Groupama-FDJ

Thibaut Pinot wins stage 14 of the Tour de France 2019 (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images)

France | Team website

After nearly two decades in the peloton, Groupama-FDJ is one of the most well-established teams in the sport’s top level.

Longevity doesn’t always equal results, however, and the French squad have often under performed with smatterings of big results.

Thibaut Pinot is the team’s brightest prospect. Success in the 2014 Tour de France propelled the him into the limelight – something which can be almost unbearable for French riders as the weight of a nation is placed on their shoulders every July.

After several years of mixed results, 2019 saw Pinot return to his best. A searing start to the Tour de France garnered the nation’s attention, but a tearful exit after an unexplained thigh injury ensured France must wait another year for a overall victory.

Arnaud Démare is the squad’s nominated sprinter, but has so far failed to exert the dominance shown by other sprinters of the recent past like Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel. Démare won a stage in the Giro d’Italia in 2019, but failed to perform elsewhere.

Other than those two, it’s a case of take your pick from a fairly nondescript French line-up. David Gaudu is a young prospect that did a stellar job in support of Pinot in the mountains at the Tour in 2019, while Stefan Küng is always in the mix in time trials.