There will only be three American riders at the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Utrecht on Saturday, a third of the number of riders who started the race last year, and the smallest number in nearly two decades. But even though that number is surprisingly low, considering that there are 20 American riders racing for WorldTour teams this year, the US still has a shot at top performances in the overall classification and in mixing it up in the bunch sprints.
Potential GC contenders will be BMC Racing's Tejay van Garderen and Cannondale-Garmin's Andrew Talansky, while Tyler Farrar will return to the French Grand Tour for the first time since 2012 as a key player in MTN-Qhubeka's lead-out train for Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin):
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The Tour de France will kick off with a 13.8km time trial through Utrecht and Talansky, the newly crowned US time trial champion, is looking forward to wearing his stars-and-stripes jersey during the opener. It's an opportunity made even more special because the race is held on July 4, Independence Day.
"I think it is going to be a great start," Talansky said at the team presentation on Thursday. "It's always special to start the Tour with a time trial and being the US national champion, starting with the stars-and-stripes jersey on the fourth of July will be a great experience."
Talansky will be looking for a good performance in the opener to kick off the overall classification, however, his bigger goals will be geared toward strong rides through the mountains and a top-10 overall placing.
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