With Tour de France 2016 only a matter of hours away, the cycling enthusiasts of the world are eagerly awaiting the riders who will undertake this arduous journey. The Tour de France attained a global fan base thanks largely to the popularity of the now scorned cyclist Lance Armstrong, who won it 7 times in a row from 1999 to 2005. Although not as popular now as the ‘Armstrong ‘years, it has its own cult following among cycling fans.
Chris Froome of Great Britain has won the last 2 editions of the race, and will be looking to make win a 3rd successive crown this year. He will go up against familiar faces such as Alberto Contador of Spain. The stage is set for 219 riders from 22 different teams to embark upon a journey spanning France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland and finishing back in France. Let us take a look at the teams and riders who will take part in the 2016 edition of the world’s most gruelling race.
#1 Team Sky – Great Britain|WorldTour
| 1. Chris Froome (GBr) |
| 2. Sergio Henao (Col) |
| 3. Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) |
| 4. Mikel Landa (Spa) |
| 5. Mikel Nieve (Spa) |
| 6. Wout Poels (Ned) |
| 7. Luke Rowe (GBr) |
| 8. Ian Stannard (GBr) |
| 9. Geraint Thomas (GBr) |
#2 Movistar Team – Spain|World Tour
| 1. Nairo Quintana (Col) |
| 2. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) |
| 3. Winner Anacona (Col) |
| 4. Imanol Erviti (Spa) |
| 5. Jesus Herrada (Spa) |
| 6. Gorka Izaguirre (Spa) |
| 7. Ion Izaguirre (Spa) |
| 8. Daniel Moreno (Spa) |
| 9. Nelson Oliveira (Por) |
#3 Astana Pro Team – Kazakhstan|WorldTour
| 1. Fabio Aru (Ita) |
| 2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) |
| 3. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) |
| 4. Andriy Grivko (Ukr) |
| 5. Tanel Kangert (Est) |
| 6. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) |
| 7. Diego Rosa (Ita) |
| 8. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) |
| 9. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) |
#4 Tinkoff – Russia | WorldTour
| 1. Alberto Contador (Spa) |
| 2. Peter Sagan (Svk) |
| 3. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) |
| 4. Oscar Gatto (Ita) |
| 5. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) |
| 6. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) |
| 7. Rafal Majka (Pol) |
| 8. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) |
| 9. Michael Valgren (Den) |
#5 Ag2r La Mondiale – France | WorldTour
| 1. Romain Bardet (Fra) |
| 2. Jan Bakelants (Bel) |
| 3. Michael Chérel (Fra) |
| 4. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) |
| 5. Ben Gastauer (Lux) |
| 6. Cyril Gautier (Fra) |
| 7. Alexis Gougeard (Fra) |
| 8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) |
| 9. Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) |
#6 Team LottoNL-Jumbo – Netherlands | WorldTour
| 1. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) |
| 2. George Bennett (NZl) |
| 3. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) |
| 4. Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) |
| 5. Paul Martens (Ger) |
| 6. Timo Roosen (Ned) |
| 7. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) |
| 8. Robert Wagner (Ger) |
| 9. Maarten Wynants (Bel) |
#7 Team-Seagafredo – USA | WorldTour
| 1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) |
| 2. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) |
| 3. Markel Irizar (Spa) |
| 4. Gregory Rast (Sui) |
| 5. Frank Schleck (Lux) |
| 6. Peter Stetina (USA) |
| 7. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) |
| 8. Edward Theuns (Bel) |
| 9. Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) |
#8 IAM Cycling – Switzerland | WorldTour
| 1. Mathias Frank (Sui) |
| 2. Stef Clement (Ned) |
| 3. Jerome Coppel (Fra) |
| 4. Martin Elmiger (Sui) |
| 5. Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) |
| 6. Reto Hollenstein (Sui) |
| 7. Leigh Howard (Aus) |
| 8. Oliver Naesen (Bel) |
| 9. Jarlinson Pantano (Col) |
#9 Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling – USA | World Tour
| 1. Pierre Rolland (Fra) |
| 2. Matti Breschel (Den) |
| 3. Lawson Craddock (USA) |
| 4. Alex Howes (USA) |
| 5. Kristijan Koren (Slo) |
| 6. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) |
| 7. Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) |
| 8. Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) |
| 9. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) |
#10 BMC Racing Team – USA | World Tour
| 1. Richie Porte (Aus) |
| 2. Brent Bookwalter (USA) |
| 3. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) |
| 4. Damiano Caruso (Ita) |
| 5. Rohan Dennis (Aus) |
| 6. Amaël Moinard (Fra) |
| 7. Michael Schär (Sui) |
| 8. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) |
| 9. Tejay van Garderen (USA) |
#11 Team Dimension Data – South Africa | WorldTour
| 1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) |
| 2. Natnael Berhane (Eri) |
| 3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) |
| 4. Steve Cummings (GBr) |
| 5. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) |
| 6. Serge Pauwels (Bel) |
| 7. Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA) |
| 8. Mark Renshaw (Aus) |
| 9. Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) |
#11 Team Dimension Data – South Africa | World Tour
| 1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) |
| 2. Natnael Berhane (Eri) |
| 3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) |
| 4. Steve Cummings (GBr) |
| 5. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) |
| 6. Serge Pauwels (Bel) |
| 7. Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA) |
| 8. Mark Renshaw (Aus) |
| 9. Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) |
#12 Team – Giant Alpecin – Germany | World Tour
| 1. Warren Barguil (Fra) |
| 2. Roy Curvers (Ned) |
| 3. John Degenkolb (Ger) |
| 4. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) |
| 5. Simon Geschke (Ger) |
| 6. Georg Preidler (Aut) |
| 7. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) |
| 8. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) |
| 9. Albert Timmer (Ned) |
#13 FDJ – France | World Tour
| 1. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) |
| 2. William Bonnet (Fra) |
| 3. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) |
| 4. Steve Morabito (Sui) |
| 5. Cedric Pineau (Fra) |
| 6. Sebastien Reichenbach (Sui) |
| 7. Anthony Roux (Fra) |
| 8. Jeremy Roy (Fra) |
| 9. Arthur Vichot (Fra) |
#14 Bora-Argon 18 – Germany | Pro Continental
| 1. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) |
| 2. Shane Archbold (NZl) |
| 3. Jan Barta (Cze) |
| 4. Cesare Benedetti (Ita) |
| 5. Sam Bennett (Irl) |
| 6. Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) |
| 7. Patrick Konrad (Aut) |
| 8. Andreas Schillinger (Ger) |
| 9. Paul Voss (Ger) |
#15 Team Katusha – Russia | World Tour
| 1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) |
| 2. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) |
| 3. Marco Haller (Aut) |
| 4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) |
| 5. Alberto Losada (Spa) |
| 6. Michael Mørkøv (Den) |
| 7. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Bel) |
| 8. Angel Vicioso (Spa) |
| 9. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) |
#16 Lampre-Merida – Italy | WorldTour
| 1. Rui Costa (Por) |
| 2. Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) |
| 3. Matteo Bono (Ita) |
| 4. Davide Cimolai (Ita) |
| 5. Kristijan Durasek (Cro) |
| 6. Tsgabo Grmay (Eth) |
| 7. Louis Meintjes (RSA) |
| 8. Luka Pibernik (Slo) |
| 9. Jan Polanc (Slo) |
#17 Lotto-Soudal – Beligum|WorldTour
| 1. André Greipel (Ger) |
| 2. Lars Bak (Den) |
| 3. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) |
| 4. Jens Debusschere (Bel) |
| 5. Tony Gallopin (Fra) |
| 6. Adam Hansen (Aus) |
| 7. Greg Henderson (NZl) |
| 8. Jürgen Roelandts (Bel) |
| 9. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) |
#18 Direct Energie – France | Pro Continental
| 1. Bryan Coquard (Fra) |
| 2. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) |
| 3. Antoine Duchesne (Can) |
| 4. Yohann Gene (Fra) |
| 5. Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) |
| 6. Adrien Petit (Fra) |
| 7. Romain Sicard (Fra) |
| 8. Angelo Tulik (Fra) |
| 9. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) |
#19 Etixx-QuickStep – Belgium|WorldTour
| 1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) |
| 2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) |
| 3. Iljo Keisse (Bel) |
| 4. Daniel Martin (Irl) |
| 5. Tony Martin (Ger) |
| 6. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) |
| 7. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) |
| 8. Petr Vakoc (Cze) |
| 9. Julien Vermote (Bel) |
#20 Cofidis Solutions Credits – France|Pro Continental
| 1. Daniel Navarro (Spa) |
| 2. Borut Bozic (Slo) |
| 3. Jerome Cousin (Fra) |
| 4. Nicolas Edet (Fra) |
| 5. Arnold Jeanesson (Fra) |
| 6. Christophe Laporte (Fra) |
| 7. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) |
| 8. Luis Angel Mate (Spa) |
| 9. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) |
#21 Orica-BikeExchange – Austria|WorldTour
| 1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) |
| 2. Michael Albasini (Sui) |
| 3. Luke Durbridge (Aus) |
| 4. Mathew Hayman (Aus) |
| 5. Daryl Impey (RSA) |
| 6. Christopher Juul-Jensen (Den) |
| 7. Michael Matthews (Aus) |
| 8. Ruben Plaza (Spa) |
| 9. Adam Yates (GBr) |
#22 Fortuneo Vital Concept – France|ProContinental
| 1. Eduardo Sepúlveda (Arg) |
| 2. Vegard Breen (Nor) |
| 3. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) |
| 4. Brice Feillu (Fra) |
| 5. Armindo Fonseca (Fra) |
| 6. Daniel McLay (GBr) |
| 7. Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) |
| 8. Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) |
| 9. Florian Vachon (Fra) |
