Our in-depth look at every team, the riders to watch and the cast of characters tearing through France

AG2R LA MONDIALE

Perennial French challengers who’ll come to the fore when the race goes uphill (which this year is pretty much straight away). Expect to see their brown shorts in plenty of breaks, especially if/when Romain Bardet’s GC hopes fade.

Main man: Romain Bardet After five top 10 finishes in the tour and two podiums, he can’t really be described as France’s next big thing any longer (his teammate Pierre Latour was the white jersey winner in 2018 and despite his season disrupted by a fractured wrist has taken up the mantle). Time trial remains a concern – even with just 27km of TT at the Tour. Support comes from Belgian Classics hardman Oliver Naesen.

Off the bike Tony Gallopin is one half of a cycling power couple – his wife is former French national road racing champion Marion Rousse.

Squad: Bardet, Naesen, Gallopin, Cosnefroy, Latour, Cherel, Frank, TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Romain Bardet’s time trialling remains a weakness. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

ARKEA-SAMSIC

Wildcard regulars over the last few years who have an intriguing new string to their bow. Last year was all about trying (and, in the end, failing) to get Warren Barguil into the polka dots. This year Andre Griepel has joined up so expect to see at least one Arkea-Samsic jersey at the business end of the flat stages.

Main man: Warren Barguil The 2017 King of the Mountains was second behind Julian Alaphilippe last year and will give it his all once the gradients go up. Until then the focus will be on the Gorilla.

Off the bike Barguil is a fan of French Ligue 2 side Lorient and is friends with former Lorient and now Dortmund player Raphaël Guerreiro.

Squad: Barguil, Greipel, Delaplace, Gespert, Vachon, Bouet, plus two TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Andre Greipel will be on the hunt for sprint victories. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

ASTANA

The Kazakh squad won two stages last year – Omar Fraile and Magnus Cort Nielsen winning back to back between the Alps and Pyrenees – and similar smash-and-grab raids seemed to be all that was in the offing again this time around. That changed, though, when Jakob Fuglsang took victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné – a race won by Chris Froome before his Tour wins in 2013, 2015 and 2016, and by Geraint Thomas last year.

Main man: Jakob Fuglsang The 34-year-old Dane (whose name translates as “Birdsong”) finished just outside the top 10 in 2018 and is having a great year: he won Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring and the Critérium du Dauphiné (for the second time) this month.

Off the bike The team’s general manager, Alexander Vinokourov, is an honorary colonel in the Kazakh army. His excuse after being done for doping in the 2007 Tour? “It’s a mistake. There was an enormous amount of blood in my thighs, which could have led to my positive test.”

Squad: Fuglsang, Gorka Izaguirre, LL Sánchez, Fraille, Nielsen, Lutsenko, Bilbao, Houle

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jakob Fuglsang celebrates after winning the 2019 Dauphiné. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA

BAHRAIN-MERIDA

This will be the Bahraini team’s third Tour and they haven’t made much impact so far, with Vincenzo Nibali crashing out last year. His Nibz, having finished second in the Giro, says he “won’t necessarily go for the GC” which would be good news for Damiano Caruso, Matej Mohoric and Domenico Pozzovivo who will fancy joining the Italian in search of stage wins.

Main man: Vincenzo Nibali The Italian is a modern great but he tends not to race both the Giro and the Tour. His decision to do so this year suggests he’s either feeling fantastic or has his eyes on the polka dots. Either way, he’s likely to enliven the race in the mountains.

Off the bike McLaren, as in F1’s McLaren, is a 50% owner of the team (a deal that was ever-so-slightly overshadowed as it was announced on the same day Sky decided to pull out of cycling).

Squad: TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Vincenzo Nibali after the finish of the Giro in Verona. Photograph: Alessandro Di Meo/EPA

BORA-HANSGROHE

The German team had a fine Tour in 2018, with Peter Sagan winning three stages and the green jersey. Rafal Majka is likely to be their GC contender again, though in truth the only jersey the Polish rider is likely to wear is the one with polka dots. Emanuel Buchmann has had solid season so far (he was third in the Dauphiné) and is improving all the time, while sprinter Sam Bennett won two stages at Paris–Nice.

Main man: Peter Sagan Has owned the green jersey since 2012 (his controversial expulsion in 2017 excluded) – but there are a few doubts creeping in for once. If he claims green again he will take sole ownership of the Tour record. Stage nine on Bastille Day looks tailor-made for him.

Off the bike Bass playing, Nirvana-loving, self-described “grunge cyclist” Daniel Oss says he has one regret in the sport: not stopping for a beer with fans on Alpe d’Huez during the Tour in 2015.

Squad: Sagan, Buchmann, Konrad, Oss, Pöstlberger, Muehlberger, plus two TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Peter Sagan celebrates winning the third stage of the Tour of Switzerland. Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA

CCC

Goodbye BMC, hello CCC. Orange is the new black-and-red. And it’s a much-changed lineup with Richie Porte, Tejay van Garderen, Stefan Küng and Damiano Caruso among a raft of departures. Greg van Avermaet is still around, though, and the vastly experienced Serge Pauwels and Laurens Ten Dam will provide support.

Main man: Greg van Avermaet The Belgian, for so long a beast in the Classics, provided one of the stories of the Tour last year, taking the yellow jersey after the team time trial on stage three and holding it through stage 10, the first day in the Alps. But he’s not had the best of seasons so far.

Off the bike Van Avermaet was a goalkeeper on the books of Belgian football club Beveren as a teenager.

Squad: TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Greg Van Avermaet at the Tour of Switzerland. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS

The playbook for the perennial wildcard team will remain the same: get into the breaks – all the breaks – and see what happens. Christophe Laporte had the sprinting duties last year after Nacer Bouhanni and the team management fell out, but his best effort was second on stage 18.

Main man: Nacer Bouhanni A throwback wildman who could start an argument in an empty room is likely to be back on the startline after missing the 2018 edition. Abandoned the Dauphiné during the second stage but at least he managed to do so without chinning anybody.

Off the bike Darwin Atapuma says the thing he misses most from his native Colombia is the food – particularly cuy (guinea pig).

Squad: TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nacer Bouhanni might be back on the startline. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

DECEUNINCK-QUICK-STEP

A team that can do it all – Julian Alaphilippe was King of the Mountains last year and could claim the polka dots again; Elie Viviani can sprint with the best of them; Yves Lampaert will look for the breaks; Enric Mas can threaten the top 10 on GC. Fernando Gaviria won the opening stage last year but he’s gone, giving the team a wider focus. The challenge might be in squeezing all their talent into an eight-man team.

Main man: Julian Alaphilippe Won two mountain stages and the polka dots last year, and added Milan-San Remo to his palmarès this spring. Expect to see him outsprinting the climbers and outclimbing just about everybody.

Off the bike Philippe Gilbert – who, disappointingly, has not been selected – owns a bike shop in Monaco, imaginatively called “The Bike Shop by Philippe Gilbert”.

Squad: Alaphilippe, Asgreen, Devenys, Lampaert, Mas, Morkov, Richeze, Viviani

Facebook Twitter Pinterest France’s Julian Alaphilippe: king of the climbers. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

DIMENSION DATA

The South African team have a couple of cards to play, with Edvald Boasson Hagen in decent form so far this year and Mark Cavendish making optimistic noises about his fitness after two years lost to the Epstein Barr virus. There’s plenty of experience in the squad, with Bernhard Eisel and Mark Renshaw riding in support and Roman Kreuziger a new arrival.

Main man: Mark Cavendish Still stuck on 30 stage wins, four behind the record held by Eddy Merckx. His last one was in 2016, when it seemed certain he’d blast past the Cannibal, but after two injury-plagued seasons can he rediscover his best form?

Off the bike Ben King is an experienced bow hunter. “There’s something more primitive and satisfying about it. It’s more of an art and a challenge.” He says friends call him “an educated redneck”.

Squad: TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Can Mark Cavendish get back to somewhere near his best? Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images

EF EDUCATION FIRST

Another team of all the talents, sponsored by an educational company who presumably go to the ATM machine and put in their PIN number on the LCD display. The former Sky rider Rigoberto Urán is likely to be the nominal leader but the Canadian Michael Woods has had an impressive year and the 2012 white jersey winner, Tejay van Garderen, a new signing for this season, suggested he may be returning to his best with second in the Dauphiné. Alberto Bettiol surprised everyone to win Ronde van Vlaanderen in the spring and may get the chance to ride the Tour again, having missed out in 2018. Add in Sep Vanmarcke, Tanel Kangert, Simon Clarke and Taylor Phinney and they have a squad that can conjure wins from all angles.

Main man: Rigoberto Urán The laid-back Colombian, who finished second behind Chris Froome in 2017 before crashing out last year, will start as the team leader though Woods and Van Garderen provide potential plan Bs.

Off the bike After Lawson Craddock crashed on the opening stage last year, fracturing his shoulder, he pledged to donate $100 for every stage he finished to the Greater Houston Cycling Association. He finished as the lanterne rouge but raised $200,000.

Squad: TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tejay van Garderen in time-trial mode during the Dauphiné. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

GROUPAMA-FDJ

Perhaps the Frenchest of the French teams – their red, white and blue jerseys make sure of that – are putting everything behind the darling of French cycling, Thibaut Pinot, who is back on the startline after missing the 2018 race through illness. With Pinot’s plans in mind sprinter Arnaud Démare has been left out, while his breakaway-loving support team will have to forget about personal glory this time around.

Main man: Thibaut Pinot Allez Thibaut! Allez! It’s seven years since Pinot, then aged 22, won in Porrentruy with Marc Madiot screaming in his ear and, despite finishing third in 2014, he’s been short of success on the roads of France. Missed last year’s race after being hospitalised with exhaustion at the 2018 Giro but is back and seems to be in decent form.

Off the bike Pinot is a Paris Saint-Germain fan and met the squad (including then manager Unai Emery) in 2016. Pinot described Emery’s office as “simple and effective”.

Squad: Pinot, Bonnet, Reichenbach, Molard, Ladagnous, Gaudu, Roux, Küng

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thibaut Pinot will have high hopes of finishing in the top 10, at the very least. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

INEOS

Well at least they’ll have a clear plan. It seemed the Chris Froome/Geraint Thomas dynamic would be the dominant narrative of the Tour but Froome’s crash at the Dauphiné put paid to that. Instead the battle looks to be between Thomas and the young Colombian Egan Bernal, who have been named as joint leaders. As ever, they will look to dictate the pace in the mountains and, as ever, they look to have the team to do it, even without their four-time champion.

Main man: Geraint Thomas Won the Dauphiné before his 2018 victory but opted for the Tour of Switzerland this time around and promptly caused panic by falling off. The damage was minor but some serious training rides have been required in the aftermath.

Off the bike Thomas is well known for his ability to switch off from racing. “When he is off the bike he goes quite crazy with fun,” says his teammate Wout Poels.

Squad: Thomas, Bernal, Castroviejo, Kwiatkowski, Moscon, Poels, Rowe, Van Baarle

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Geraint Thomas has lost a key ally in Chris Froome but the Ineos team remains formidable. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

JUMBO-VISMA

Primoz Roglic (fourth last year) is having a rest after his Giro exertions so the initial focus will be on Dylan Groenewegen’s attempts to add to the two stage he won last year. George Bennett and Steven Kruijswijk will both trouble the top 10 on GC, while Wout van Aert is a fascinating callup – the three-times world cyclo-cross champion a constant threat in the Classics this spring.

Main man: Dylan Groenewegen The prospect of flat-stage sprint battles between the Dutchman and Fernando Gaviria is mouthwatering. Groenewegen should be reasonably fresh having skipped the Giro but with no Roglic to provide TT stage wins the pressure will be on the sprinter.

Off the bike Tony Martin and his parents fled Cold War East Germany to the west via Hungary and Austria. “The whole operation was pretty dangerous,” he says.

Squad: Kruijwijk, Van Aert, De Plus, Bennett, Groenwegen, Teunissen, Grondahl, Martin

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Wout van Aert will ride in his first Grand Tour. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

KATUSHA-ALPECIN

Marcel Kittel’s decision in May to step away from the sport leaves Katusha–Alpecin without their biggest hitter and means the team will have a different focus. Ilnur Zakarin is usually a good bet for the top 10 in Grand Tours (he was 10th in the Giro this year). Nils Politt may be eyeing a big victory having come so close at Paris-Roubaix and enjoyed a decent Dauphiné.

Main man: Ilnur Zakarin The Russian was banned for doping as a teenager but has a fine record in Grand Tours, with four top-10 finishes in his last five outings. Unlikely to threaten the yellow jersey, though.

Off the bike Zakarin used to box and enjoys singing Tatarstani folks songs.

Squad: Zakarin, Dowsett, Zabel, Schmidt, Politt, Gonçalves, Debusschere, Haller

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ilnur Zakarin feels the pain at the Giro. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

LOTTO SOUDAL

The Belgian behemoths used to rely on Andre Griepel to guarantee a stage win or two but the Gorilla has swung off for pastures new. That leaves the squad reliant on Caleb Ewan, who surged to two Giro stage wins this year, on the flat stages. They don’t have a GC contender so once we reach they hills there’s free rein for Tiesj Benoot, who was prominent in the Classics this year, and Thomas De Gendt to sniff out opportunities.

Main man: Thomas De Gendt Belgian hardman who won the stage to Mont Ventoux in 2016

Off the bike The team’s name comes from a Belgian lottery and a chemical company whose name is a portmanteau of “Soudeert alles”, which translates as “fixes everything”.

Squad: De Buyst, Benoot, Ewan, De Gendt, Keukeleire, Kluge, Monfort, Wellens

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Caleb Ewan celebrates after winning a stage at the Giro. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

MITCHELTON-SCOTT

Australian outfit with the best social media game in the business – their Backstage Pass videos are required viewing during Grand Tours – and a young, hungry lineup. Simon Yates, winner of the Vuelta last year, was a little disappointing in the Giro but his brother Adam will get the nod here with Simon in support.

Main man: Adam Yates Was right in the mix last year until he took a battering in the Alps – he lost 28 minutes to the other GC contenders on Alpe d’Huez. Picked himself up to ride in support of his brother at the Vuelta and, with a fine season so far under his belt (second in Volta a Catalunya, fifth at the Tour of the Basque Country, fourth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège) he’ll be eyeing the podium at least.

Off the bike New Zealander Jack Bauer (omitted from the squad) used to play bass in a band called Dream Farm.

Squad: A Yaes, S Yates, Haig, Durbridge, Hepburn, Juul-Jensen, Impey, Trentin

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Can Adam Yates emulate his brother as a Grand Tour winner? Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

MOVISTAR

Seem set to head into the Tour with a trident of team leaders – Mikel Landa, Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde. The plan also seemed to get Movistar there or thereabouts –the trio were 7th, 10th and 14th respectively in the 2018 Tour – but not to the top of the podium, but that changed at the Giro when Richard Carapaz bagged the pink jersey after starting as a Landa lieutenant.

Main man: Nairo Quintana Has three TDF podium finishes, and wins in the Giro and Vuelta behind him but has found himself under the wheels of the Sky train in recent years. May be boosted more than most by the absence of his bete noire, Chris Froome.

Off the bike Winner Anacona’s father was a cycling fan and wanted to name his son after Dutch champion Peter Winnen. However, there was a typo on the birth certificate. “He realised it, but he liked the sound of the name,” says Anacona Jr.

Squad: TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Colombia’s Nairo Quintana leads the way on the final stage of Paris-Nice. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

SUNWEB

The German team’s buildup has not exactly gone smoothly. Tom Dumoulin was out, then in, then out again, having failed to recover from the knee injury he suffered at the Giro. His absence means the GC podium is out of reach but it will allow the team to pour their energies into Michael Matthews’ quest to wrench the green jersey from Peter Sagan.

Main man: Michael Matthews The Australian took green when Sagan was kicked off the Tour in 2017 and is probably the best placed to challenge the Slovakian again.

Off the bike Giro time-trial winner and committed Christian Chad Haga has a tattoo on his forearm that reads: “Eternity gained, only life remains.”

Squad: Andersen, Arndt, Bol, Haga, Kämna, Kelderman, Matthews, Roche

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michael Matthews celebrates with teammates after winning the 16th stage last year. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA

TOTAL DIRECT ÉNERGIE

Direct Énergie (the one-time Europcar team) have added a bit of petrol money to their sponsorship but there’ll be a notable absentee – this Tour will be the first since 2000 without Sylvan Chavanel, who rode his last race for the team in October. With no realistic GC hope or sprint star, breakaways and stage wins will be the goal.

Main man: Lilian Calmejane Won a stage in 2017 and has 35th and 30th place finishes in his two Tours to date. Another stage win will be the goal and perhaps cracking the top 20.

Off the bike In his early 20s, Calmejane spent four months in Nottingham studying business.

Squad: TBC

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lilian Calmejane will hope to crack the top 20 and pick up a stage win. Photograph: Urs Flueeler/EPA

TREK-SEGAFREDO

It’s not really happened for the team who burst on to the scene, armed with a couple of Schlecks, amid much fanfare in 2011. This time new signing Richie Porte is the great hope. He has a strong team around him, though: Bauke Mollema has three top-10 finishes to his name, while Koen de Kort, Toms Skujins and Jasper Stuyven are capable riders. Sprinter John Degenkolb is likely to be left out with the team putting all their energies into the GC battle.

Main man: Richie Porte Perhaps the unluckiest man in the peloton after crashes in 2017 and 2018, and with Vincenzo Nibali joining the team next year, the Australian may be feeling time is running out.

Off the bike Bauke Mollema got into cycling after riding 12km to school, where he “concentrated in ancient language and culture, especially Roman”.

Squad: Porte, Bernard, Ciccone, De Kort, Felline, Mollema, Skujins, Stuyven

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Richie Porte is a new signing for Trek-Segafredo. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images

UAE TEAM EMIRATES

A fascinating lineup with the absence of Fernando Gaviria offset by the return of Fabio Aru. Dan Martin will be optimistic about bettering his eighth-place finish in 2018, while Sergio Henao and Rui Costa provide experienced support. Alexander Kristoff will look to challenge Peter Sagan for the green jersey.

Main man: Dan Martin Comes into the race on the back of three successive top 10 finishes in the Tour. Has the team around him to aim at a podium place this time.

Off the bike Martin, a lover of fine food, is part-owner of a restaurant chain in London called Frog.

Squad: Aru, Bystrøm, Costa, Henao, Kristoff, Laengen, Martin, Philipsen

WANTY-GOBERT

Belgian team in their third tour and with the classic wildcard playbook – get a man in every break and hope for the best. They do, though, have a rising star in the 25-year-old Guillaume Martin, who has finished just outside the top 20 in his two Tours to date and was third in the white jersey classification last year.

Main man: Guillaume Martin The young Frenchman outclimbed some big names in the Alps last year. Next step will be a stage win.

Off the bike Bart De Clercq was a decent cross-country runner but had to give up the sport due to shin problems.

Squad: TBC