Le peloton
Teams & jerseys
Twenty-three teams of eight riders start the Tour: the UCI WorldTeams by right, plus wildcard invitations from the organisers. Below is the 2026 start list in team colours.
Start list
The 23 teams
UAE Team Emirates-XRG
UAE
Tadej Pogačar, João Almeida
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Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Netherlands
Jonas Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson
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Netcompany-INEOS
Great Britain
Carlos Rodríguez, Egan Bernal
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Soudal Quick-Step
Belgium
Remco Evenepoel, Tim Merlier
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Lidl-Trek
United States
Jonathan Milan, Mattias Skjelmose
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Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
Germany
Primož Roglič, Florian Lipowitz
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Alpecin-Premier Tech
Belgium
Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen
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Groupama-FDJ United
France
Guillaume Martin, Romain Grégoire
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Decathlon CMA CGM Team
France
Felix Gall, Paul Seixas
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Movistar Team
Spain
Enric Mas
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Bahrain Victorious
Bahrain
Santiago Buitrago, Lenny Martinez
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EF Education-EasyPost
United States
Ben Healy, Neilson Powless
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Team Jayco AlUla
Australia
Ben O'Connor, Dylan Groenewegen
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Team Picnic PostNL
Netherlands
Óscar Onley, Warren Barguil
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Cofidis
France
Bryan Coquard
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TotalEnergies
France
Anthony Turgis, Mathieu Burgaudeau
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Uno-X Mobility
Norway
Magnus Cort, Tobias Halland Johannessen
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XDS Astana Team
Kazakhstan
Cees Bol, Sergio Higuita
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Lotto-Intermarché
Belgium
Biniam Girmay, Arnaud De Lie
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Tudor Pro Cycling Team
Switzerland
Julian Alaphilippe, Marc Hirschi
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Q36.5 Pinarello Pro Cycling
Switzerland
Tom Pidcock
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Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
Spain
Wildcard invitation
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NSN Cycling Team
Israel
Wildcard invitation
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Team list taken from the official Tour de France start list. Jerseys are drawn in each squad's kit colours rather than reproducing sponsor artwork, and rosters change every season.
Tactics
How a team actually races
The leader
One rider is protected for the general classification; everyone else rides for them.
Domestiques
Fetch bottles, shelter the leader from wind and pace the climbs until they blow.
The lead-out train
Sprint teams line up in the final 3 km to launch their fastman at 65–70 km/h.
Breakaway hunters
Smaller teams chase stage wins and mountain points from the day's escape.
Team car & radio
Directeurs sportifs feed riders time gaps, wind data and instructions all day.
Wildcards
A.S.O. invites a handful of second-tier teams, usually French, to give home riders a chance.