Tour de France 2025 start list – Rouleur

The Tour de France is almost here and team line-ups are now confirmed. Goals are set and hopes are up for each of the 176 riders taking to the start line in Lille.

The Tour is undoubtedly a race synonymous with big mountain passes, but this doesn’t mean all sports directors want to bring a bus full of climbers. GC teams will need bigger riders who can protect the leader on flatter stages where there are risks of crosswinds and keep them safe in hectic bunch finishes. It’s also important to bring those with big engines to do the work early on in the stage to control the breakaway before the race hits some of the longer climbs.

There are also the teams, such as Lidl-Trek Alpecin-Deceuninck, who will have made their selection with the sprint stages and green jersey competition in mind, meaning they will likely bring a group of strong lead-out men who can deliver their sprinter to the line rather than focusing on riders who will contest the general classification. Teams without a pure sprinter or GC hopeful, like EF Education-EasyPost, might opt to bring a squad of all-rounders – those who can search for opportunistic stage wins and have the freedom to go for the breakaway on days where they might have a chance at staying away for the victory. 

So, there is a lot to consider when choosing an eight-rider line-up for the Tour de France, and it serves as one of the most important jobs for team management in the entire season. We look at who will be on the start line this year for their teams. 

This start list is provisional and will be updated when all the teams confirm their rosters.

UAE TEAM EMIRATES

1. Tadej Pogačar
2. João Almeida
3. Jhonatan Narváez
4. Nils Politt
5. Pavel Sivakov 
6. Marc Soler
7. Tim Wellens
8. Adam Yates