Van der Poel and Philipsen return for Tour glory, Alpecin-Deceuninck gives Rickaert the green light

Rickaert had a hard fall and appeared to have seriously injured his wrist. Hospital examinations revealed no fractures, allowing Alpecin-Deceuninck to make the decision on Monday. Rickaert is included as a crucial factor in the sprint train for Philipsen, who won four stages last year and, in doing so, secured the points classification.

Van der Poel also played a significant role in those sprint victories, but the world champion will normally also race for his own account in the Tour. His last race was in April when he won Paris-Roubaix for the second consecutive year. In the spring, he also won the E3 Saxo Classic and the Tour of Flanders. With only seven race days in four months, Van der Poel disappeared from the radar again and trained towards the Tour. This will be his fourth consecutive participation, having debuted in 2021 with a stage win and several days in yellow, and having performed more anonymously in 2022 and 2023.

Philipsen and Van der Poel will be flanked by Tour debutants Axel Laurance, Robbe Ghys and Gianni Vermeersch, alongside established names Silvan Dillier and Søren Kragh Andersen. Kragh Andersen won two stages in the Tour de France in 2020. This will be the Dane's sixth participation. Dillier is coming to the Tour de France for the fifth time, and Philipsen has also participated four times.