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The Tour de France started as a promotional experiment for a newspaper back in 1903. Today the Tour has become a major cycling event. Tour de France started in 1903 to increase the sales of the newspaper, L’Auto.
The 2021 Tour de France will be its 108th edition when the Grand Depart takes place on 26 June from Brest, Brittany. There are 23 teams participating with 184 riders, covering around 3,417.5 kilometers before finishing it off at Paris’ Champs-Elysées.
2021 Tour de France: Teams and full squad
Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar won the 2020 Tour de France and will be up against fellow countryman, Primož Roglič of Team Jumbo-Visma and 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas of Team INEOS Grenadiers. However, the depth of Team INEOS Grenadiers will leave other teams wishing they also had deep pockets.
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2021 Tour de France: Key battles and contenders
Mark Cavendish also returns to the Major event after a three-year hiatus. The other big names are Peter Sagan and Chris Froome.
2021 Tour de France: Top teams and their leaders
TEAM INEOS GRENADIERS: Geraint Thomas, Richard Carapaz, Richie Porte, Tao Geoghagan Hart, Michal Kwiatkowski, Jonathan Castroviejo, Luke Rowe, Dylan van Baarle.
Leaders: Geraint Thomas, Richard Carapaz, Richie Porte.
Team INEOS arguably has the strongest squad with Geraint Thomas, Richard Carapaz and Richie Porte leading the line-up. If any of their top leaders win the yellow jersey in Paris, they will have completed a majorly successful season, having already won the other two Major Tours.
They have last year’s third-place cyclist, Porte, amongst them and he looks as strong as ever. Giro d’Italia champions Carapaz and Tao Geoghagan Hart are also important riders in the team. But the biggest bet will be on Geraint Thomas. He is the only Tour de France winner, having won it in 2018, and is banking on his experience to help him win the yellow jersey for the second time in 2021.
TEAM JUMBO-VISMA: Primož Roglič, Wout van Aert, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, Robert Gesink, Tony Martin and Mike Teunissen.
Leaders: Primož Roglič, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss.
Many thought Team Jumbo-Visma would take away many acolades during the 2020 Tour de France, with Primož Roglič leading the way. Unfortunately, Tadej Pogačar spoiled their party. Things have looked quite bleak for them ever since.
Even though they have Steven Kruijswijk and Sepp Kuss in their squad, the only cyclist who can potentially win the yellow jersey is Roglič.
UAE TEAM EMIRATES: Tadej Pogačar, Rafał Majka, Marc Hirschi, Alexander Kristoff, Davide Formolo, Jan Polanc and Ivo Oliveira.
Leaders: Tadej Pogačar, Rafał Majka and Marc Hirschi.
Tadej Pogačar, hardly had any support from his team during the 2020 Tour de France. However, a lot has changed since then. The team have added Rafał Majka and Marc Hirschi to their lineup.
Although UAE Team Emirates aren’t as strong as Ineos or Jumbo-Visma, they still have riders who can spring surprises on any given day. All eyes will be on the defending champion, Pogačar, and he will be hoping that he gets enough support from Majka and Hirschi to win the event a.
