Can you believe it, the Tour de France<\/a> is right around the corner. Yes, the hunt is for the maillot jaune<\/em> is almost on, but while most eyes will be focused on Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jonas Vingegaard, I\u2019ve been skimming the stories behind the yellow jersey.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve picked out seven riders, including a few podium hunters, breakaway artists and sprinting talents, to keep an eye on throughout the three weeks for maximum entertainment and intrigue.<\/p>\n French prodigy Paul Seixas<\/a> is making one of tthe most hotly anticipated Tour de France debuts ever, such is the weight of expectations on the 19-year-old carries. But while many would buckle \u2013 and have buckled \u2013\u00a0under that pressure, Seixas is already riding like a man ready to carry the next generation on his shoulders.<\/p>\n Just this season alone, he has brushed shoulders with Tadej Poga\u010dar, finishing second behind the World Champion at Strade Bianche and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge while winning Itzulia Basque Country and Fl\u00e8che Wallonne in the Slovenian\u2019s absence. <\/p>\n His confidence may have taken a hit after crashing in his most recent race, the Tour Auvergne \u2013 Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes,\u00a0and being forced to pull out the following day, but it\u2019s likely he\u2019ll still be on the start line and ready to try to take the race to the two big favourites.<\/p>\n All this talk of Seixas sees Isaac del Toro<\/a> bumped to the side somewhat, which is outrageous. One of the fiercest young prospects the sport has seen, the Mexican has the capabilities to challenge right now while, scarily, still developing his talents. While he was a highly touted U23, winning the Tour de l\u2019Avenir, his pro breakthrough came at last year\u2019s Giro, where he finished second after a dramatic final mountain stage, and he looks to have taken a massive step forward in his level since then.<\/p>\n He’s taken a series of big stage race victories so far this season but comes into the Tour as Poga\u010dar’s final mountain domestique. It\u2019ll be interesting to see how UAE Team Emirates XRG balance Poga\u010dar with a 22-year-old that could realistically podium himself. Will he be utilised as a dangling carrot for Jonas Vingegaard? If Poga\u010dar builds a lead early, could Del Toro be encouraged to race for himself? Could Del Toro’s mountain leadout be so strong he and Poga\u010dar just ride off into the sunset leaving everyone else behind? It’s all possible.<\/p>\n A lot has changed for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe<\/a> in the past couple of seasons. Remco Evenepoel joined the squad from Soudal Quick-Step, long-time lead sports director Rolf Aldag departed the team, and in 2025 Florian Lipowitz became the first German since 2006 to make the podium of the Tour.<\/p>\n There are a lot of riders vying for leadership here with Evenepoel, Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d, Jai Hindley, Giulio Pellizzari and occasionally Dani Mart\u00ednez, so it\u2019s hard to get a word in edgeways, but it’s Evenepoel and Lipowitz who will line up at the Tour as co-leaders.<\/p>\n They spent time together earlier this year on a training camp on Monte Teide in Tenerife, and it appeared to prove prosperous, as both demonstrated their abilities at the Volta a Catalunya. Lipowitz dropped Evenepoel on the last climb of the queen stage, with Evenepoel then spending the next day helping Lipowitz towards a podium finish that the German said would not be possible without his Belgian teammate.<\/p>\n The Tour begins with a team time-trial in Barcelona and Red Bull have one of the strongest teams on paper, which should put them both in good stead going forwards, and there’s a good chance one of them will end the opening stage in the yellow jersey. <\/p>\n Evenepoel and Lipowitz finished third overall in the last two Tours, so who eventually takes the team’s leadership will be decided on the road. However given Evenepoel\u2019s struggles to get through a full three-week race (he has a 50% DNF rate in Grand Tours so far in his career), I\u2019m likely to pivot towards Lipowitz as the one prevailing in this internal battle. <\/p>\n Ben Healy had the Tour of his life in 2025, winning Stage 6 after a 42km solo jaunt before enjoying a stint in the maillot jaune <\/em>and eventually finishing an impressive ninth on the general classification.<\/p>\n While it was a strong GC performance, we can expect the Irishman to be back to stage hunting this year, though given his showing last season, it might be harder to get away.<\/p>\n Another name to keep an eye on at EF Education-Post is Alex Baudin. The Frenchman will be riding his second Tour and is in the form of his life, finishing ninth overall at both Paris-Nice and the Itzulia Basque Country earlier in the year before coming into his own at the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes, where he won Stage 1 from a 29km solo attack and held the race lead for four days.<\/p>\n Big names like Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier might take the sprinting headlines at the Tour, but keep an eye on Dorian Godon. The Frenchman is having his best year yet after signing for Netcompany Ineos and has won multiple stages at races this season including Paris-Nice, the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Romandie.<\/p>\n He could break his Grand Tour duck having come closest with a third place at the Vuelta back in 2019, and he will have the backing of Netcompany Ineos on the non GC stages. <\/p>\n He’s potentially more of a hipster option to back. He\u2019s got the moustache too.<\/p>\n I\u2019m locking in a Valentin Paret-Peintre attack for Bastille Day. Paret-Peintre won the Mont Ventoux stage last year from the breakaway ahead of Healy and has declared that he will be targeting the polka dot jersey once racing gets underway, according to Le Dauphin\u00e9 Lib\u00e9r\u00e9<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n No more Evenepoel gives Soudal Quick-Step a lot more freedom to chase stage wins, and Paret-Peintre\u2019s ambitions will lead the way in the mountains. It\u2019s hard for the polka dots to evade the clutches of the maillot jaune<\/em> these day, but having had strong stage finishes on days at Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie, he certainly has the legs to follow in the footsteps of Richard Carapaz in taking the maillot \u00e0 pois <\/em>from Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n Jordan Jegat had a brilliant Tour in 2025 with a tenth place finish overall and has been incredibly strong this season too after coming back from injury, just missing out on the podium at the Tour of T\u00fcrkiye and scoring multiple top ten stage finishes at the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes from the breakaway.<\/p>\n He\u2019s obviously talented, and he’s been linked with a move away from TotalEnergies to Lidl-Trek. There\u2019s some uncertainty over the future of the TotalEnergies squad with the hunt still underway for a new sponsor, but founder Jean Ren\u00e9 Bernaudeau went so far as calling out Jegat specifically, stating that any riders looking for a move away would jeopardise their Tour place: \u2018if Jordan trusts St\u00e9phane Heulot [team manager] and me, he will be at the Tour. If he does not respect our rule, he will not go to the Tour.\u2019<\/p>\n Holding a man hostage doesn\u2019t seem a great deal for either party, but if Jegat backs up last year’s performance, he could just be raising his value for a move to a WorldTour squad for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n For all of our Tour de France coverage, visit our hub page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nPaul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM)<\/h2>\n
Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)<\/h2>\n
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Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)<\/h2>\n
![\"Florian](\"https:\/\/cdn-jupiter.metropolis.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/06\/SI202603270845-970x647.webp\")
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost)<\/h2>\n
![\"16\/07\/2025](\"https:\/\/cdn-jupiter.metropolis.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/20250716TDF1093-970x647.webp\")
Dorian Godon (Netcompany Ineos)<\/h2>\n
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Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step)<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-jupiter.metropolis.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/06\/20250722TDF3006-970x647.webp\")
Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies)<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-jupiter.metropolis.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/06\/20250724TDF1035.webp\")