Alpecin-Premier TechTwo strings to the Dutch team’s bow: Jasper Philipsen to add to his 10 stage wins and repeat his 2023 points jersey, Mathieu van der Poel to do VDP things: crazy breaks, forceful lead-outs, sniffing out openings. Philipsen has just won the Tour of Belgium; his co-leader hasn’t won since March but was a force in the spring Classics, then after time out from racing, ran Pogacar close in the Tour de Suisse time trial. He also copped a fine for going topless in the leader’s hot seat; not many make headlines merely for sitting down, but that’s charisma for you.Team Ramses Debruyne, Silvan Dillier, Tim Marsman, Jasper Philipsen, Edward Planckaert, Mathieu van der Poel, Jonas Rickaert, Emiel Verstrynge.Main man Mathieu van der Poel: the man with the golden Lamborghini, the best bike handler in cycling, a danger anywhere outside the high mountains.Bahrain VictoriousOnly eight victories this year seems a meagre return, plus Bahrain have lost the Tour mainstay, Pello Bilbao, to illness. However, they led the Giro d’Italia for nine days with Alfonso Eulalio, and chalked up a stage wins for Alec Segaert. Lenny Martinez also won a stage at Paris-Nice. The pocket climber Martinez is maturing nicely, but they also need Antonio Tiberi to rediscover his form of 2024 when he was fifth in the Giro. The veteran Damiano Caruso hasn’t ridden the Tour since 2022, but at 38, has enough experience to carry the team in the final Grand Tour of his 17-year career.Team Phil Bauhaus, Damiano Caruso, Kamil Gradek, Lenny Martinez, Vlad van Mechelen, Matej Mohoric, Robert Stannard, Antonio Tiberi.Main man Lenny Martinez. Diminutive French climber with a pedigree: grand-père Mario was King of the Mountains in 1978. Any mountain stage will do.Caja RuralThis year’s debutants. They have a long history, and recently showed well in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps with José Félix Parra in ninth, while Joel Nicolau won silver in the Spanish national championship last weekend, after the team got five riders in the winning move. They will aim to get in the breakaways each day, and as a Plan B, hope the 31-year-old sprinter Fernando Gaviria produces a miracle in a mass finish.Team Abel Balderstone, Sebastian Berwick, Fernando Gaviria, Alex Molenaar, Joel Nicolau, Stefano Oldani, Jakub Otruba, José Félix Parra.Main man Fernando Gaviria: the Colombian hasn’t won for more than two years, but landed seven Tour and Giro stages back in the day.CofidisAlmost 30 years sponsorship for the phone credit company’s team, who dropped into division two after a poor 2025, and is not setting the world alight this year. Most of the team come with a proviso: Milan Frétin is rapid, but not as fast as the best; Benjamin Thomas is determination personified but underpowered at this level; Ion Izagirre has won two Tour stages, but is long in the tooth. Just occasionally, someone bucks the trend and crosses the line first; the sprinter, Alex Aranburu, or Izagirre – winner in April of the GP Miguel Induráin – are the best bets.Team Piet Allegaert, Alex Aranburu, Jenthe Biermans, Milan Frétin, Ion Izagirre, Alex Kirsch, Hugo Page, Benjamin Thomas.Main man Alex Aranburu: A fast man who can climb, with stage wins in Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour of Belgium this year.Paul Seixas is the great French hope. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty ImagesDecathlon-CMA CGMDecathlon are forging ahead after 2025’s restructuring and gamble heavily by plunging prodigy Paul Seixas into the “big bath” at 19 years old. His results and racing style justify it, but he suffered a heavy crash at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes three weeks ago; the adage “if you’re good enough you’re old enough” will be tested to the limit. Wisely, sprinter Olav Kooij is given a run out, guided by Mark Cavendish’s former pilot Cees Bol; he has regained form after a disc operation and a stage win may let the Baby Badger relax a bit.Team Tiesj Benoot, Cees Bol, Daan Hoole, Olav Kooij, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Nicolas Prodhomme, Matthew Riccitello, Paul Seixas.Main man Paul Seixas: The precocious youth will bear 41 years of frustrated French hopes on his 19-year-old shoulders. Quite the test.EF Education-EasyPostMiddle-ranked US squad who traditionally punch above their weight, as a stage win and spell in the leader’s jersey at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps for Alex Baudin showed in June. If Kingswinford’s finest Ben Healy and the 2021 Olympic champion Richard Carapaz are on song, stage wins, a podium place and the mountains jersey are legitimate targets; Healy has had injury and illness issues this year, but Carapaz was recently the best human being in the Tour de Suisse behind Tadej Pogacar. Trivia-lovers note No 1: Georg Steinhauser is the nephew of the 1997 Tour winner Jan “der Kaiser” Ullrich.Team Kasper Asgreen, Alex Baudin, Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy, Sean Quinn, Georg Steinhauser, Michael Valgren, Max Walker.Main man Richard Carapaz: the punchy Ecuadorian has a distinguished record – a Giro, an Olympic title – and could repeat his strong 2024 Tour showing.Groupama-FDJ UnitedA thin year with just one World Tour win – a stage at Tour de Suisse for Romain Grégoire – nothing from the former leader David Gaudu who misses the Tour again and very little from back-up GC leader Guillaume Martin. Grégoire’s victory at the French national championship was timely to say the least but FDJ have leaned heavily on the 23-year-old and the equally youthful Ewen Costiou this season, and hoping they can carry them through the Tour is perilously optimistic. If they stutter, FDJ will have to grit their teeth and watch Paul Seixas getting the home crowd’s love.Team Clément Berthet, Clément Braz Alfonso, Ewen Costiou, Lorenzo Germani, Romain Grégoire, Quentin Pacher, Clément Russo.Main man Romain Grégoire: new French champion can target any of the Tour’s hilly stages, but will be a marked man in that tricolore jerseyJayco-AlulaStage wins are the target for the Australian team but their recent form suggests this may be a big ask: none of seven victories this year has been at WorldTour level. However, Ben O’Connor wins a mountain stage win in a Grand Tour most years, while Matthews’ return after a horrific training accident adds a welcome option on the hillier days, although at 35 he’s winning only sporadically and it’s a lengthy nine years since he won green at the Tour. Schmid could be the dark horse – he was flying in the spring with four wins and a string of near misses.Team Pascal Ackermann, Luke Durbridge, Felix Engelhardt, Michael Matthews, Kelland O’Brien, Ben O’Connor, Luke Plapp, Mauro Schmid.Main man Ben O’Connor: consistently inconsistent Australian climber who has won four Grand Tour stages but hasn’t challenged overall in the Tour since 2021.Mads Pedersen at Paris-Roubaix in April. Photograph: Zac Williams/SWpix.com/ShutterstockLidl-TrekIt’s been a lean year for the German team compared to the biggest squads although they did win seven national titles last weekend; they’ve ditched the manager Luca Guercilena, and will bring in Grischa Niermann from Visma-Leaseabike after the Tour. That’s well and good, but their relative lack of success is partly due to an appalling crash for their sprint mainstay Mads Pedersen in February. They target all terrains with Pedersen, Juan Ayuso or Derek Gee-West for a top 10 in GC, Quinn Simmons and Mattias Skjelmose for the hilly stages, but if they flop, fingers will point at the mid-season management shake-up.Team Juan Ayuso, Derek Gee-West, Mads Pedersen, Quinn Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose, Toms Skuijns, Mathias Vacek, Carlos Verona.Main man Mads Pedersen, the hulking Classics specialist from Denmark. With 11 Grand Tour stage wins to his name, plus two points jerseys at the Vuelta a España, his goals are obvious.Lotto-IntermarchéMuch to like in the lineup for the Belgian team’s 40th Tour; Arnaud De Lie is an erratic class act, Baptiste Veistroffer is a reliable breakaway artist, and Liam Slock set the internet ablaze recently when he tumbled while crossing the line in winning the GP Gippingen. They need De Lie to find form: he’s still only 24, a prolific winner, but inconsistent since a bout of Lyme disease in 2024. If he’s firing the rest will fall into place but the illness that ruled him out of the Giro – potentially cow manure related – exemplifies his recent misfortune.Team Huub Artz, Jenno Berckmoes, Lars Craps, Lennert van Eetveldt, Arnaud de Lie, Liam Slock, Baptiste Veistroffer, Georg Zimmerman.Main man Arnaud de Lie: “the Bull of Lescheret” is a deceptively fragile Walloon replica of the archetypal burly Flandrian sprinter.MovistarWith Telefonica looking to end their contract early or find a co-sponsor there’s a stressful subtext for the sport’s oldest team, a Tour presence since 1983; and their biggest winner this year, Ivan Romeo, missing the Tour through illness is a blow. Cian Uitdebroeks was shaping up nicely at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps but has yet to finish a Grand Tour at 23, Pablo Castrillo has just won the Spanish time trial championship, and Raúl García Pierna has a knack of getting into breaks. It all feels distant from the days of the “trident” led by Alejandro Valverde.Team Pablo Castrillo, Jefferson Cepeda, Raúl García Pierna, Michael Hessman, Nelson Oliveira, Javier Romo, Einer Rubio, Cian Uitdebroeks.Main man Cian Uitdebroeks: the 23-year-old Belgian hired from Visma-Leaseabike over the winter is bursting with youthful promise: now it’s time to deliver.NSNEight men, one mission: a stage win for Eritrean leader Biniam Girmay, ideally more, plus a repeat of his green jersey from 2024; he may also have his eyes on the slightly rejigged final stage in Paris. A disparate group in their former incarnation as Israel-PremierTech, NSN have rallied around their new signing, who is a true all-rounder; the whole group will push to dislodge the heavier sprinters on the hilly days that best suit their leader. Lewis Askey just won a fine silver at the UK national championship and could shine if he gets in the right break.Team Tom van Asbroeck, Lewis Askey, George Bennett, Marco Frigo, Biniam Girmay, Matis Louvel, Krists Neilands, Jake Stewart.Main man Biniam Girmay: Africa’s biggest cycling star is a featherweight sprinter who can get over the climbs, giving him plenty to target at the Tour.Netcompany-IneosA new sponsor for the British team, plus new vomity orange and grey kit. Sir Dave Brailsford is back in the driving seat with Geraint Thomas at his side; the upshot has been a dynamic start to the season with 27 wins including the team time trial at Paris-Nice – with Filippo Ganna, Tobias Foss and Josh Tarling driving, they will be favourites on Saturday too. Kévin Vauquelin’s form hasn’t been great and they won’t challenge overall without leader Oscar Onley, but Godon and Ganna have been winning left right and centre; maintain that momentum and they could be in for a good Tour.Team Thymen Arensman, Egan Bernal, Tobias Foss, Filippo Ganna, Dorion Godon, Michal Kwiatkowski, Josh Tarling, Kévin Vauquelin.Main man Thymen Arensman: The Dutch climber who landed two Tour stages last year and recently finished fourth in the Giro.The veteran John Degenkolb races for Picnic-Post NL. Photograph: Luc Claessen/Getty ImagesPicnic-Post NLA horrible season for the Dutch team, way down the world rankings with just one win among them. In most Tours they produce a mini miracle: a stage win and the yellow jersey for Romain Bardet in 2024, fourth overall for Oscar Onley last year. But they lack the budget to retain their best riders – Onley being a case in point – and that has come back to bite them. Veterans Warren Barguil and John Degenkolb will carry the youngsters in the hills and the sprints, but it’s hard to see this July being anything other than one to put down to experience.Team Warren Barguil, Julius van den Berg, Frits Biesterbos, Pavel Bittner, Frank Van den Broek, John Degenkolb, Robbe Dhondt, Niklas Märkl.Main man Pavel Bittner: the lanky Czech sprinter who won a Vuelta stage in 2024. He’s only 23, and he only has to get lucky once.Pinarello-Q36.5Tom Pidcock is the main man but it’s been a tricky run-in. He had a bad crash at the Tour of Catalonia and illness put him out of the Tour de Suisse, but he’s still clocked up four wins this season, including a little gem at Milan-Turin. He probably doesn’t have the depth to finish high in the GC, but there will be plenty of tough days to target. The newly-crowned British champion, Fred Wright, is overdue a big win having come close twice this season, and there will be opportunities for the whole team on the days Pidcock takes a back seat.Team Xabier Azparren, Chris Harper, Quinten Hermans, Damien Howson, Xandro Meurisse, Brent van Moer, Tom Pidcock, Fred Wright.Main man Tom Pidcock. Feisty Yorkshireman, the best descender in the peloton, with the class and nous to pick up a stage win at least.Red Bull-Bora HansgroheThe new superteam have snagged 28 wins this year even with their marquee signing, Remco Evenepoel, opting to train rather than race for two months. The Belgian enjoyed a winning splurge to start the season – seven wins in 19 days – then landed the Amstel Gold Classic at the end of April; his co-leader Florian Lipowitz has just taken his first stage race as a pro, the the Tour of Slovenia, potentially a breakthrough. With Jai Hindley and Maxim van Gils to support in the mountains, if Evenepoel and Lipowitz can remain on more than speaking terms, they just might be able to rattle Pogacar and Vingegaard.Team Matteo Cattaneo, Nico Denz, Mick van Dijke, Remco Evenepoel, Maxim van Gils, Jai Hindley, Florian Lipowitz, Jan Tratnik.Main man Remco Evenepoel. Time trial world, Olympic and European champion who will target the final week’s contre la montre to challenge for the podium.Tim Merlier will target stage wins for Soudal Quick-Step. Photograph: Tom Goyvaerts/Belga/ShutterstockSoudal Quick-StepIn myriad incarnations, the Belgian team have always eked value from their riders, particularly their sprinters, and they usually roster at least two fast men with varying degrees of tension. The 2024 European road race champion Tim Merlier is the current winning machine, but he’s looking over his shoulder at youthful Frenchman Paul Magnier, who was unstoppable in the Giro and sits this one out. The enigmatic cult hero Mikel Landa is injured, so plan B is a mountain stage for Valentin Paret-Peintre or a hilly one for Dylan van Baarle. If they can bank a stage win or two with Merlier in the opening 10 days, it’s downhill to Paris.Team Dylan van Baarle, Pascal Eenkhorn, Bert van Lerberghe, Tim Merlier, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Jasper Stuyven, Ilan van Wilder, Louis Vervaeke.Main man Tim Merlier. At 33 youth isn’t on his side, but with six wins this season, you’d expect him to add at least one more Tour stage.TudorTime to work the cliches about Swiss watches: calibrated by the statuesque Fabian Cancellara, this second division squad ticked over nicely on their Tour debut last year and this year have won rarely but placed punctually. They will bubble under with Julian Alaphilippe in breaks, Arvid de Kleijn contesting sprints, Michael Storer pressing on in the mountains and Matteo Trentin popping up everywhere. The enigma is 2020 Tour stage winner Marc Hirschi, who notched up seven decent wins in 2024 but was relatively quiet last year. Look out for him on the hilly days.Team Julian Alaphilippe, Arvid de Kleijn, Marco Haller, Marc Hirschi, Rick Pluimers, Michael Storer, Matteo Trentin, Yannis VoisardMain man Julian Alaphilippe: a double world champion, the former chouchou of the home crowds is past his best but will ride his heart out.TotalEnergiesAmid la canicule, the heat is on the popular and venerable underdogs. With TotalEnergies leaving at the season end, management are urgently seeking sponsors; the riders are understandably looking elsewhere, and there are rumours of a policy of leaving those moving to other teams out of the Tour. They will crave a repeat of Anthony Turgis’s 2024 stage win, or time in the mountains jersey, or the daily combativity prize. Any crumbs that may fall from Pogacar’s plate will suffice, but there is stiff competition for the Slovenian’s leftovers from at least five other teams at the foot of the pecking order.Team Mathis le Berre, Nicolas Breuillard, Joris Delbove, Alexandre Delettre, Thibaut Guernalec, Jordan Jégat, Antony Turgis, Mattéo Vercher.Main man Jordan Jégat: The climber who flew under the radar for 10th in GC last year, but needs to actually win something this time round.Sepp Kuss won the Vuelta a España in 2023 and will ride for Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesVisma-LeaseabikeThe Dutch team isn’t at the level of Pogacar’s armada without the injured Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte, but are still formidable if the leader Vingegaard can hold the form that won him the Giro. There’s all-round experience with Victor Campenaerts and Bruno Armirail – good wing-men for the opening team time trial – but the gamble is asking Davide Piganzoli to double up Giro and Tour at just 23; he finished eighth in the Giro supporting Vingegaard, but could feel the strain in the final week. You could call Matteo Jorgenson or the 2023 Vuelta winner Sepp Kuss Plan B but in reality, if Vingegaard falters, it’s all over.Team Edoardo Affini, Bruno Armirail, Victor Campenaerts, Per Strand Hagenes, Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss, Davide Piganzoli, Jonas Vingegaard.Main man Jonas Vingegaard: the Dane took the 2022 and 2023 Tours; having just dominated the Giro d’Italia, this is a valuable chance to defeat Pogacar again.UAE Team EmiratesThe handful who are realistically hoping to win the Tour will be looking at this lineup and scratching their heads. How to take on the strongest armada with the biggest reserves in cycling? Isaac del Toro swatted the opposition aside at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps, while McNulty and Yates could also lead teams in their own right. As for their leader, Pogacar has raced 16 days this year and won 13 times. That would make even Eddy Merckx envious, and when a leader has a hit rate like that, the domestiques tend to follow by example. Be afraid, be very afraid.Team Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, Tadej Pogacar, Nils Politt, Isaac del Toro, Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens, Adam Yates.Main man Tadej Pogacar: that mythical fifth Tour win is beckoning the Slovenian; it’s hard to see anyone other than Vingegaard getting in his way.Uno X-MobilityScandiwegians with the knack of winning big when it matters, who have become a real presence at the Tour since their 2023 debut. 2025 stage winner Jonas Abrahamsen, a stage winner in 2025, and the Classics specialist Søren Waerenskjold can do the business on the flat, Magnus Cort has nine Grand Tour stage wins in his career, Tobias Halland Johannesen will target the top 10 overall – he finished sixth last year – and recent history suggests all the rest are capable of snaffling victory in a break. Who would have predicted stage wins at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alps for Anthon Charmig and the Giro d’Italia for Frederik Dversnes?Team Jonas Abrahamsen, Anthon Charmig, Magnus Cort, Anders Halland Johannesen, Tobias Halland Johannesen, Anders Skarseth, Torsten Traen, Søren WaerenskjoldMain man Magnus Cort. Not as prolific as he once was, and heading for retirement, but the new Danish national champion will want one last stage win.XDS AstanaEvery few years, Kazakhstan’s finest roll out a team rap which is so bad it’s borderline good. In a similar vein, the squad looks random, but somehow the mix works. They are buzzing after two stage wins in a great Giro, but it looks as if – like last year – they sent their best riders to Italy; all rounder Sergio Higuita and Giro stage winner Davide Ballerini apart the Tour squad lacks pizzazz. Trivia note No 2: Nicolas Vinokourov is the son of disgraced 2012 Olympic road champion Alexandr, who has taken the slogan “Vino for ever” literally and founded his own racing dynasty.Team Davide Ballerini, Aaron Gate, Sergio Higuita, Max Kanter, Harold Tejada, Mike Teunissen, Simone Velasco, Nicolas Vinokourov.Main man Davide Ballerini: fast finishing former European champion who won the sprint for second behind Van Aert in the final Tour stage last year.