There will be six Americans tucked away in the 176-rider peloton that's rolling from the Tour de France start line in Bilbao, Spain, this Saturday. All the riders have ridden the Tour before, but only Sepp Kuss comes in as a former stage winner. With less time trial distance than last year and four mountain top finishes, this year's Tour looks to be a very exciting edition and an opportunity for American talent to show themselves. Here's who to look out for in this year's Tour de France.
Quinn Simmons (Lidl Trek)
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The freshly crowned U.S. national champion returns for his second Tour — and is still among the youngest riders there at age 22. After a rough spring campaign, the Coloradan seemed reinvigorated by the national championship win and could definitely be a contender for a stage win. He made several breakaways last year, so we could definitely see Simmons gunning for that stage win from the break in this year's Tour.
Nielson Powless (EF Education-Easypost)
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After coming within seconds of the yellow jersey last year, earning two top-five finishes and ending 12th overall, California-native Neilson Powless will be looking for that elusive stage win in his fourth appearance at the Tour. With some stellar one-day results in the spring, including a fifth-place finish at the Tour of Flanders, seventh place at Milan San Remo, and a sixth overall at Paris-Nice, we could see Powless taking stage wins or even, looking to improve his General Classification performance.
Lawson Craddock will be racing his third Tour this year, and for the first time since 2018. A strong time trialist and domestique, he will be an important support rider for his team leader Simon Yates as he tries to make an impact on the GC. The Texan had two top-five finishes at last year's Vuelta a España.
Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)
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Matteo Jorgenson, a Boise, Idaho native, made his Tour de France debut in 2022 and got himself into several race-winning breakaways, coming very close to winning stage 16 himself. The 23-year-old has had an incredible season so far, winning the overall at the Tour of Oman and coming second overall at the Tour de Romandie. A top five at E3 Saxo Bank Classic and a top-ten finish at the Tour of Flanders shows some incredible versatility. He's definitely a rider to watch for a stellar performance at this year's Tour.
Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM)
Kevin Vermaerke's first Tour in 2022 was short-lived. He was forced to abandon after breaking his collarbone on stage eight.
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Another young rider, Kevin Vermaerke dropped out of last year's Tour de France after breaking his collarbone on stage eight. This year he will be riding in support of GC hopeful Romain Bardet. Vermaerke will be hoping for better luck this year and to finish his first Tour.
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