Cofidis

France | Team website

For some years now it’s not been entirely clear what Cofidis’ game plan has been at races like the Tour de France, where they’ve needed to rely on wildcard invitations for entry since losing their ProTour licence in 2009. But the team that once looked to be up-and-coming challengers soon after they first launched in 1997 (before being rocked by a series of doping scandals), are continuing to hedge their bets on the 2014 marquee signing of French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni.

Still rocking the all red look on their Orbea bikes, Bouhanni gives the team a sense of direction that they’ve perhaps been lacking recently. And though he’s had his fair share of bad luck in 2015, the young sprinter’s talents still looks the most likely avenue in them achieving a long-awaited Tour de France stage victory, particularly after an impressive spell at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2015.

Away from sprint stages, Daniel Navarro is likely to carry any GC hopes the team might have, although they’ll almost certainly continue to try and get a rider in every possible doomed breakaway, which has become somewhat of a trademark for the French team.