Which Canadian team came closest to racing the Tour?

There have been many notable Canadians who have ridden the men’s Tour de France over the years. Steve Bauer, arguably Canada’s finest, finished fourth and won a stage in 1988, and he held the yellow jersey for 10 days in 1990. Alex Stieda was the first Canadian—and North American—to do so, back in 1986 when he took the yellow with a clever ride involving time bonuses on a double day.

Michael Barry rode it in 2010, Ryder Hesjedal finished fifth overall in the same year, and Svein Tuft was part of the winning team time trial (TTT) team in 2014. Hugo Houle and Mike Woods have each taken magnificent stage wins in recent years, and Derek Gee finished an incredible ninth at the 2024 edition.

There are lots of other Canucks who have ridden the biggest race in the world: Christian Meier, Guillaume Boivin, Gord Fraser, David Veilleux, and Antoine Duchesne have also been to the Grand Départ. But every time, these riders have been riding for European teams. (And in the case of Hesjedal, Stieda and Bauer, American ones.)

The six Canadian riders who made history at the Tour de France Feminin

Now, it should be pointed out that Canadian national teams have raced the Tour—the women raced at the Tour de France Feminin, which has seen various iterations and is now called the Tour de France Femmes. And plenty of Canadian women have been in action at the TdfFF since its inception in 2022. Olivia Baril, Simone Boilard, Clara Emond, Magdeleine Vallières, Alison Jackson, Sara Poidevin, and Maggie Coles-Lyster have all raced in the Tour de France Femmes.

And in 1937, the first Canadian—and North American—rode the Tour with an amalgamated Great Britain/Canada team. His name was Pierre Gachon. Although he did start the Tour, he didn’t manage to finish the first stage (263 km from Paris to Lille, with an average speed of 38 km/h!)

Over the years, a few notable teams have had the intention of becoming the first men’s pro team at the Tour de France. Three squads stand out: Evian, which ran from 1989-1992; Symmetrics, which ran from 2004-2008; and Spidertech—run by Bauer himself—which ran from 2008-2012. Let’s break down each team’s viability when it came to making that dream come true.

Evian

Evian was a Canadian team from 1989 to 1992. The team had lots of big hitters on the squad—including Stieda, who joined the team in 1991. In 1992, however, he would ride with the American powerhouse squad Coors Light, which was one of the dominant domestic teams of…