The Other Biggest Winner of the Day

Felix Gall has been one of the Tour’s revelations, and on Wednesday he confirmed that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with for the future in the WorldTour. The 25-year-old, who entered the day in 10th place in the GC, conquered the Col de la Loze and rode to the win on the stage that many have called “the hardest of the Tour.” Gall emerged on the radar after he took the polka dot jersey after Stage 5 of this year’s Tour. But now he earned his signature moment, winning on an absolutely brutal day in France. Gall moves up the eighth in the GC, but more importantly, he’s etched his name into TdF history forever.

After losing over a minute and a half to the yellow jersey on Tuesday, Pogačar effectively lost the 2023 Tour de France on Wednesday. Pogačar didn’t ride a bad individual time trial on Tuesday’s Stage 16, despite losing 1:38 to Vingegaard. But on Wednesday’s Stage 17, Pogačar had the worst day we’ve ever seen the 24-year-old have at the Tour de France. “I’m gone. I’m dead,” Pogačar said to his team over the radio during the stage after he cracked and lost over five minutes to Vingegaard ending what was a terrific GC battle through the first 16 stages of the Tour.

Other Notable Gains from a Wild Stage

Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla) made the day’s biggest jump within the top 10 of the GC. While he was second on the stage for the second time this Tour (though this time it was to someone other than his twin brother), Yates moved from eighth to fifth. He’s 12:19 behind the yellow jersey, but just 18 seconds behind Carlos Rodriguez for fourth place in the GC. Simon’s twin brother Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), meanwhile, was able to further solidify his spot on the podium. Adam Yates is in third place with a 1:16 advantage on Rodriguez, who lost time today.

Stage Winner : Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) roared to the Stage 16 win in the 2023 Tour de France’s lone individual time trial. Vingegaard put down an incredible TT over 22.4km and he won the stage by 1:38 over second place Tadej Pogačar, who also happens to be his biggest rival in the GC battle. Vingegaard earned his Jumbo-Visma team its first stage win of the Tour, and more importantly, he made the most significant time gains of the Tour so far.

Jonas Vingegaard is the clear winner of the stage and quite likely the entire 2023 Tour de France after Tuesday. Vingegaard, the defending Tour champion, put down the individual time trial of his life on Tuesday—a day after the rest day—providing further evidence of the Magic of the Yellow Jersey. Vingegaard’s hold on the yellow jersey was just 10 seconds entering Stage 16, but it ballooned all the way to 1:48 after the time trial—a margin that will most likely prove decisive in the battle for the maillot jaune. After a lot of back and forth between Vingegaard and Pogačar in the mountains during the first 15 stages, Vingegaard dealt Pogačar the first major blow of this Tour.

Tadej Pogačar had the second best time of the day on Stage 16—a minute and 13 seconds ahead of Wout Van Aert!—but he may have lost the 2023 Tour de France Tuesday. Very little has separated Vingegaard and Pogačar during the first two weeks of the Tour, but Vingegaard tacking 1:38 in addition to his 10-second advantage on the individual time trial may prove to be decisive in the GC battle. It’s, of course, never over until it’s over. Pogačar will have two significant mountain stages before the Tour reaches Paris on Sunday, so the chances are there. But psychologically, it will be tough for Pogačar to regroup after Tuesday’s time trial.

While it’s clear that Jumbo-Visma’s energy at the 2023 Tour de France has been focused on helping Vingegaard win the yellow jersey—something they’ve been very successful at!—it was still surprising to see the Dutch superteam without a stage win through the first two weeks of the Tour. That changed on Tuesday, thanks to the maillot jaune himself. Vingegaard rode an unbelievable TT to Stage 16 to claim the stage win by 1:38. Surely, the GC gains are the most important, but Jumbo-Visma won’t be too upset to finally snag a TdF stage win in 2023.

Stage Winner : Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious)

Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) won Stage 15 of the 2023 Tour de France, capturing the win from the breakaway and beating a talented group to claim the first TdF stage victory of his career.

Poels spent a lot of time in the breakaway on Sunday, but his strength showed throughout the entire day. He stayed patient in the break and joined an attacking group with around 35K to go in the stage. That quartet included Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Krists Neilands (Israel-PremierTech), and Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates). In the early parts of the final climb of the day—Mont Blanc—Poels made his move on Van Aert and extended his lead from there.

The Biggest Loser of the Day

Normally we call this section”The Biggest Loss of the Day” because it sounds nicer. But we’ll throw that out of the window for this one. The biggest loser of the day on Sunday was the fan that interfered with the peloton early in Stage 15, causing a massive crash.

It’s got to be the fans! Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) battled up the Mont Blanc and finished together at the finish of Stage 15. Vingegaard’s yellow jersey advantage remains at 10 seconds as we enter the rest day on Monday before the final week of the Tour de France. The margins couldn’t be closer, and who doesn’t love a tremendously close GC battle in the Tour de France? Fans will enjoy an action-packed—and surely attack-filled—final week of this Tour.

Stage Winner : Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers)

Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) won Stage 14 of the 2023 Tour de France during a wild day in the GC. Rodriguez was dropped on the final climb up the Joux Plane, but he was able to return on the ensuing descent, and gap the two GC leaders and ride to the stage win—the second in as many days for INEOS—and improve his own GC positioning.

We expected to see GC fireworks on Stage 14 and we got exactly that. But at the end of the stage, there ultimately wasn’t a ton of change at least as far as the top two in the Tour were concerned. So therefore, the biggest winner of the day is Carlos Rodriguez and his INEOS Grenadiers team. Rodriguez capitalized on Pogačar and Vingegaard focusing on the overall GC situation. He seized his opportunity on the descent in the run-in to the finish and claimed victory on the day and moved into the podium, now sitting in third place overall in the GC, 4:43 back of the yellow jersey.

As we watched the absolute most thrilling stage of the 2023 Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar had Jonas Vingegaard on the ropes and was ready to launch an attack as they approached the top of the Col de Joux Plane. But that plan was foiled. Pogačar attacked, but was forced to stop his acceleration when the motorbikes got in the way. Eventually, Vingegaard was the one to attack and gain the time bonuses on offer at the top of the climb. You can blame the fans. You can blame the motorbikes. But maybe your blame should go to the race organizers, who should have had barrier set up to remove the chance of any interference with the battling riders.

The Other Biggest Loss of the Day

With 146K to go in Stage 14, a massive crash involved a majority of the peloton, leading to the abandonment of five riders. The race was also neutralized—a good decision by the race officials given that there wasn’t even a breakaway formed at the time of the crash. After losing GC hope Richard Carapaz, EF Education EasyPost’s Esteban Chaves and James Shaw were caught up in the crash and forced to abandon the Tour. Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Antonio Pedrero (Movistar) and Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich) also abandoned.

And How About One More Winner of the Day

Despite the motorbikes/fans/race organizers spoiling what could have been a perfect day for Pogačar, the Solvenian’s ability to withstand the torrid pace set all day long by the Jumbo-Visma squad is a big win. Ultimately, Pogačar lost one second to Vingegaard and now trails by 10 seconds in the GC standings, but he’s shown that he may hold a slight advantage in form over Vingegaard. It’s going to be a wild last week of racing.

Stage Winner

Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers) won Stage 13 of the 2023 Tour de France, The 33-year-old won the stage atop the “Beyond Category” Grand Colombier after spending all day in the breakaway and then attacking what was left of it on the lower slopes of the final climb. It was clear throughout most of the 137.8km ride from Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to the summit of the Grand Colombier that UAE Team Emirates wanted to set-up Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar for the win. But Kwiatokoski, a super-domestique with an impressive resume of his own, proved too strong to catch, holding-off Belgium’s Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Soudal) and then Pogačar to take the second Tour de France stage victory of his career.

Biggest Winner of the Day

While they didn’t win the stage, UAE Team Emirates has to be feeling good about its chances of winning its third Tour de France in four years. The team rode an impressive race from start to finish, lined-up at the front of the peloton throughout much of the day and setting a ferocious pace on the final climb to whittle down the yellow jersey group. But that was just an amuse bouche, as Great Britain’s Adam Yates attacked the group about 2 kilometers from the summit, drawing out Vingegaard’s teammate Sepp Kuss, and then Vingegaard and Pogačar themselves. Pogačar saved his own attack for the final ramp to the finish line, and while Vingegaard was able to follow at first he soon succumbed to the Slovenian’s acceleration. Jumbo-Visma clearly thinks the Alps will prove to be the Tour’s most important battlegrounds, but UAE is confident, strong, and looks to have all the firepower they need to win the Tour.

Gutsiest Ride of the Day

Kwiatkowski seems to have been given a free role at INEOS, chasing breakaways despite the fact that the team has two riders, Spain’s Carlos Rodríguez and Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock, in the top-10 overall. The 33-year-old rewarded the team’s faith today, ensuring that no matter what happens with its young GC riders, the team won’t go home from the Tour empty-handed.

Unsung Hero/Head-Scratcher

If you watched earlier seasons of the Movistar documentary “The Least Expected Day” on Netflix, then Spain’s Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) should be a familiar name to you. (And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?) The mercurial rider is immensely talented, but he often gave his directors and teammates headaches by making some bone-headed decisions from time to time. After transferring to UAE Team Emirates after the 2021 season, the 29-year-old is now one of Pogačar’s most important domestiques, which he showed with his pace-setting midway up the Grand Colombier. But just for good measure, he also showed why Movistar found him so frustrating: once he pulled off from the yellow jersey group, he caught back on to the back of it, which meant he must have had a little left in the tank that he could have given while he was on the front. His directors will certainly discuss this with him before tomorrow’s stage.

What Were They Thinking?

Intermediate sprints are usually designed for, um, sprinters. But today’s came in the town of Hauteville-Lompnes, midway up a long, gradual climb. We get that these are business decisions (towns pay lots of money to host the Tour’s intermediate sprints), but we can’t help but wonder what the Tour organizers were thinking today. Our best guess is that there were few bidders to host the sprint, leaving ASO with no other choice but to put it on a plateau.

Biggest Loser of the Day

Today was Bastille Day and the French were out in force on the Grand Colombier–so much so that the ascent was closed to anyone hoping to climb it early in the morning. But they had little to cheer for thanks to a lackluster showing from the Tour’s French riders. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) did his best, attacking on the lower slopes of the Grand Colombier only to be caught by Kwiatkoski and others a little while later.To make matters worse, Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Romain Bardet (DSM-firmenich) were both dropped from the yellow jersey group thanks to the pace set by UAE Team Emirates, leaving David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) as the home nation’s best chance for a high finish in Paris (although that’s a bit of stretch given the fact that he’s ninth overall and almost 7 minutes beyond Vingegaard).

Best North American

Sepp Kuss rode valiantly on behalf of Vingegaard, covering Yates’ attack near the top of the Colombier and then hanging on to finish twelfth on the stage. He’s now back into the Tour’s top-10 overall, but will likely sacrifice himself for the sake of Vingegaard in the Alps, where his team thinks the race will be decided.

Rookie of the Day

Riding his first Tour de France and only his second grand tour, Rodríguez maintained his position on the Tour’s General Classification, ending the day fourth overall, 4:48 behind Vingegaard. INEOS is happy to let the 22-year-old (and Pidcock) follow wheels in the yellow jersey group, giving them the space and the freedom to ride their best Tours possible without any pressure from the team.

There’s still a lot of race left, but Rodríguez looks to be a true podium contender–if he can somehow overcome the nearly two minutes that separate him from Australia’s Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe), who currently sits third overall.

Another Two Bite the Dust

Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan (Lotto Destny) was dropped about 55km from the end of the stage and abandoned the Tour soon after. Ewan barely survived the time cut on Stage 13 and was seen clutching his abdomen after getting dropped. Once thought to be a rider who would dominate Tour field sprints for years, Ewan now hasn’t won a stage at the Tour since 2020. INEOS also lost one its domestiques: Great Britain’s Ben Turner. It’s a good thing Kwiatkowski won a stage today, because without Turner, the team will need him to stay back and support Rodríguez and Pidcock in the Alps.

Stage Winner : Ion Izagirre (Cofidis)

Make it two stage wins for the Cofidis team in the 2023 Tour de France. That’s thanks to a brilliant Stage 12 ride by Ion Izagirre. With 30K to go on the final climb of the day, Izagirre broke free of the breakaway that included the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, riding to the day’s stage win. For Izagirre, it’s his second career stage win—he won

Let’s hear it again for Cofidis! The French team ended a 15-year Tour de France stage win drought on Stage 2 when Victor Lafay rode to the victory. But they weren’t finished there. Izagirre made his move on the Mathieu van der Poel and the rest of the breakaway at the perfect time and rode clear to the win. Cofidis also had Gui Martin positioned nicely in that select breakaway as a backup plan. It was terrific execution on the day during what has been a dream Tour for Cofidis.

Thibaut Pinot was surely going for a stage win on Thursday; it was not to be. But the 33-year-old from Groupama-FDJ, riding in his final Tour de France, made the move into the top ten of GC. He shot up from 15th overall, 9:36 behind the yellow jersey to tenth overall, 6:30 down. It’s likely not the last we’ve seen of Pinot’s stage win attempts in this year’s Tour, but regardless, it’s cool to see the veteran in the top ten overall.

The Heartbreak of the Day—and the Whole Tour (So Far)

It’s been a strong couple weeks for American Matteo Jorgensen. But unfortunately for the Movistar rider, he doesn’t have a stage win to show for it. Few riders—if any—have spent more time in the breakaway during the first 12 stages of the Tour, but the big win has been just out of his grasp. No defeat was more heartbreaking than Sunday’s Stage 9 on the Puy de Dôme. On Stage 12, Jorgensen appeared to be the strongest rider in the group chasing Izagirre, but he left it too late. He launched a number of (ultimately futile) attempts to try and bridge the gap, but it wasn’t to be. The good news for the American is that there are plenty of pro-breakaway stages remaining for him to try and claim his well-deserved glory.

Stage Winner : Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Jasper Philipsen won Stage 11 of the 2023 Tour de France, picking up his fourth stage win so far and continuing to assert his dominance in the sprints. It was a wet and technical finish in Moulins on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop Philipsen, who sprinted past Dylan Groenewegen in the closing meters to claim win No. 4 of the Tour.

Philipsen has proven himself to be the king of the sprints in this year’s Tour de France, capturing his fourth stage victory in the first 11 stages. Additionally, he improved upon his lead in the green jersey points competition. He now leads that by a staggering 145 points. What’s perhaps most impressive about his Stage 11 victory was that he did it without the aid of his top Alpecin-Deceuninck comrade Mathieu van der Poel, who was not spotted up front in the run in to the finish. Philipsen has proven that he can win in multiple different ways and he could be well on his way to a second straight Stage 21 victory in Paris.

Another day, another goose egg in the stage win column for Soudal-QuickStep. The QuickStep team was right at the head of the peloton for much of the ride into the finish in Moulins, working for Fabio Jakobsen, but in the final sprint, Jakobsen was a non-factor sitting on the back of the bunch and ultimately finishing 16th on the day. Jakobsen crashed during the tricky Stage 4 finish, and it appears the sprinter hasn’t fully recovered from those injuries.

The Close Call of the Day

Well, that could have been bad. As the pace ramped up with just over 5K to go in the stage, the Jumbo-Visma train was at the front with Soudal Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe sandwiched in between then. The yellow jersey of Jonas Vingegaard made his way along the edge of the road next to Alaphilippe and—perhaps not noticing him—Alaphilippe drifted towards Vingegaard and the pair nearly collided. Thankfully, nothing happened and Alaphilippe gave the maillot jaune an apologetic tap of the back and the run into the finish continued.

Stage Winner : Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)

Pello Bilbao won a sprint out of the breakaway to claim the Stage 10 victory after a thrilling of racing.

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) takes his first Tour de France stage win at 33-years-old. This is the first win by a Spanish rider in 100 stages. He also slides into the top 5 for the overall standings. Bilbao rode an incredibly smart sprint, shielding himself with Zimmermann and O’Connor as long as possible before throwing the hammer down. Bilbao becomes the 5th first-time stage winner of the tour. In his post-ride interview he dedicated his ride to Gino Mäder, who died recently after suffering a terrible crash in the Tour de Suisse.

Krists Neilands (Israel–Premier Tech) rode a perfectly aggressive race, earned the KOM points on Côte de la Chapelle-Marcousse (Cat 3), and just kept building his lead in front of the two chase groups. With 10 km to go, the team radio told him, “It’s the day of your life, the day of your life, let’s go.” But with less than a kilometer to go, he couldn’t hold off the chasers. He put up an incredible battle and came away with 4th place.

Biggest Villain(s) of the Day

The road and the heat. Man-eating speed bumps, loads of gravel, and chipped pavement all made fast descents even more dangerous than usual. And by the end of the race, temperatures soared to 97-degrees and riders had a hard time staying hydrated. Groups of 4-5 stuck together just to survive.

Newest Race Strategy?

Sometimes race leaders wait until the last mile to make their move. And sometimes they do it with 100 miles to go. Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard went on the attack early in the race to split the peloton. That set the pace for an aggressive day. Still with 48 miles to go there was a 14-man breakaway that took off. The pace throughout the stage was bonkers, making it difficult for such riders as Wout van Aert, who always wants to be the one to set an ambitious pace. Riders started dropping like flies with 30 km to go.

The peloton eventually calmed down and came together, led entirely by Jumbo-Visma.

Cutest Couple

Frenemies and cyclocross stars Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert worked together for a bit to attack out of the peloton with 40 km to go. They broke up after 10 km of riding together as Wout dropped Mathieu to ride on. They proved that when conditions are tough, working with anyone is better than no one.

Stage Winner: Mike Woods (Israel-PremierTech)

Canada’s Mike Woods (Israel-PremierTech) won Stage 9 atop the Hors Categorie (“Beyond Category”) Puy de Dôme, one of the most famous climbs in Tour history. The 36-year-old from Toronto paced himself from the base of the climb, catching four riders on his way to his first Tour de France stage victory.

France’s Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) finished second and Slovenia’s Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) finished third. After an aggressive day of racing from the breakaway, American Neilson Powless held on to finish sixth on the Puy de Dôme, extending his lead in the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition. He’ll wear the polka dot jersey into the first rest day and to start the Tour’s second week

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) clawed back 8 more seconds, and now sits just 17 seconds behind Denmarks’ Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) on the Tour’s General Classification. It seems like an eternity since the two-time Tour winner lost over a minute to Vingegaard at the end of Stage 5, and he’s now regained almost all the time he conceded. More importantly, after gapping the Dane on Stage 6 and Stage 9’s summit finishes, he clearly has a mental edge of his biggest rival to win the Tour.

American Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) attacked the 14-rider breakaway with about 40km to go, heading up the road on his own and slowly extending his lead. Helped by the fact that the four riders chasing him weren’t working well together, it looked for a while as if the 24-year-old from Boise, Idaho was about to take his first Tour de France stage win.

But as the climb steepened, word came that Woods was steadily closing the gap from further down the mountain, and before we knew it, there he was. Jorgenson was clearly running on fumes as first Woods and then France’s Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Slovenia’s Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) caught the American. He ended the day one spot away from the podium, a painful result considering how close he came to winning–and his two fourth-place finishes in last year’s Tour.

Best Mathlete

American Neilson Powless went on the attack again today, joining the breakaway in an attempt to pad his lead in the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition. Well, Powless needs to send a thank you note to his elementary school math teacher (or at least his director sportif): by winning each of categorized climbs in the middle of the stage, Powless ensured that he had enough points to keep the polka dot jersey–no matter what happened on the Puy de Dôme, which awarded 20 points to the rider who was first to the summit. Powless’ sixth-place finish on the stage earned him another six KOM points, extending his lead even more.

Powless now leads Austria’s Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) by 18 points and with only 16 points available between Stages 10 and 11, the American is guaranteed to wear the jersey through Thursday. Look for him to continue his polka dot assault: Gall might be given more freedom to fight for the jersey himself after his captain, Australia’s Ben O’Connor, lost more time at the end of Stage 9, meaning his team might be shifting its goals to fight for stage wins–and the King of Mountains prize.

Unsung Hero

American Sepp Kuss and Belgian Wout van Aert get all the prestige as Vingeggard’s top two domestiques (deservedly so), but let’s take a minute to recognize the pace-setting done by Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Jumbo-Visma). Today he took over after van Aert pulled off and before Kuss took his turn, shedding more riders from the GC group. It’s too bad that Pogačar seems to be profiting from the hard work being done by Vingegaard’s team. Perhaps we won’t see so much of Kelderman, Kuss, van Aert, and co. at the front during the Tour’s second week.

Eeriest Moment

One of the conditions of the agreement that allowed the Tour to revisit the Puy de Dôme was that fans would not be allowed to line the climb’s upper slopes, which meant an eerie almost awkward silence as the riders tackled the final portion of the ascent. In a Tour that’s already seen overzealous fans cause some mayhem, the silence was likely a welcome treat for riders annoyed by fans getting in their faces during the Tour’s most important–and painful–moments.

Worst Luck?

Jorgenson needed a bottle at about 33km to go, but was unable to get one because the cars and motorbikes had been moved out of the gap as his pursuers dangled close behind. On a sweltering day that asked a lot of the riders in terms of hydrating and fueling, those few minutes without a bottle–and without his team car–might have made the difference between winning and losing the stage.

A day after they won Stage 8, today could have been another chance for Lidl-Trek, with Denmark’s Martin Skjelmose and Italy’s Giulio Ciccone contenders to win on the Puy de Dôme. But the team missed the move, a tactical blunder that cost them a chance to take a historic victory. To his credit, Skjelmose tried to bridge up to the move after it escaped, but he was joined by Italy’s Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), who already had Powless up the road and was ordered not to work with the Dane.

And to the idiot gentleman who brought a clothesline to the roadside of the Tour de France: Please leave your laundry at home!

Stage Winner : Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won a Stage 8 sprint, holding off Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to win his first stage of the 2023 Tour de France. The run-in to the finish saw some punchy climbs, but the top sprinters were all there and Pedersen took the win in the end.

Pedersen claimed his second career Tour de France stage win. It was stage that was designed nicely for his strengths with some climbs near the end and a technical finish. The Lidl-Trek team was perfectly positioned to springboard Pedersen to the finish. Alpecin-Deceuninck had a strong leadout train as well, putting Philipsen in good position to win his fourth stage of the Tour. But Pedersen had the advantage from the start of the sprint and was able to hold off Philipsen in what seemed like an impossibly long final stretch to the line.

Stage 8 saw the withdrawal of Mark Cavendish, one of the all-time great Tour de France riders. Cav suffered a collarbone injury and was forced to abandon , ruining his chance of breaking the all-time TdF stage wins record. It’s an especially hard pill to swallow for Cavendish and cycling fans alike, with the crash coming a day after the Manx Missile nearly captured his record-breaking stage win were it not for a mechanical issue in the closing meters. Although he announced his retirement at the end of the season in May, maybe there’s a chance

Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla) was the lone GC rider to lose time on Saturday, crashing with about 6K to go in the stage—outside of the 3K safe zone where riders don’t lose any time for crashes.. Simon Yates entered the stage in fourth place in the GC, 3:14 off the yellow jersey and now he sits in sixth place, 4:01 back and now behind Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) and his twin brother Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates).

The Run-Through-A-Brick-Wall Moment of the Day

How about the reaction from the Lidl-Trek team car after Pedersen’s epic Stage 8 win? Listen for yourself and get pumped up on this Saturday.

This was a stage that had cycling fans screaming at the top of their lungs at the finish. After a long, sleepy, and mostly flat stage, all the action was crammed into the last 3K. Why all the screaming? Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) came this close to winning the stage and breaking the TdF stage wins record, only to be passed by the seemingly unstoppable Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) with 500 meters to go.

Philipsen was once again positioned perfectly for the win by his leadout ace during this year’s Tour, Mathieu van der Poel, in what he referred to as the team’s “dream Tour” during post race interviews. Cavendish, however, made it very clear that he is more than capable of winning a stage this year, with a second place finish being his best one yet. If Cav keeps getting stronger as he seems to be, there will very likely be more screaming fans tomorrow.

Biggest Winners of the Day

The Alpecin lead out train offered another masterclass in how to win stages in this year’s Tour, with Mathieu van der Poel delivering Jasper Philipsen to another stage win. The other big winner for us during this stage was the one and only Mark Cavendish, who almost made it to the line first before Philipsen overtook him at the last moment. The fact that the Manx Missile’s finish position has come closer and closer to number one with every sprint stage, we think he has the power and form necessary to win number 35 this year. For today, Philipsen keeps the green jersey for another day.

Biggest Surprise of the Day

On a stage that often resembled a recovery ride until the last 10km as the riders gave their legs a bit of a break after two stages in the Pyrenees, the commentary surrounding Wout van Aert and whether he’s on the wrong team was loud and impossible to miss. Christian Vande Velde openly questioned on air what Wout would be able to do if he were on a team he could lead during the Tour instead of having to work for Jonas Vingegaard. With persistent media speculations about tension between Van Aert and Vingegaard on the Jumbo-Visma squad, the riders have routinely denied that anything is amiss, but the questions about whether that’s true have never been this blunt.

Gutsiest—Erm, or Maybe Stupidest—Ride of the Day

With approximately 20K to go, French riders Pierre Latour, the white jersey winner of 2018, and Nans Peters, a 2020 Tour stage winner, took off, working together in an attack that it seemed impossible to hold to the line. This didn’t seem to phase these two, as they spiced up an otherwise sleepy stage, putting up to 40 seconds on the peloton. Eventually Latour went solo in an all out effort, putting the sprinters on notice before blowing up with 3.5K to go.

Strongest American Rider of the Day - Nielsen Powless

Polka Dot Powless kept the King of the Mountains jersey for another day after recapturing it yesterday. The California native has become the de facto team leader for EF Education-EasyPost after Richard Carapaz crashed during Stage 1 and was forced by his injuries to leave the race. Powless went after the KOM competition right out of the gate during this year’s Tour, and so far he’s worn polka dots six out of the seven stages.

Tadej Pogačar won Stage 6 of the 2023 Tour de France, and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) took the yellow leader's jersey during an busy day in the Pyranees. While Vingegaard took over the GC lead, Pogačar made the biggest statement of the day, passing and gapping Vingegaard on the final climb of the day. Pogačar won the stage and narrowed the gap to Vingegaard.

Tadej Pogačar, who made us think that maybe he was playing with us all day. He saved it all for the last 2 km. taking even Jonas Vingegaard by surprise. He took back much of his deficit on the yellow jersey today. He put himself back in the race.

With 2.5K to go on the climb to Cauterets up the Plateau du Cambasque, Tadej Pogačar attacked Vingegaard with a huge surge. Today’s final stretch hints that this whole tour might come down to seconds. Pogačar ended up 24 seconds ahead of Vingegaard on the stage.

Wout van Aert can lead a race forever. The super-domestique did so much work to set the pace for this entire stage. The pacemaking was literally perfect, many times looking like the only one working. With 4.4 km. to go he finally pulled over and left it up to Vingegaard looking like he had given it every ounce of his being.

Strongest American Rider(s) of the Day

Neilson Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) had a very strong day earning the overall KOM on the climbs.

And Sepp Kuss has been wildly consistent through the tour so far. Today, as usual, he dropped every one of his competitors to bring Jonas Vingegaard up the climbs. He’s easily one of the most valuable riders for Vingegaard.

Stage Winner : Jai Hindley (Bora–Hansgrohe)

Jai Hindley won Stage 5 of the 2023 Tour de France, claiming the yellow leader’s jersey along with it. It was an eventful first day in the Pyrenees as the top climbers in the world shined and shook up the GC in a big way. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl–Trek) was second in the stage and Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) came across third on the day. Emanuel Buchmann (Bora–Hansgrohe) was fourth and Jonas Vingegaard was fifth on the stage. Ciccone, Gall, and Buchmann were all 32 seconds behind Hindley and Vingegaard was 34 seconds behind the stage winner.

Jai Hindley put himself in the right breakaway and made all the correct moves on Stage 5 to rocket himself to the stage victory and the yellow jersey. It was an absolutely brilliant day in the saddle for the Australian, who said after the race that he was merely “improvising.” Hindley is no stranger to wearing the leader’s jersey at a Grand Tour; he won the 2022 Giro d’Italia. This may not necessarily be just one quick day in yellow tomorrow for Hindley. More on that in a bit.

When Jonas Vingegaard attacked off the wheels of his teammate Sepp Kuss on the Col de Marie Blanque with 19K to go in the stage, it was our first opportunity of the Tour to see if co-favorite Tadej Pogačar had the legs to match him. He did not. Vingegaard blazed ahead up the climb and maintained that advantage even on the descent of the Col de Marie Blanque. All told, Vingegaard finished 1:04 ahead of Pogačar on the stage, and is 53 seconds up on him in the GC.

Pogačar is in a tough position after Stage 5, now 53 seconds behind the reigning Tour champion Vingegaard. Pogačar, who won the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021, has a lot of work to do over the next few weeks to attempt a comeback on Vingegaard. Pogačar suffered a fractured wrist in April and lost some time on the bike while he recovered. Is that lost fitness the difference maker here?

Could it be the 47 seconds that Vingegaard surrendered to Hindley? Hindley is, of course, a former Grand Tour winner and not a rider to be taken lightly. It may have been a bit surprising that the Bora–Hansgrohe rider was allowed to get in the breakaway that eventually launched Hindley to the win. But that was the calculation that the Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates squads made. It’s possible that Thursday’s stage—once again in the Pyranees— is Hindley’s lone day in the yellow jersey. It’s also possible that Hindley is in yellow for much longer than that. Never doubt the power of the maillot jaune.

The Moment of the Day

The official Tour de France YouTube has made some great highlight videos. But they’ve also been great about showing fans the terrific raw—erm, unedited—emotion that the Tour brings out. Take the above video of Hindley after the stage as evidence.

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) claimed his second stage win of the 2023 Tour de France, sprinting to the Stage 4 victory on Tuesday. It was a crash-marred last 5K after a very slow day in the peloton. Philipsen’s Alpecin-Deceuninck team once again delivered a great leadout and Philipsen had the legs at the end to hold off a hard-charging Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny). Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) was third across the line to make for the same three men on the podium as Stage 3 (just flip Ewan and Bauhaus).

Alpecin-Deceuninck continued to assert its dominance, claiming the stage win for a second straight day. But Stage 4 was a lot different than Stage 3, despite both days being relatively flat stages. The Stage 4 finish on the motorsport track, Circuit Paul Armagnac created plenty of chaos, which saw three different crashes in the final 2K. But the Alpecin team once again held strong and Mathieu van der Poel emerged at just the right moment to deliver Philipsen to his second win in as many days.

Jasper Philipsen won Stage 3 of the Tour de France, capturing a sprint victory over Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny). Philipsen received a terrific leadout from his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Mathieu van der Poel and was delivered to the finish in great position to use his power to take the stage win.

It was a bit of a controversial finish, as race organizers took a little while after the finish before declaring Philipsen as the stage winner officially. There was some question about whether Philipsen drifted into Wout Van Aert’s line in the closing meters of the finish. Ultimately, there would be no relegation and Philipsen was given the stage victory.

Winner of the Day

It’s Alpecin-Deceuninck. Who is going to be able to beat this team when Mathieu freakin’ van der Poel is providing a picture perfect leadout? Meanwhile, Philipsen’s speed these days seems to be the best in the world. Between Philipsen and MVDP, we likely haven’t seen the last stage win for Alpecin in this Tour.

Biggest Loss of the Day

This goes to Wout Van Aert and Jumbo-Visma for a second straight day . After a miscalculation in the sprint finish on Sunday’s Stage 2, Van Aert missed out on another good opportunity to grab a stage win on Monday’s Stage 3. This sprint, however, was a little different—and maybe he has a complaint for the ASO. Neck and neck with Philipsen in the closing meters, Van Aert looked to be running out of room between Philipsen and the barriers. Van Aert let up—possibly to avoid a crash?—and Philipsen rode to the stage win (though there was a fairly lengthy delay before race officials declared Philipsen the winner). Did Philipsen impede Van Aert? Watch for yourself and you be the judge.

Touching Moment of the Day

This came from the Arkéa–Samsic team car as the lone holdout of the breakaway, Laurent Pichon, rode solo through the streets of Spain. Over the radio the team told Pichon: “I’m so proud of you. You are a warrior. You give us so much great emotion. Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! I love you very much.”

Pinchon, for his efforts on the day, was given the combativity award—and rightfully so. How can you not get emotional about the Tour de France?

Celebration(s) of the Day

Nothing against Philipsen’s fist pump as he crossed the finish line of Stage 3, but let’s give it up for Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost). The American, once again, spent the majority of the day in the breakaway to gain precious King of the Mountains points to retain his polka dot jersey. He summiting all four climbs first and gave the fans a nice waving of his arms at the top—a rare mid-race celebration that we can all appreciate! Powless claimed the maximum seven KOM points on offer on Stage 3 and extended his lead in the competition as we head into another sprint stage on Tuesday.

Stage Winner : Victor Lafay (Cofidis)

Victor Lafay won Stage 2 of the 2023 Tour de France. The Cofidis rider broke free of the lead group of riders that included many of the race favorites with 1K to go in the Tour’s longest stage (208.9K). It was a surprise victory for Lafay, who managed to hold off a hard-charging Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar in the waning meters to capture his first-career stage win.

Victor Lafay and the whole Cofidis team are easily the biggest winners of the day. It’s been 15 years since the French team has won a stage in the Tour de France, and on Sunday, Lafay came through in thrilling fashion to get Cofidis the win on the day. With Van Aert in the reduced peloton coming to the finish, Lafay knew his only shot of taking the stage would be by launching an early attack. He went with 1K to go, and thanks to a bit of misjudgement on Van Aert’s part and some pure guts on Lafay’s part, he won the sprint and earned the first stage win for Cofidis since Sylvain Chavanel in 2008.

It’s unquestionably Wout Van Aert and the Jumbo-Visma squad for missing a surefire opportunity at a stage win. Jumbo had both the numbers and the speed in the reduced peloton for the bunch sprint at the end. But the tactics just weren’t there for the Dutch superteam. Van Aert made his emotions known just as he crossed the finish line, slamming his handlebars, knowing full well he left it too late to take his tenth career TdF stage win.

Another Big Day for the American

Neilson Powless will keep the polka dot jersey for another day—and it’s been well-earned. The American riding for EF Education-EasyPost got himself in the break and banked key King of the Mountains points. Powless was first over four climbs that offered points and he now holds a four-point lead over Tadej Pogačar in the KOM competition. It looked for a time that Powless might be able to hold out for the stage win—and perhaps a shot at the yellow jersey. But a motivated peloton brought him back on the last major climb of the day.

Carapaz Abandons

After a Stage 1 crash involving Enric Mas (Movistar) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) forced Mas to abandon the 2023 Tour de France, Carapaz was able to limp to the finish of the opening stage. But unfortunately for the Ecuadorian national champion, he wouldn’t start Sunday’s second stage, suffering a fractured kneecap. It’s never fun to see two of the peloton’s top stars leave the Tour after just one stage.

Stage Winner : Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates)

Adam Yates (UAE team Emirates) claimed Stage 1 of the 2023 Tour de France, winning an unusually difficult opening stage and claiming the race’s first yellow jersey. Adam Yates outlasted his twin brother, Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla), as the two riders broke free after the final climb of the day.

It’s gotta be the Yates family, right? There simply cannot be a better feeling for Adam and Simon’s loved ones than watching the two twin brothers battle it out for not only a stage win in the Tour de France, but also the maillot jaune.

Who Was the Other Biggest Winner of the Day?

We’ve never seen a Grand Départ this tough before—and we’re better for it. An opening stage prologue or short time trial always felt like a bit of a tease. It was always the Tour, but was it really the Tour?

Instead this year, we didn’t have to wait too long for the fireworks. There was a nervousness in the peloton that is normally reserved for later in the race. With the prize of a guaranteed yellow jersey for the stage winner at the end, anything could happen. The punchy climbs of the Basque region of Spain—particularly the last three—provided some terrific Stage 1 excitement.

The downside of an action-packed first stage is the inevitability of a crash and that’s just what we saw on the descent of the Côte de Vivero. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) went down with around 23K to go in the stage. Mas entered the Tour as a top podium threat and was ultimately forced to abandon, while Carapaz managed to get back on his bike and finish the stage, but lost enough time to take him out of podium contention.

Top American of the Day

Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) will become the first American to wear the polka dot jersey since Nate Brown in 2017. Powless, who very nearly claimed the yellow jersey at the Tour last year, was first across the top of the second category Côte de Vivero. Powless figures to be a major player in the mountains classification—and Saturday marks a strong start for him.

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Favorites points classification Tour de France 2024 | Who is tough to take the green jersey in Nice?

T he cycling spectacle known as the Tour de France is about to kick off again. The 2024 edition will go down in history as a special one because, due to the Olympic Games, it will not finish on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. The unofficial World Championship for sprinters will therefore not take place on the famous Parisian stretch, but what impact will this have on the battle for the green jersey? IDLProCycling.com will tell you everything you need to know.

For years, the green jersey in the Tour de France was virtually reserved for Peter Sagan, but the rock star from Slovakia is not participating this season, for the first time in a good while. In recent years, he also failed to make his mark, as the maillot vert has gone to Sam Bennett, Mark Cavendish, Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen since 2020.

Philipsen was the sprint king of the Tour last season and won the green jersey with a solid lead over second place Mads Pedersen. The Belgian of Alpecin-Deceuninck has again set his sights on the prize this season, but due to the changed format of this Tour de France, someone else might very well take it.

Also check out this article from IDLProCycling.com:

Preview of the Tour de France|

Favorites overall classification (yellow jersey)

Most recent winners green jersey Tour de France

2023 Jasper Philipsen

2022 Wout van Aert

2021 Mark Cavendish

2020 Sam Bennett

2019 Peter Sagan

2018 Peter Sagan

2017 Michael Matthews

2016 Peter Sagan

2015 Peter Sagan

2014 Peter Sagan

Favorites points classification Tour de France 2024

To compile this list, (former) editors of IDLProCycling.com were asked for their top ten in response to the question: "Who has the best chance of winning the Tour de France?" Each top ten rider was assigned points as follows: 12 points for first place, 10 for second, and so on with 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point. For each rider, the total number of points received was converted into a percentage of the maximum number of points achievable. This percentage is indicated for each rider, giving you a better picture of the chances according to IDLProCycling.com!

Jonas Vingegaard - Visma | Lease a Bike: 9/60 points (15.0%)

When thinking of the green jersey, Jonas Vingegaard doesn't immediately come to mind. However, the Danish title defender deserves his spot on this list based on his results in the three Tours de France he has ridden. There's a rising trend in his final standings in the points classification: tenth (2021), seventh (2022) and fifth (2023).

Vingegaard may not be aiming for the green jersey, but if he manages to win a few mountain stages again, he could find himself high in the standings. Who knows, he might reach Nice as roughly fourth or third in the points classification.

Sam Bennett - Decathlon AG2R : 9/60 points (15.0%)

Sam Bennett is returning to the Tour de France after three years of absence. The Irish sprinter won the green jersey in 2020 on behalf of then Deceuninck-Quick Stepm but hasn't participated in the world's most prestigious cycling race since. Both Patrick Lefevere's team and BORA-hansgrohe excluded Bennett from the selection three times.

He then moved to Decathlon AG2R, where he seems to have found his old form again. In May, he won four stages and the overall classification in the Four Days of Dunkirk and also participated in the Critérium du Dauphiné. Can he continue that form into the race that brought him so much in 2020, but also caused so much misfortune?

Biniam Girmay - Intermarché-Wanty: 11/60 points (18.3%)

Some teams don't bring a sprinter to the Tour de France, while others bring two. Intermarché-Wanty belongs to the latter category and is still seeking its first stage win in the Tour de France. This season, the team will likely rely on Gerben Thijssen and Biniam Girmay to achieve that goal.

Thijssen is expected to be their man for the flat sprints, while Girmay can last longer in the mountains. This could allow the Eritrean rider to place himself in the green jersey competition in the Tour de France, where he had to pay his dues last season. With support from Mike Teunissen, Hugo Page and Laurenz Rex, he now has a strong team behind him.

Dylan Groenewegen - Jayco AlUla: 12/60 points (20.0%)

Dylan Groenewegen is preparing for his seventh Tour de France participation for Jayco AlUla. The fast Dutchman has so far won four stages, so the hunt for a fifth victory is on for the quick man in the Australian-Saudi team. His best points classification position in Paris has been seventh.

In this Tour de France, Groenewegen will have a sprint train consisting of Luka Mezgec, Elmar Reinders and Luke Durbridge, while Michael Matthews will also contribute. The Aussie, winner of the green jersey in 2017, is also given the freedom to aim for the intermediate stages.

Bryan Coquard - Cofidis: 22/60 points (36.7%)

If there has been one Frenchman who has been a stable factor in the points classification of the Tour de France in recent years, it's Bryan Coquard. Le Coq always participates in the intermediate sprints, securing his position, which has resulted in five top ten finishes in Paris. Last season, the Cofidis sprinter finished third.

Coquard achieved his first WorldTour victory in the Tour of Switzerland, proving he is in form, but the pure sprinters often outsmart and outpace him. One thing is certain: the Frenchman is a tough competitor who always fights hard.

Arnaud De Lie - Lotto-Dstny: 26/60 points (43.3%)

Lotto-Dstny is counting on Arnaud De Lie in the upcoming Tour de France, where he will make his debut in his first grand tour. The Belgian has been performing well in May and June, after being hindered by Lyme disease during the spring classics that were important for the team.

De Lie cannot be classified as a pure sprinter, but he will seize every opportunity to compete, whether it's for the win or to gain experience. He can handle hills well, which is often a useful trait in intermediate and final sprints.

Wout van Aert - Visma | Lease a Bike: 34/60 points (56.7%)

Normally, Wout van Aert wouldn't be participating in this Tour de France on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike, but after his fall in Dwars door Vlaanderen, the circumstances ultimately led to the Belgian starting in Florence. Enter the "Law of Wout": wherever he competes, he's a contender.

In the case of the Tour de France, this means aiming for the green jersey, not the yellow. The Belgian has stated that he will primarily focus on supporting Jonas Vingegaard but might also aim for a stage win himself. Whether he will compete for the green jersey with an eye on the Olympic Games is uncertain. But you never know.

Tadej Pogacar - UAE-Team Emirates: 35/60 points (58.3%)

Someone who has won eleven stages in four Tours de France and six stages in his last grand tour, the Giro, must always be considered in this list. We're talking about Tadej Pogacar, of course. His track record for the green jersey? Eighth, eighth, third and fourth.

Keeping in mind the somewhat unusual finish in Nice — meaning few sprinters might even make it there — this could be the year Pogacar unintentionally competes for the green jersey. But the Slovenian won't lose sleep over it: for him and his team, the focus is on bringing the yellow jersey to Nice.

Mads Pedersen - Lidl-Trek: 54/60 points (90.0%)

Jonathan Milan won the points classification in this year's Giro d'Italia for Lidl-Trek, and now Mads Pedersen aims to do the same in the Tour de France. The Dane, who finished second in the green jersey competition last year and won the points classification in the 2022 Vuelta a España, could well achieve this.

With co-leader Tao Geoghegan Hart out of the Tour, all eyes at Lidl-Trek will be on the former world champion from Scandinavia. In the Critérium du Dauphiné, he demonstrated he can handle the pressure by impressively winning the only sprint stage.

Jasper Philipsen - Alpecin-Deceuninck: 56/60 points (93.3%)

The biggest favorite for the green jersey is Jasper Philipsen, who will once again receive full support from Alpecin-Deceuninck to pursue his goals (stage wins and the points classification). He can count on world champion Mathieu van der Poel, who played a crucial role last season.

With the numerous flat sprints, Philipsen has a good chance to take the maillot vert to Belgium, rewarding his team for their confidence: just before the Tour, he extended his contract until 2028.

Tour de France: Vingegaard insists he is unfazed by Pogacar as Grand Colombier looms

Ion izagirre powers to frantic stage 12 win in belleville-en-beaujolais.

Ion Izagirre celebrates winning stage 12 of the Tour de France after breaking away on the Col de la Croix Rosier. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/AFP via Getty Images

The rivalry between the defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard, and his closest rival Tadej Pogacar, is set to reach boiling point on the steep slopes of the Grand Colombier, overlooking the Rhone, on Friday.

After another stage characterised by some early sparring between the two race favourites and their teams, eventually won by the Basque rider Ion Izagirre, there remains nothing to choose between the pair.

On the eve of the Tour’s third mountaintop finish, the race for the maillot jaune is finely balanced. On a climb as severe as the “beyond category” Grand Colombier, with a 17km ascent at an average gradient of 7 per cent, Vingegaard’s lead of 17 seconds on Pogacar is wafer thin.

Vingegaard, of the Jumbo-Visma team, and the UAE Emirates team leader, Pogacar, both insist they are feeling “better and better” as the race goes on, but there is growing tension in their duel.

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Pogacar famously humiliated the Dane’s team in the dramatic denouement of the 2020 Tour, unseating Vingegaard’s team-mate Primoz Roglic in the penultimate time-trial stage to take his first yellow jersey in Paris.

Vingegaard continues to maintain his composure but, as the gap between them narrows, the pressure to prevent the unpredictable Slovenian from pulling off another coup is growing. Speaking after the stage to Belleville, the defending champion again kept his cards close to his chest.

Asked if he thought the Grand Colombier was better suited to him or Pogacar, he was non-committal. “It’s a very hard climb,” he said. “It’s also super-long. It’s always hard to say before. It depends on who’s feeling good and who’s not. If you feel great, you try – if not, you wait.”

While it seems almost inevitable that Pogacar will seek to maintain his momentum and to narrow the gap on the race leader even further, the Dane seemed untroubled.

“I’m just happy where I am at the moment,” Vingegaard said. “I don’t think about who has the momentum, I just think about myself. You can have a plan to be attacking, but if you don’t have the legs it doesn’t really matter.”

Izagirre, riding for Cofidis, won stage 12 after a solo attack in the final 30km. It was his team’s second success in this year’s Tour, following the French rider Victor Lafay’s win in San Sebastián on stage two.

After another frantic opening to the stage, in which multiple riders fought to escape the peloton, the race eventually settled down, but only after almost 80km of attacking, with two main groups battling for control of the situation.

The leading group of 15 riders, including Izagirre, entered the triptych of hills, the cols of the Casse Froide, Croix Montmain and Croix Rosier, leading to the finish in Belleville, with a three-and-a-half-minute lead on a second group of 39 that included Vingegaard, Pogacar and their main rivals.

In the front group of 15, the French favourites Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphilippe, were aware they would need to drop the fast finishers Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen’s Alpecin Deceuninck team-mate Matthieu van der Poel to have any hope of a stage win.

But Izagirre’s stealth and cunning went under the radar and, as the numbers in the lead group dwindled, the 34-year-old broke clear on the final climb, the Col de la Croix Rosier, to take the second Tour stage win of his career. The group containing Vingegaard and Pogacar came in a little over four minutes later, with no significant changes to the top places in the general classification.

Of the peloton’s big names, the main beneficiary of the day was the climbing specialist Pinot, who leapfrogged five positions in the GC to 10th, six minutes behind the defending champion, with the Jura and the Alps coming into view. Racing in his last Tour, Pinot may yet prove an influential figure. – Guardian

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