AG2R La Mondiale (France)

2014 has been a big step up for the AG2R squad, who have won Paris-Nice and best team at the Giro d’Italia. Instead of just animating national races they’ve been competitive at WorldTour level. Their talent has finally matched their ambitions, so now they just need to find some style in the presentation department and stop lingering at the back of the bunch when they’re supposed to be paying attention.



Team leader – Christophe Riblon

Carlos Betancur of Columbia went awol at a key moment, so it’s back to plan B – Riblon is a decent climber who won last year’s stage at l’Alpe d’Huez, but may not get the same latitude this time round.

Astana (Kazakhstan)

Look past the baby-blue and yellow outfits that could be straight from the Teletubbies and the Kazakh squad are actually one of the strongest teams in this year’s race. It might be the glorious republic providing the euros but nobody will be laughing when they hit the front. Their sprinter Andrea Guardini will be surfing on other teams’ lead-outs if he’s allowed to because everyone will be at the disposition of his Nibs.

Team leader –Vincenzo Nibali

The Italian won the Giro in 2013 but gave up the chance to defend his title this year in order to be better prepared for the Tour. He starts with serious intentions of taking the race to Chris Froome whenever and wherever and, with possibly a stronger core of climbers around him than Froome, we can expect to see fireworks from the Sicilian. Third in 2012, he took note of what he needed to improve and has been working meticulously to ensure it happens. Gloriously aggressive.

Key stats for Vincenzo Nibali.

Belkin Procycling (Holland)

Promises, promises. Holland’s big team was omnipresent last season but so far this year things haven’t been all that they might be. They often show at the front but they’ve been coming up short with the victories and it’s not as if they are a disorganised rabble. They can put together a good lead-out for their sprinter Theo Bos, they’ll ride solidly and position their general classification (GC) contenders well but there’s a bit of sparkle missing in the final execution.

Team leader – Bauke Mollema

Finished sixth in 2013 and all of Holland would love him to be that high up again. Like a Tonka toy he’s tough and doesn’t break when dropped but Mollema just hasn’t been fast enough when it matters.

BMC Racing Team (USA)

Big ambitions, big spending and some of the biggest names and yet there’s the feeling of underachievement. Philippe Gilbert is missing and the other stars are looking past their prime. Add to that predicament the fact that the young guns need a bit more time to develop fully and too often they’ve delivered barely enough.

Team leader –Tejay van Garderen

The young American keeps promising that he’ll step up to grand tour greatness and now it’s his chance to prove what he can do without any internal politics. In previous years he’s shared the responsibilities of leadership with Cadel Evans but the Australian has been on Italian duties so it’s time to deliver on the faith invested in him. Not far from the top three but still not robust enough to survive three weeks without a bad day or two. Between fifth and 10th is more realistic .

Bretagne-Seche Environment (France)

It’s admirable the way ASO, the Tour organisers, support French cycling by inviting the smaller teams, and this is the smallest of their chosen victims for 2014.

As a second-division team they’ll be happy just to be in with the big boys until the realisation hits them, probably by the time they step back on to home soil, that it’ll be this hard every day.

Team leader – Brice Feillu

If you’re not an established cycling watcher and have come to the sport in the past four years, you might not have heard of the Feillu brothers. Brice and Romain used to do quite well. The clue is in the tense.

Cannondale (Italy)

Points classification winners for the past couple of years, the Greenies come back with one aim, to make it three out of three. The Italians do dedication to the cause like no one else so there’s no general classification rider to protect, no going in the breaks and no arguing over who the No1 in their team is. When Sagan sneezes it’s their job to be there with the tissues.

Team leader – Peter Sagan

The 24-year-old Slovak is a man of many talents. He can climb, he can sprint and he can do a wheelie on demand. He might even do a Superman impression if he forgets that he’s meant to be more sensible now. Stage win? At least one. Spell in yellow? Quite possibly. Entertaining? Always, even if sometimes there’s a cringe involved.

Key stats for Peter Sagan.

Cofidis (France)

A team without a cause, no big riders, no big budget and no big results to justify why they’ve lent themselves the money to compete at ProTour level. Actually, by using “compete” I’m crediting them with more kudos than they’ve earned lately. Average at best and any success will be as much a shock to them as anyone else.

Team leader – Rein Taaramae

One of those riders who survives the first decision on a mountain stage when the lead group still contains 30 riders, then when it gets harder 15 of them leave him behind. But I’m sure he’s a nice guy.

fdj.fr (France)

“Sacré bleu, les Français devant!” And not by luck either. It’s been a while since the home crowd enjoyed seeing their compatriots involved at the pointy end of racing but FDJ have progressed to being a serious outfit and not only inside their borders. Arnaud Démare will be their main sprinter and though he’s not one of the very top guys, one slip from Cavendish and Kittel and he’ll be nipping through.

Team leader – Thibaut Pinot

After a stellar performance in 2012 when he won a mountain stage and finished in the top 10 the young Frenchman had a dreadful time last year. Since then he’s been quietly working away, trying to smooth out his weakness – descending – and rebuilding his confidence. He and all of France will expect great things. Definitely white jersey material if he can hold it all together.

Key stats for Thibaut Pinot.

Garmin-Sharp (USA)

Trend-setting looks can’t hide the fact that this year there’s been a changing of the guard for the likable American team. Out with some of the old characters and in with youngsters who are equally quirky but for the moment keep falling off and hurting themselves. Candidates for best facial hair and worst helmets and sunglasses, they challenge many cliches of what a pro bike rider is, but hey, it’s fashion, darling. They have a core of riders, such as Ramunas Navardauskas, capable of getting in any escape and outlasting the opposition for a stage win – though they would give all that up just to win another team time trial .

Team leader – Andrew Talansky

Seems to get stronger as a grand tour goes on and for a climber he time-trials well so this year’s route will suit him. To make another top GC place, he just needs to stay out of trouble and reach that last week without being covered in plasters.

Key stats for Andrew Talansky.

Iam Cycling (Switzerland)

Switzerland’s leading team may only be two years old and living in the shadow of BMC – an American team sponsored by a Swiss-based manufacturer – but they have established riders and are race-smart. No one is pretending they are here to race with Froome and Contador. Their mission, if they chose to accept it, is to win individual stages and maybe have a lucky spell in yellow.

Team leader – Sylvain Chavanel

The Frenchman is hugely popular with the public and respected by his peers. Tactically excellent, brutally strong and when he attacks or gets in the break it takes a lot to thwart him.

Katusha Team (Russia)

The Global Project has been in turmoil and if they didn’t have bad luck they would have no luck at all. Much like Garmin, the Russian team have spent more time on the floor than they have on the podium just lately. When they haven’t crashed they’ve picked up great wins like Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Catalonia but those have been the exception instead of the norm.

Team leader – Joaquim Rodríguez

The Barcelona man has started selected races with good intentions this year but he hasn’t finished many and his hopes of being World No1 for the fourth year running are looking decidedly slim. A repeat of his third place in last year’s Tour would save his skin.

Lampre-Merida (Italy)

Most likely to be talked about when their wayward sprinter Roberto Ferrari tangles with Mark Cavendish and one of them sees more red than they bargained for. Otherwise they’ll be keeping their passports handy for the short trip home to mama when they’ve had enough of foreign food. They’ll strive to achieve but it’s not Italy so don’t be surprised that nothing much comes of it.

Team leader – Rui Costa

The world champion’s rainbow jersey has weighed heavily on the Portuguese’s shoulders – no wins and no performances of note this year which means the Tour is make or break for him … until the Tour of Switzerland.



Key stats for Rui Costa.

Lotto-Belisol (Belgium)

Action all areas. Will be present in the sprints, in the breaks and in the GC battle – a solid team despite the diverse demands put on them. André Greipel ought to win at least one stage in the first week and they will also put riders in breaks to keep the pressure off their GC hopes.

Team leader – Jurgen Van Den Broeck

Keeps coming up fourth on GC and will be hoping to go at least one better. Van Den Broeck might do it given the right circumstances but that would probably be down to others’ bad luck. A stage win is a possibility but more a dream than a threat.

Movistar Team (Spain)

This is one classy outfit and they have been used to deciding most of the grand tour speeds since last autumn. With a reputation for being ruthless tactically and not being afraid to make enemies, Movistar are in a different situation this year – without Nairo Quintana they can’t just wait for any mountain-top finishes so they’ll have to use their collective nous to create time elsewhere.

Team leader – Alejandro Valverde

Quick, smart and climbs almost as well as the best. Only question mark is his ability against the watch which will see him lose minutes rather than seconds. On paper he can make the top five if everything goes to plan. At the Tour it rarely does but that might make Valverde better placed to take a stage win or two.

Omega Pharma-Quick-Step (Belgium)

The No1 team with the No1 sprinter so it’s not hard to see what their priorities are. Another points jersey will be Mark Cavendish’s objective but against Sagan it’ll be difficult. Even so, the question is not whether he will win a stage but how many he will win. With Tony Martin for the time trial and Michal Kwiatkowski with potential to make the top 10 and lead the young riders’ classification, the team look good.

Team leader – Mark Cavendish

Consistently the fastest finisher and though he’s won fewer races this year that’s more to do with starting fewer than actually slowing down. If anything he’ll be fresher, faster and hungrier than ever. And he wants to wear that first maillot jaune in Yorkshire.

Key stats for Mark Cavendish.

Orica GreenEDGE (Australia)

After an impressive Giro d’Italia the Aussies will be expecting more of the same at the Tour. With no one likely to be concerned by the GC they’ll be looking to stage wins and time spent leading the various classifications. They won’t be too shabby with Matt Goss in the bunch sprints, especially the ones which involve a hill.

Team leader – Simon Gerrans

Can win uphill sprints when it’s too steep for Goss, flat sprints when it’s grim and sniff out the right opportunity when he’s in a break. They don’t come much smarter than the current Australian champion.

Team Europcar (France)

A breakaway in the Tour without a Europcar rider is unthinkable. Team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau runs a tight ship on a limited budget but he expects and gets results from his squad despite not having all the shiny bits the big teams enjoy. They might not have a true GC challenger but they’ll be wanting to spend time in at least one of the other jerseys.

Team leader – Thomas Voeckler

He’s the darling of the Hexagon and doesn’t he just love the attention. The archetypical Gallic hero: dark, moody, not entirely reliable but capable of something spectacular. Think of Eric Cantona in lycra and you’ll get the idea. With Tommy you can be guaranteed that there’ll be tears one way or another and that’s why he’s loved.

Team Giant-Shimano (Holland)

The other fully appointed sprinter’s team with a bevy of big, strong and fast riders, and well organised. This is the squad that will aim to thwart Cavendish’s plan to win as many stages as he can. Most of them are built like brick outhouses and if Jeremy Clarkson was in the team car with 5km to go he’d be shouting “power” in the radio earpieces.

Team leader – Marcel Kittel

The tall German has been on form this season and won the first two road stages of the Giro in impressive style. In the right place at the right time there aren’t many who can think of beating him. He might not climb as well as Cavendish but he’s got cooler hair.

Key stats for Marcel Kittel.

Team NetApp-Endura (Germany)

There aren’t many names you recognise in this ProContinental team, but the Anglo-German collaboration have a good record of producing surprises. Expect to see them in the long-range escapes and taking chances in the mountains with Iker Camano, David De la Cruz and Tiago Machado.

Team leader – Leopold König

He won’t be daunted by the big names he’ll find himself with once the climbing starts – he’s been there before at the Vuelta. Won’t get as much freedom as he did in Spain but will still try for a stage win. Given the right circumstances and a couple of hesitations from the GC guys it could happen for him.

Team Sky (Great Britain)

The defending champions are hoping to make it three Tours in a row although one of those winners will be spending his time preparing for the Commonwealth games. They’ll need the rest of the team on form to fend off Nibali and Contador. Sky might have moved the game on with attention to detail and employing experts for every possible percentage gain but the other teams have caught up and in some areas have a stronger collective. With the internal politics over who was or wasn’t team leader put to one side, Sky are in a much better place to help Froome to retain his title.

Team leader – Chris Froome

Can climb with the best and against the clock can time trial with the fastest too. His only weaknesses are exposure to attacks on Twitter, the flatter stages and ambushes by the Spaniards if they see an opening. The favourite.

Key stats for Chris Froome.

Tinkoff-Saxo (Russia)

A well-balanced team with talents for every terrain. Oleg Tinkov has invested heavily to sign great support riders in order to take the battle to Sky. It will be in the mountains where team manager Bjarne Riis will have the best chance of using those options but don’t discount an assault elsewhere.

Team leader – Alberto Contador

Has returned to the level he enjoyed a few years ago. His climbing has been sensational and it’s on that terrain the other favourites will be worried. His time trialling has paid the price slightly but he remains the most aggressive racer of the select group of potential winners.

Key stats for Alberto Contador.

Trek Factory Racing (USA)

Everyone at Trek is still waiting for the Schleck brothers to do something, anything, that resembles a decent performance and I can’t see that changing here. Boy van Poppel might produce a reasonable sprint one day but other than that I’m struggling to see anyone other than Fabian Cancellara who will be remembered, which is hard to believe considering the budget and resources behind this team.

Team leader – Fabian Cancellara

The most charismatic rider of the pro peloton. Stylish, fast and articulate to boot. It’s unlikely but if Spartacus doesn’t perform then Trek are doomed to three weeks of mediocrity.