Tour de France 2026 teams: Grégoire leads Groupama-FDJ as Gaudu and Madouas left out, Ayuso targets podium with Lidl-Trek
Six WorldTour teams revealed their eight-rider line-ups for the 113th Tour de France starting in Barcelona on 4 July, with French champion Romain Grégoire set to lead Groupama-FDJ after David Gaudu and Valentin Madouas were omitted.
French champion headlines Groupama-FDJ
Groupama-FDJ announced a revamped squad for the 2026 Tour de France, leaving out former fourth-place finisher David Gaudu and Valentin Madouas after a disappointing spring. Instead, newly crowned French champion Romain Grégoire, who claimed the national title on Sunday in La-Tour-du-Pin, will spearhead the team's ambitions. Grégoire will be supported by Clément Berthet, Quentin Pacher, Clément Russo, Ewen Costiou, Lorenzo Germani, Clément Braz Afonso and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, with stage wins the stated priority. The omission of Gaudu, embroiled in a public controversy over his behaviour last week, and Madouas, out of form, reshapes the French team's hierarchy.
Decathlon CMA CGM pins hopes on Seixas
Decathlon CMA CGM confirmed its Tour selection, with prodigy Paul Seixas set to target “the best possible overall classification.” The 20-year-old will have Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij at his side, offering a dual-pronged approach for stages and the general classification. The team's full roster was released on Monday, although the remaining six riders were not immediately detailed in all reports.
Lidl-Trek’s dual ambitions: podium and green
The German-registered Lidl-Trek squad enters the Tour with a twin mission. Spanish rider Juan Ayuso, who left UAE Emirates-XRG in the off-season to secure a leadership role, declared his aim of a podium finish in Paris.
Ayuso will share GC duties with Mattias Skjelmose, sixth at the Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, while Derek Gee, fifth in the Giro, and Carlos Verona will provide climbing support. Mads Pedersen heads the hunt for the green points jersey, backed by Toms Skujins, Mathias Vacek and Quinn Simmons.Everything can change on the Tour at any moment. The first week looks difficult, but things should stay calm until the second weekend. That’s when, and throughout the last week, the general classification will be decided.
Intermarché-Lotto goes for sprints and GC
Belgian ProTeam Intermarché-Lotto named Arnaud De Lie as its sprinter and Lennert Van Eetvelt as its general classification card. De Lie, still chasing a maiden Tour stage win in his third appearance, recently returned to form with two victories on the Famenne Ardenne Classic and a stage of the Tour de Wallonie. Van Eetvelt, who abandoned before stage 15 on his 2025 debut, will be protected in the mountains by Lars Craps.
I am very happy with the team we are sending to this 113th Tour de France.
The selection is completed by Jenno Berckmoes, Dutch time-trial champion Huub Artz, Georg Zimmermann, Liam Slock and Baptiste Veistroffer.
TotalEnergies seeks first stage win
TotalEnergies built its squad around Jordan Jégat, with manager Stéphane Heulot admitting he had sleepless nights before finalising the list. Mathieu Burgaudeau, a two-time stage podium finisher in 2023, was not retained. The eight riders chosen are Nicolas Breuillard, Joris Delbove, Alexandre Delettre, Thibault Guernalec, Jordan Jégat, Mathis Le Berre, Anthony Turgis and Mattéo Vercher. Winning a stage is the “priority,” according to the team.
Picnic PostNL chases stage wins without a single leader
Team Picnic PostNL will arrive in Barcelona without a designated sole leader, instead hunting stage victories across all terrains. Czech sprinter Pavel Bitner, recovered from an injury that disrupted his preparation, will target the bunch finishes alongside German veteran John Degenkolb and Dutchman Julius Van den Berg. Frenchman Warren Barguil brings experience for hilly breakaways.
As a team, we had a complicated preparation, with the injury to our sprint finisher Pavel, who missed several important race kilometres. He’s now recovered and ready to fight in the fast finishes, just like last year.
The full eight-man roster also includes Niklas Märkl.
- French national championships held in La-Tour-du-Pin; Romain Grégoire wins the men's road race.
- Multiple WorldTour and ProTeam squads announce their eight-rider Tour de France selections.
- 113th Tour de France starts with the Grand Départ in Barcelona, Spain.
Teams now head into final preparations before the Grand Départ in Barcelona on Saturday, with the race set to conclude in Paris on 26 July.
