Updated July 1, 2026 03:06AM
There almost certainly won’t be an American winner at the 2026 Tour de France.
But there’s a very good chance a North American will help decide who does.
From climbing lieutenants to stage hunters and rising stars, the continent’s eight riders will be working to win stages, support yellow jersey contenders, and perhaps write a little Tour history of their own.
Six Americans will line up alongside one Canadian and one Mexican when cycling’s biggest race rolls out from Barcelona.
The biggest storyline is Mexico’s return. Isaac del Toro will become the first Mexican to start the Tour since Miguel Arroyo in 1997 and only the third rider from the country ever to compete in the race.
The United States again provides the backbone of the continent’s presence. This year’s six starters are one more than in 2025 and about the average over the past 15 years.
Canada, meanwhile, is down to a lone representative with Derek Gee-West.
Here’s who they are, what they’ll be racing for, and why they matter.
Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG), 22
Leading the way is Isaac del Toro, the rider packing some of the biggest expectations of this Tour.
Alongside Paul Seixas, the 22-year-old from Baja California headlines this year’s class of Tour rookies.
He’s already established himself as one of the peloton’s elite young stage racers after hitting second at last year’s Giro d’Italia and winning the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes this season.
His debut comes nearly four decades after Raúl Alcalá became Mexico’s first Tour starter in 1986. If all of France is following Seixas, the same is certainly for Del Toro in Mexico.
His primary mission will be to help Tadej Pogačar chase another yellow jersey.
But don’t be surprised to see Del Toro be cut loose to chase a stage victory, challenge for the white jersey, or even ride into podium contention. He’s that good.
“It’s something that puts peace in your mind when you are going in the right direction,” Del Toro said. “I don’t want to push super hard in my mind. I just want to go a little bit more with the flow and see how things are for the Tour de France.”
Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek), 28
Canada’s lone Tour de France starter was not originally expected to be here.
Gee-West was a late addition to Lidl-Trek’s Tour squad after Giulio Ciccone opted to skip the race.
After finishing fifth overall at the Giro d’Italia in his first season with Lidl-Trek, Gee-West had been expected to target the Vuelta a España.
Instead, he’s back at the Tour after finishing ninth overall in 2024 and assuring that the streak of having at least one Canadian in every Tour since 2019 continues.
Lidl-Trek will lean on him in the mountains, where his engine should make him one of the team’s most important helpers for Juan Ayuso.
“After a successful Giro d’Italia, Derek Gee-West continues to be one of the sport’s strongest all-round stage racers and will be crucial in the mountains,” Lidl-Trek posted.
Tour starts: Second (2024, 2026)
Best GC: 9th (2024)
Stage wins: None, best result third on stage 9 in Troyes (2024)
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), 27
Jorgenson arrives as the highest-ranked American in the peloton.
The Idahoan can climb, time trial, and be ever-steady consistent across a three weeks, making him one of Visma-Lease a Bike’s most versatile riders.
His impressive spring campaign was interrupted by a broken collarbone at Amstel Gold Race, but he recovered quickly to finish fourth overall at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
His main job will be to help Vingegaard challenge Pogačar for the yellow jersey. Expect to see Jorgenson deep in the mountains to support the Dane when the race explodes.
Jorgenson could see freedom to chase a win later in the race.
His eighth-place finish in 2024 was the best overall Tour result by an American since Tejay van Garderen finished fifth in 2014.
Tour starts: Fifth (2022-26)
Best GC: 8th (2024), third in the best young rider classification (2024)
Stage wins: None, best result second on stage 19 (2024)
Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), 31
The most popular American rider in the peloton is back for another Tour de France, and will sacrifice everything to help Vingegaard win the maillot jaune.
Kuss has become cycling’s ultimate super-domestique, playing a pivotal role in nearly every Visma Grand Tour triumph of the modern era. The “Mail Man’s” lone exception was at the 2025 Giro, when he didn’t start the race that Simon Yates won for the Dutch squad.
The Colorado native remains the last American to win a Grand Tour, with the 2023 Vuelta a España. Earlier this season, he became just the second American male to officially win stages in all three Grand Tours after taking a Giro d’Italia stage, joining Tyler Farrar in that exclusive club.
“I still genuinely enjoy sacrificing myself for a leader like Jonas,” Kuss said. “It’s never even a question when I see how strong he is. I wouldn’t really call it a sacrifice. If anything, I feel lucky to be able to help such an exceptional rider chase success. Winning the Vuelta in 2023 didn’t change that for me.”
Tour starts: Sixth (2020-23, 2025-26)
Best GC: 12th (2023)
Stage wins: One, stage 15 (2021)
Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon-CMA CGM), 24
Riccitello arrives to his first Tour de France as the most promising young American Grand Tour rider of his generation.
The Arizona native posted a breakthrough 2025 season, finishing fifth overall at the Vuelta, the best by an American since Kuss won in 2023.
This season, the 24-year-old has continued his steady rise with three victories and seventh overall at the Tour de Suisse.
Riccitello will help guide 19-year-old French sensation Seixas through one of the most anticipated Tour debuts in years.
His climbing ability will make him one of Decathlon-CMA CGM’s key mountain domestiques, though opportunities to hunt a stage could be in the cards later in the race.
Initially set to return to the Vuelta, Riccitello earned a call-up after a breakout first half of the season.
Tour starts: Debut (2026)
Best Grand Tour: 5th overall, 2025 Vuelta a España
Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates-XRG), 28
McNulty returns to the Tour de France for the first time since 2022 as part of another powerhouse UAE Emirates-XRG squad built around Pogačar’s bid for a record-tying fifth yellow jersey.
The Arizonan all-rounder has become a trusted lieutenant for the Slovenian, and he will be helping to control the tempo deep into the mountains.
Whether McNulty gets any freedom of his own will depend largely on how the GC unfolds.
Already a stage winner at both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, he could become just the third American to win stages in all three Grand Tours with a stage win.
Tour starts: Third (2021-22, 2026)
Best GC: 19th (2022)
Stage wins: None, best result third on stage 17 (2022)
Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), 26
Quinn returns for his second Tour after fighting through two difficult seasons marked by a second knee surgery last winter.
The Californian joins an EF Education-EasyPost team focused almost entirely on hunting stage victories. Without a GC contender, Quinn should have opportunities to chase breakaways on the Tour’s hilly and medium mountain stages.
“I’m pretty proud to be there,” Quinn said. “The last two years have been extremely rocky, due to a lot of stuff out of my control. After my second knee surgery this winter, I sat down and told myself: I’m going to do everything I possibly can, one hundred percent, to get back to the Tour.”
Tour starts: Second (2024, 2026)
Best GC: 78th (2024)
Stage wins: None, best result 25th on stage 18 (2024)
Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), 25
Simmons returns for his fourth Tour de France determined to finally claim the stage victory that’s so far eluded him.
The Coloradan will wear the U.S. national champion’s jersey at the Tour for the third time, giving American fans another chance to cheer one of the peloton’s most aggressive attackers.
Lidl-Trek will be racing to support Juan Ayuso, but Simmons is hopeful he will get a few shots at breakaways on the Tour’s rolling and medium mountain stages. After finishing second on a stage last year, he’ll be looking to go one better in 2026.
“My dream is to win a stage representing this beautiful jersey,” Simmons said. “We bring a strong team but I hope that I will have a few days to try to go in the breakaways.”
Tour starts: Fourth (2022-23, 2025-26)
Best GC: 59th (2025)
Stage wins: None, best result second on stage 6 (2025)
American starters at the Tour de France
From Jonathan Boyer in 1981 to the six-man class of 2026, here’s every American Tour de France starter by year.
2026 — 6 (Jorgenson, Kuss, McNulty, Quinn, Riccitello, Simmons)
2025 — 5 (Barta, Jorgenson, Kuss, Powless, Simmons)
2024 — 3 (Jorgenson, Powless, Quinn)
2023 — 6 (Craddock, Jorgenson, Kuss, Powless, Simmons, Vermaerke)
2022 — 7 (Dombrowski, Jorgenson, Kuss, McNulty, Powless, Simmons, Vermaerke)
2021 — 4 (Bennett, Kuss, McNulty, Powless)
2020 — 3 (Kuss, Powless, Van Garderen)
2019 — 4 (Haga, B King, Rosskopf, Van Garderen)
2018 — 5 (Boswell, Craddock, Haga, Phinney, Van Garderen)
2017 — 3 (Brown, Phinney, Talansky)
2016 — 5 (Bookwalter, Craddock, Howes, Stetina, Van Garderen)
2015 — 3 (Farrar, Talansky, Van Garderen)
2014 — 9 (Busche, Horner, Howes, B King, T King, Pate, Stetina, Talansky, Van Garderen)
2013 — 6 (Bookwalter, Danielson, T King, Talansky, Van Garderen, Vande Velde)
2012 — 8 (Danielson, Farrar, Hincapie, Horner, Leipheimer, Van Garderen, Vande Velde, Zabriskie)
2011 — 10 (Bookwalter, Danielson, Farrar, Hincapie, Horner, Leipheimer, Pate, Van Garderen, Vande Velde, Zabriskie)
2010 — 8 (Armstrong, Bookwalter, Farrar, Hincapie, Horner, Leipheimer, Vande Velde, Zabriskie)
2009 — 7
2008 — 4
2007 — 6
2006 — 8
2005 — 9
2004 — 7
2003 — 6
2002 — 9
2001 — 8
2000 — 9
1999 — 8
1998 — 6
1997 — 6
1996 — 3
1995 — 2
1994 — 3
1993 — 3
1992 — 5
1991 — 5
1990 — 7
1989 — 5
1988 — 6
1987 — 7
1986 — 10
1985 — 2
1984 — 2
1983 — 1
1982 — 1
1981 — 1
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