The Tour de France Teams 2023: And learn how they prepare for the race

As the summer approaches, excitement is ranking up about the Tour de France 2023 at Swinnerton. With this famous bike race starting on July 1st, we wanted to help you get ready with all the pre-tour knowledge so you’re in the know from the start. Here is a summary of all the 22 Tour de France teams for 2023 so you know who to look out for before the Tour begins.

These athletes are at the top of their game, but how do they prepare for the Tour de France? Discover how these cyclists prepare for the Tour in the months leading up to it.

Table of Contents

• Some background on Tour de France 2023
• UCI WorldTeams
• UCI ProTeams
• How do cyclists prepare for the Tour de France?

Some background on Tour de France 2023

The 110th edition of the Tour de France will begin in the Basque country of Bilbao, Spain, before continuing into France and finishing in Paris. The 176 riders will tackle 21 stages over various terrains, including flat, hilly, mountainous and individually timed stages over three weeks. The total distance of this year’s race is 3,404km, and it promises to be an event to remember.

But who should you look out for? Here is our guide on the Tour’s 22 teams and their riders.

UCI WorldTeams

There are 18 UCI WorldTeams teams. The Union Cycliste Internacional gives the title to cycling teams at the highest level of professionalism.

AG2R Citroën Team

The AG2R Citroën Team is a French team. 

The team starting line up: Oliver NAESEN, Lawrence NAESEN, Felix GALL, Nans PETERS, Geoffrey BOUCHARD, Greg VAN AVERMAET and Ben O’CONNOR. 

Alpecin Deceuninck

The Alpecin Deceuninck cycling team has a base in Belgium.

Team starting lineup: Søren KRAGH ANDERSEN, Michael GOGL, Quinten HERMANS, Mathieu VAN DER POEL and Jasper PHILIPSEN. 

Astana Qazaqstan Team

The Astana Qazaqstan team is from Kahsakstan. 

Team starting lineup: Alexey LUTSENKO, Dmitriy GRUZDEV, Joe DOMBROWSKI, Mark CAVENDISH, Cees BOL, David DE LA CRUZ, Yevgeniy FEDOROV and Samuele BATTISTELLA. 

Bora-Hansgrohe

Bora-Hansgrohe is a German team.

Team starting lineup: Nils POLITT, Patrick KONRAD, Sam BENNETT, Jai HINDLEY, Emanuel BUCHMANN, Danny VAN POPPEL, Jordi MEEUS and Bob JUNGELS.

EF Education-Easypost

The EF Education-Easypost team is from the USA.

Team starting lineup: Andrey AMADOR, Alberto BETTIOL, Rigoberto URÁN, Richard CARAPAZ, Mikkel Frølich HONORÉ and Magnus CORT. 

Groupama-FDJ

Groupama-FDJ is another French cycling team.

Team starting lineup: Thibaut PINOT, Valentin MADOUAS, David GAUDU, Arnaud DÉMARE and Kevin GENIETS.

Ineos Grenadiers

The Ineos Grenadiers is a British-based cycling team.

Team starting lineup: Jonathan CASTROVIEJO, Michał KWIATKOWSKI, Carlos RODRÍGUEZ, Thomas PIDCOCK and Daniel Felipe MARTÍNEZ. 

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty

The Intermarché-Circus-Wanty is a Belgium cycling team.

Team starting lineup: Loïc VLIEGEN, Mike TEUNISSEN, Lilian CALMEJANE, Adrien PETIT, Georg ZIMMERMANN, Rui COSTA, Kobe GOOSSENS, Louis MEINTJES and Biniam GIRMAY.

Jumbo-Visma

Jumbo-Visma is a cycling team from the Netherlands.

Team starting lineup: Jonas VINGEGAARD, Dylan VAN BAARLE, Wout VAN AERT, Tiesj BENOOT, Christophe LAPORTE, Nathan VAN HOOYDONCK, Sepp KUSS and Steven KRUIJSWIJK. 

Movistar Team

Movistar Team is a Spanish cycling team.

Team starting lineup: Jorge ARCAS, Enric MAS, Nelson OLIVEIRA, Ruben GUERREIRO and Matteo JORGENSON.

Soudal Quick-Step

Soudal Quick-Step is another Belgium team. 

Team starting lineup: Mauri VANSEVENANT, Rémi CAVAGNA, Michael, MØRKØV, Florian SÉNÉCHAL, Yves LAMPAERT, Julian ALAPHILIPPE and Fabio JAKOBSEN. 

Team Arkéa-Samsic

Team Arkea-Samsic is another French team.

Team starting lineup: Élie GESBERT and Warren BARGUIL. 

Team Bahrain Victorious

Team Bahrain Victorious is from Bahrain.

The team starting lineup: Fred WRIGHT, Mikel LANDA, Matej MOHORIČ, Pello BILBAO and Wout POELS. 

Team Cofidis

Team Cofidis is another French team.

Team starting lineup: Axel ZINGLE, Benjamin THOMAS, Pierre-Luc PÉRICHON, Piet ALLEGAERT, Bryan COQUARD, Anthony PEREZ, Guillaume MARTIN and Simon GESCHKE. 

Team DSM

Team DMS is a pro cycling team from the Netherlands.

Team starting lineup: Nils EEKHOFF, Andreas LEKNESSUND and Romain BARDET.

Team Jayco AlUla

Team Jayco AlUla is from Australia.

Team starting lineup: Tsgabu GRMAY, Zdeněk ŠTYBAR, Matteo SOBRERO, Luka MEZGEC, Simon YATES, Dylan GROENEWEGEN and Michael MATTHEWS.

Trek-Segafredo

The Trek-Segafredo team is from the USA.

Team starting lineup: Bauke MOLLEMA, Mattias SKJELMOSE, Mads PEDERSEN, Jasper STUYVEN, Alex KIRSCH and Juan Pedro LÓPEZ.

UAE Team Emirates

The UAE team Emirates is from the United Arab Emirates.

Team starting lineup: Marc SOLER, Rafał MAJKA, Adam YATES, Tadej POGAČAR and Domen NOVAK.

UCI ProTeams

The UCI ProTeams is the second category of professional road cycling to be given status by the Union Cycliste Internacional. Two teams qualify by right and can enter the race. The two qualifying teams this year are:

Lotto-dstny

A Belgian-based team.

Team starting lineup: Thomas DE GENDT, Victor CAMPENAERTS, Brent VAN MOER, Andreas KRON and Caleb EWAN.

TotalEnergies

And TotalEnergies from France.

Team starting lineup: Peter SAGAN, Daniel OSS, Maciej BODNAR, Anthony TURGIS and Alexis VUILLERMOZ. 

The Tour de France organisers also choose two wild card teams to compete. This year it’s:

Israel-Premier Tech

An Israeli cycling team

The team starting lineup: Daryl IMPEY, Dylan TEUNS, Nick SCHULTZ, Giacomo NIZZOLO, Simon CLARKE and Jakob FUGLSANG. 

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

And Uno-X Pro Cycling Team from Norway.

Team starting lineup: Alexander KRISTOFF, Rasmus TILLER and Tobias Halland JOHANNESSEN.

How do cyclists prepare for the Tour de France?

But how do all these world-class and pro teams prepare for the most gruelling cycling event of the year? Preparation for the Tour de France begins as soon as the race ends. Coaches will outline the cycling teams in September and map out the training plan for the year. The organisers announce the route in October and November, and that is when the work starts again. 

Each team and individual is different, so coaches tailor training plans to individual riders, but most training plans have the same structure.

Stages

Stage 1: the build-up

It’s crucial to build up endurance early in the season. Riders build an endurance base with slow, long rides between late October and January. Cyclists add volume as the weeks go by, usually getting up to 20-30 hours a week of riding. Low-intensity rides build a strong aerobic base that trains your body to burn fat instead of carbs for energy. They also work on resilience and form to be more efficient in the next stage of training.

Stage 2: cranking it up

During January, cyclists begin to crank up the intensity of their preparation with interval, tempo, sub-threshold and threshold training. Threshold training, in this case, means to train at your best effort for one hour. Although cyclists don’t need to do much of this type of training to reap the rewards, high-quality training helps develop power and speed. Coaches constantly experiment with duration, intensity, recovery times and rates to keep the training stimulus varied. The body quickly gets used to the same daily workouts, so coaches must keep the body guessing.

Stage 3: race-based training

As spring rolls around, races start to fill up the calendar. Competing in races is crucial for training for the Tour de France, as you won’t get race simulation like it anywhere else. In these races, cyclists train to manage fatigue in high-intensity moments. 

Alternatively, some teams organise ten-day team camps to train together. These have structured activities, which include altitude and heat training and mountain climbing training. Depending on their specific role in the team, they will focus on training that discipline. 

The annual training plan aims to allow the athletes to “Peak” at specific points in the year. Ideally, they should peak 3-6 weeks before the Tour de France to allow for recovery time. 

Stage 4: Tapering

Tapering begins two weeks before the Tour to keep the body fresh. It includes the last long ride the Saturday before, shorter daily rides to take the rest of the day off, a few short speed workouts to keep the body activated and a team trial session and active recovery cycles.

Nutrition, protein and weight loss

Nutrition forms a significant part of the training plan. Of course, everyone is different, but there is a focus on protein, such as fish, chicken and eggs, with a healthy amount of vegetables for immune health. Athletes take stage 1 to practice good nutrition on and off the bike as they need to be able to consume food while cycling.

It’s crucial that when it’s time for the Tour de France, cyclists are at their fittest and leanest, so they’re not carrying extra weight on the bike. The optimal way to lose weight is slow and steady; losing 0.5% body weight a week over six months is ideal. Luckily, with modern technology, it is easy to work out how much energy a cyclist requires to complete a workout, so many athletes will measure and weigh their food intake to reach their goals.

Strength training 

During the winter, cyclists will also use strength training to maintain muscle to help with cycling efficiency, bone mineral density and maximum power output. However, they must strike a delicate balance between building strength without developing too much heavy muscle. Athletes tend to focus on low reps, fewer sets and attending the gym fewer times a week but maintaining maximum input when lifting for the best results. 

Recovery

Recovery is just as important as training and features at every training stage. Athletes get massages from physical therapists and do yoga and stretching, with regular sleep being the cornerstone of recovery.

Find out everything you need to know about the Tour de France at Swinnerton Cycles.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably also a fan of the Tour de France like the rest of us at Swinnerton Cycles. For more information about the Tour de France, read our page on “Everything you need to know about the Tour de France“. Or if these world-class athletes have inspired you to get on your bike, why not explore our Colnago bike range and upgrade to a world-class bike to start reaching your cycling goals.