Who are the Brits at 2021 Tour de France?
The 2021 Tour de France will not witness a lot of riders participating from Great Britain, especially with the 2020 Summer Olympics also being rescheduled to this year from 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some of the big names in the cycling world are making a return to the Major tour after a brief pause. While Team INEOS Grenadiers will be the squad that will see the majority of British cyclists from the 2021 Tour de France line-up, Chris Froome and Alex Dowsett are part of the Team Israel Start-up Nation.
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The 2021 Tour de France, whose Grand Depart was initially supposed to be from the Danish capital of Copenhagen, has now been shifted to Brest, Brittany due to Euro 2020 being held. The cycling major event will start with the hill stage and see 184 riders battle it out and the 21st stage finishing at Paris’ Champs-Elysees.
2021 Tour de France: British Cyclists
Geraint Thomas: The 2018 Tour de France winner returns to the cycling event after missing out on the 2020 Tour de France event. He is part of the star-studded Team INEOS Grenadiers which have fielded a very strong line-up for the 2021 Tour de France. He is strong and raring to go and will be looking to build on the advantages of individual time trials and flat stages. He may be a major cause of worry for Slovenian riders, Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic. The 36-year-old is one of the most experienced riders in the 2021 Tour de France and is one of the favorites for the yellow jersey.
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Chris Froome: After a three-year hiatus, Chris Froome, who has won the Tour de France four times, is back as part of Team Israel Start-up Nation. Froome is arguably one of the best and most experienced riders among the 184 riders, having come runners-up in 2012 and grabbing third position in 2018. Although he is unlikely to win the 2021 Tour de France event, he will be supporting team’s leader Michael Woods and a lot of eyeballs will be on him.
Tao Geoghegan Hart: Team Ineos Grenadiers surely knows how to pack its team with influential riders. Hart may not have the best time on the peloton recently and he will surely remember his injuries on 26 June at the Grand Depart. He will be supporting Geraint Thomas in some high-quality races for the general classification field.
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Simon Yates: Part of the Team BikeExchange, Yates is coming off from a comparatively better season than some of the other riders at 2021 Tour de France. He finished third at Giro d’Italia and his team will be banking highly on him. Although Olympics seems to be his main focus, don’t be surprised if he ends up winning some of the stages at the 2021 Tour de France.
Luke Rowe: Another British cyclist in the Team Ineos Grenadiers line-up, Rowe will be participating in his seventh Tour de France this time. He and Geraint Thomas are very good friends and understand each other’s style of play. He has been credited for a lot of his team’s recent success and Team Ineos Grenadiers will be baking on him once again at the 2021 Tour de France.
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Connor Swift: The young rider from Yorkshire made his Tour de France debut last year. Even though he may not have won some big awards, he garnered much praise from all and sundry. Coming off fresh from victory at the 37th edition of the Tro-Bro Leon, Swift will be one of the young riders to keep an eye on.
Mark Cavendish: The 36-year-old rider never fails to surprise. Coming in as replacement for Irish rider Sam Bennett, Cavendish is delighted to be back at the 2021 Tour de France with Deceuninck – Quick Step. He has won four stages at Turkey and won the fifth stage at the Tour of Belgium. Even though he isn’t a favorite for the yellow jersey, having Cavendish as part of the 184 riders will keep the reporters and spectators on their toes.
Fred Wright: VC Londres junior Fred Wright is one of the two riders from London and he will be participating as part of the Team Bahrain-Victorious. Wright made his Grand Tour debut at Vuelta de Espana last year. A hard-working young rider, he will be looking to support Sonny Colbrelli at the 2021 Tour de France.
Daniel McLay: This will be New Zealand-born Dan McLay’s third Tour de France. He stars alongside fellow Briton Connor Swift in Team Arkea-Samsic colors. In 2016, McLay came third at Stage 6 of the Tour de France and he will be hoping to better his results at the 2021 Tour de France.