The 100th edition of the Tour de France begins on Saturday, June 29, and will cover 21 stages before it ends 3,349km later in Paris on Sunday, July 21. The Tour kicks off this year on the island of Corsica.

Team Argos-Shimano has preselected 13 riders as potential participants in the race. Out of this preselected pool, a balanced nine-rider roster will be announced on June 18 during the Team Argos-Shimano Tour de France team presentation. 

As expected, sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb are included in the preliminary list for Tour de France participation.   

“When we got together with the coaches to discuss this Tour de France, we saw that our sprint train would have some good opportunities to demonstrate its speed in different scenarios. We also expect that on some of the stages offensive riders could stay away to the finish, and we expect to play a role in these breaks,” said general manager Iwan Spekenbrink.

“We’ve worked from the start of this team to develop the strength and value of each rider, with a staff structure built around the riders to help them improve. We’ve created dedicated training plans for each individual, focused on their specialty, and have adopted the latest innovations to make sure we’re giving ourselves the best possible chance of success and not leaving any details to chance. Now we’re reviewing the capabilities and characteristics of the preselected riders to create the best team and sprint train possible.”

Argos-Shimano Tour de France preselection:
Bert De Backer, Roy Curvers, John Degenkolb, Tom Dumoulin, Johannes Fröhlinger, Simon Geschke, 
Yann Huguet, Thierry Hupond, Marcel Kittel, Koen de Kort, Ramon Sinkeldam, Albert Timmer and
Tom Veelers.