Despite the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tour de France will go on, with the first stage set for Saturday August 29th in Nice, France. 21-stages later, the peloton will ride their way on to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. Riders and teams have been forced to adapt to the ever-changing rules and regulations, especially with borders being shut down to and from the United States. While some of our U.S. elite racers stayed in Europe when the pandemic initially hit, many made the trek back to the states with the uncertain future. When it became clearer that racing would resume, Americans made the quick decision to return to racing while they had the chance to travel back to Europe.
Riding for their trade teams, three Americans have been named to the Tour de France roster. Sepp Kuss (Team Jumbo-Visma; Durango, Colo.) and Neilson Powless (EF Pro Cycling; Sacramento, Calif.) will make their Tour debut, while Tejay van Garderen (EF Pro Cycling; Aspen, Colo.) will be making his ninth appearance in the world’s most famous stage race.
Before the COVID-19 shutdown, Van Garderen was part of the winning Team Time Trial squad with EF Pro Cycling at the Tour of Colombia. We also saw Powless snag a fourth overall at the Herald Sun Tour in Melbourne, Australia. With minimal racing since then, we have still seen break out performances, especially from the 25-year-old, Sepp Kuss. Kuss most recently won the last stage at the Critérium du Dauphiné adding to his other Grand Tour stage win at the 2019 Vuelta a España. Who will you be cheering for at this year’s Tour de France?
2020 Tour de France Roster:
Sepp Kuss (Team Jumbo-Visma; Durango, Colo.)
Neilson Powless (EF Pro Cycling; Roseville, Calif.)
Tejay van Garderen (EF Pro Cycling; Aspen, Colo.)
Benjamin King (NTT Pro Cycling; Charlottsville, Va.) *alternate
Not only will Saturday mark the first stage of the Tour, but the elite women will be racing La Course. Several American women will be taking the streets of Nice, France to compete.
2020 La Course Roster:
Krista Doebel-Hickok (Rally Cycling; Marina del Rey, Calif.)
Heidi Franz (Rally Cycling; Bainbridge Island, Wash.)
Leigh Ann Ganzer (Rally Cycling; Littleton, Colo.)
Lauren Stephens (Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank; Mesquite, Texas)
Leah Thomas (Equipe Paule Ka; Santa Clara, Calif.)
Emma White (Rally Cycling; Duanesburg, N.Y.)
Tayler Wiles (Trek-Segafredo; Murray, Utah)
Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafredo; Lafayette, Calif.)
Lily Williams (Rally Cycling; Asheville, N.C.) *alternate
Emily Newsom (Team TIBCO – Silicon Valley Bank; Burlington, Wash.) *alternate
Watch the live coverage of the 2020 Tour de France on NBC and follow @USACycling for more important updates.
