'The Tour de France wasn't part of the plan' - James Shaw's unlikely route to the world's biggest race
‘I came back from the Dauphiné in the best shape I’ve ever been in’ - the 27-year-old British rider believes impressive recent form earned him a place in EF’s Tour squad


EF Education-EasyPost’s James Shaw has said that when his team was drawing up plans during the winter for the 2023 season, riding the Tour de France was never part of the plan for him.
The 27-year-old British rider initially expected to be aiming towards goals later in the season which included riding the Vuelta a España. However, due to various different scenarios playing out, Shaw now finds himself in the Basque Country getting set for a maiden Tour outing in Bilbao on 1 July.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Shaw explained that he feels he’s put in some solid work in training to earn a place in EF’s Tour squad and that he feels he finished the recent Critérium du Dauphiné in the best physical condition that he’s ever been in.
“This was never the plan when we sat down in December in team camp for me to aim to ride the Tour de France,” Shaw said. “The Classics was not the Classics campaign I wanted, then I got Covid straight after it. Then I spent some time away at altitude and I think I came back from the Dauphiné in probably the best shape I’ve ever been in.
“If anything the Vuelta was the plan, so a pretty similar sort of thing to last year.”
Prior to becoming a professional bike rider, Shaw told CW that one of his earliest memories of the French Grand Tour was as an 11-year-old fan on the roadside when the Tour visited the UK in 2007.
“I went to watch the Tour once when it came to London in 2007,” he explained. “So I would have been 11 and it was the first time I went to watch it. I went with Dad and a couple of his mates. We watched the prologue on the first day, then stood on the side of the road and watched stage one.
“If I remember rightly, David Millar went on a big solo attack,” Shaw added. “That was my first experience of watching the Tour. I remember watching and thinking ‘one day’ when I was just a young bike rider then.”
When it comes to souvenirs from the race, a lot of roadside fans try to grab something from the Tour’s caravane or if they’re lucky, a bidon from their favourite riders as the peloton rushes past. Although 11-year-old Shaw decided to go for a far larger prize.
“I actually stole a road sign! I stole one of the big ‘this road will be closed on such and such dates for the Tour de France’ signs and it’s now on the wall in my parents garage,” he said.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
“It was actually on my bedroom wall until I was about 16 or 17. It’s this great big yellow thing and it's still up on the wall there in the garage.
“I can actually remember trying to cut it off this pole and cut the cable ties with dad’s car keys. I was up on his shoulders just cutting away and yanking at these cable ties.”
Shaw joked that despite a few suspicious looks from roadside stewards, he still managed to sneak the sign home.
“Of course the race had gone through at that point and this was on the way home. I don’t know why I tried to hide this massive yellow sign as it wasn’t the sort of thing that was easy to hide,” he explained. “I remember being a bit nervous and trying to hide it behind me, it probably looked really dodgy.”
As the years progressed and Shaw turned professional, the now 27-year-old hit a few brick walls on the way to his debut in the French Grand Tour.
After being dropped by Lotto in 2018, Shaw spent several years on the UK domestic scene with continental outfits including Swift Carbon Pro Cycling and Ribble Weldtite before returning to the WorldTour at the start of the 2022 season with EF.
Shaw told CW that he was fortunate to have a close inner circle of family and friends that kept him motivated during several difficult periods.
“I think a lot of the time it was the other people around me that kept me going,” he said. “There were times when I’d written myself off… but other people around me were like ‘no, you can’t stop, you’re too young to stop, you’ve got to keep going’ and helped me push on and continue really.”
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

After previously working in higher education, Tom joined Cycling Weekly in 2022 and hasn't looked back. He's been covering professional cycling ever since; reporting on the ground from some of the sport's biggest races and events, including the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and the World Championships. His earliest memory of a bike race is watching the Tour on holiday in the early 2000's in the south of France - he even made it on to the podium in Pau afterwards. His favourite place that cycling has taken him is Montréal in Canada.
-
UCI rejects One Cycling project as 'incompatible' and 'lacking sporting coherence'
Governing body to remain in discussions with project representatives, as 2026 WorldTour calendars announced
-
Michael Matthews puts career on pause after signs of a pulmonary embolism
Australian will miss Tour de France with all physical activity stopped until further notice
-
Michael Matthews puts career on pause after signs of a pulmonary embolism
Australian will miss Tour de France with all physical activity stopped until further notice
-
'Getting to Paris is like that moment you're told you're in remission' - Geoff Thomas to attempt Tour de France route for seventh time with Tour21
Former professional footballer Thomas getting set to tackle the 3,000 plus kilometre route to raise money for Cure Leukaemia
-
Mathieu van der Poel fractures wrist in MTB crash, puts summer of racing in doubt
Van der Poel diagnosed with minor avulsion fracture of the scaphoid bone after two crashes at MTB World Series event in Nové Město
-
'I feel pain in my sprinter's heart': Marcel Kittel reacts to Tour de France final stage shake-up in Paris
Retired German sprinting great says inclusion of cobbled climb to Montmartre before Champs-Élysées finish will be 'very stressful' and would leave him 'disappointed as a rider'
-
Will the sprinters make it to the Champs-Élysées? Tour de France 2025 final stage places Montmartre climb 6km from the finish
ASO confirms punchy race finale with three ascents of the Butte Montmartre
-
'They never once checked me for concussion' - Jonas Vingegaard calls out head injury protocol after Paris-Nice crash
Two-time Tour de France winner says he was 'completely dizzy and nauseous' in days after crash
-
'When everyone starts to panic, you just need to breathe deeply': Fearless approach key to success on Giro d’Italia gravel stage
Pello Bilbao expects Strade Bianche-style stage on Sunday to be both a physical and mental challenge
-
Tour de France Champs-Élysées stage to include cobbled climb in Montmartre, copying Paris Olympic road race
Route change confirmed to mark 50th anniversary of first ever finish on the Champs-Élysées