The 2016 Tour de France is upon us and five Americans will be riding in the event this year including most of top finishers from the 2016 UCI World Tour system. Leading the pack of Americans is Tejay Van Garderen who just finished sixth in the Tour de Suisse last month and also finished fifth earlier in the year in the Volta a Cataluyna. The other American in the field who has a top 10 finish this year is Lawson Craddock who finished ninth in the Tour of the Basque Country.

Peter Stetina and Alex Howes each have top 25 finishes this year, Stetina was 22nd in the Tour de Suisse and Howes was 21st in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race. The final American in the field is Brent Bookwalter whose best finish of the year was 35th in the Tour de Romandie.

None of the five Americans who are racing participated in the Giro d’Italia last month. The only American with a top 25 finish this season who is not participating in the tour is Andrew Talansky who finished fifth in the Tour de Suisse last month.

Beginning Saturday with the flat 117 mile opening stage the Tour de France will open with nine straight days of racing followed by a day off and seven more days of racing. After a second day of rest the races ends with five final days of racing. There are two time trials, one in stage 13 for 23 miles and one in the mountains in stage 18 for 11 miles.

Previous UCI World Tour Coverage:
Tour de Suisse Recap