Americans racing the 2024 Tour de France: riders to watch and our predictions

The 2024 Tour de France gets underway in Florence, Italy, on Saturday, June 29, with a peloton of 176 riders spread across 22 teams.

This year, only three American riders are among them, but based on their strong performances of late, this small contingent holds great promise. As the tireless lieutenant for Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss had been on the roster for Visma - Lease a Bike but caught Covid and was replaced last minute by Dutchman Bart Lemmen.

 Here are the three U.S. riders competing in this year's Tour de France.

Matteo Jorgenson (Visma - Lease a bike)

If Sepp Kuss is considered Jonas Vingegaard's lieutenant, then Matteo Jorgenson may just be his sergeant. The 24-year-old Idahoan is new to the Visma - Lease a Bike squad this year, but he has already proven himself a capable and versatile asset. He claimed the top step of the podium after an impressive solo ride at Dwars Door Vlaanderen and became the third American ever to win Paris-Nice this spring.

Despite his young age, Jorgenson is making his third Tour de France appearance. Expectations are high after his exciting performances last year, when he cleverly rode himself into several breakaways. And who can forget his stage nine performance? He captured the hearts of American fans that day, attacking solo and racing up the Puy de Dôme, only to be caught by the race leaders in the last 500 metres. Whether serving his team leader or hunting for a stage win, Jorgenson will be an exciting rider to watch at the Tour.

Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)

Matteo Jorgenson wasn't the only American flying up the climbs at last year's Tour.  In his fourth Tour de France in service of the EF Education-EasyPost team, Neilson Powless rode himself into the dotted King of the Mountain's jersey on stage two –the first American to wear the jersey since 2017– and managed to hold onto it until stage 15, proving himself as one of the best climbers in the pack. 

Due to a nagging knee injury, we've seen quite little of the California native this 2024 season, though he did appear to be in strong form at the USA Cycling National Road Racing championship. Here, he helped his teammate Sean Quinn take home the title while he himself walked away with a bronze medal in both the national road race and time trial championship. 

Whether he'll be going for another stint in the polka dot jersey or going for stage wins has yet to be seen. Either way, he'll be a rider to watch from the get-go, as the opening stage looks to be rather hilly already. 

Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost)

Twenty-four-year-old Sean Quinn will be making his Tour de France debut this year. Sporting his newly earned stars-and-stripes jersey, the U.S. national road racing champion will likely ride in service of E.F. Education's more senior riders, such as Richard Carapaz, Rui Costa, Alberto Bettiol and Powless.

Without a G.C. contender to challenge riders like Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, the American team will focus on securing individual stage wins. As a strong climber with a powerful sprint, Quinn is well-equipped to contribute to his team's quest for its first stage victory since 2022.