TDF - finding your team

There are so many personalities and teams on the Tour, it’s quite overwhelming. I will note, I mainly watch the US stream which heavily favorites the English speaking riders for storytelling. I definitely am missing some of the euro color, but here is my breakdown on some of the team:

UAE - Root for them if you care about winning, full stop. Pogi will never stop dominating. They are like the New England Patriots and he is Tom Brady. I like the energy that young Mexican rider Del Toro is bringing but that doesn’t cancel out that the team is built off of slave labor…

Visma - they are like your brothers and his weird nerdy friends. It’s incredibly easy to root for them, especially because they do win a good amount. Victor Campenarts is such a weird lil man and I love him.

Alpecin - the jocks. Somehow all these dudes are the buffest men on the tour. Makes me lol whenever I remember what Alpecin is (caffeine shampoo?). They all seem like they need therapy. One of the most intense teams to watch!

Lidl Trek - Feel like these guys are always on the precipice of greatness. Their team gets talked about a lot on the American stream, partially because they have the American champ (I don’t fuck with him personally). They also have the coolest bike paint job though :-)

EF - my perfect genre of freak. A bunch of earnest dudes I actually want to hang out with. They hit that balance of taking cycling seriously while genuinely loving the sport. They have the most likeable riders. Richie. Nielson. Ben Healy! Who doesn’t love to see an Irish lass win! Plus they wear pink !!! Which makes them incredibly easy to spot on the TDF

UNO X - the class clowns. These guys truly seem like they are having the best time on the tour. Their rider all seem to have the best attitude on the Tour, and their hard work is really paying off this season. They have a set of twin who are silly dudes. Wish Torstein Traaen hadn’t crashed so early in the tour 💔

Soudal - this team has been going thru some big changes (team members & beyond) but Tim Merlier has a very specific genre of swag and I have absolutely been rooting for him in every sprint. Paret-Peintre always looks a little worried on the other hand..

Red Bull - feels like “Superstars Lite”. It’s a team that current has two incredible riders as “co-leaders” and one of them is the biggest diva in cycling (which is making for GREAT cycling)

Jayco- the Australian stoners. Always have smiles on their faces. Another very easy to root for team but maybe that’s just because I love my aussies.

NSN - I think everyone always wants to root for Biniam Girmay at any chance. And they absolutely should.

Lotto, Tudor, Astana, Decathalon, Cofidis, Movistar, Picnic, etc, haven’t left enough of a personality imprint on me to say some dumb quippy line about them. They get less screen time in comparison to the others but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t root for them! Im still learning about the scene and all the gossip/personalities. Plus, I always root for the underdog so I often root for these teams when the opportunity arises (aka, when they get in the breakaway)