In the days leading up to the 111th Tour de France – beginning in Florence, Italy on 29 June – teams are announcing their selection of eight riders. So far five Australians have been confirmed as starters and the final tally is likely to be six…

 

– By Rob Arnold

 

Last year a record-equalling tally of 12 Australians took part in the Tour de France. In 2024, with five days still to go before the first Grand Départ in Italy, it’s becoming clear that there won’t be nearly as many Aussies on the start line in Florence.

By Monday evening (European time) most teams had confirmed their selection of eight riders. Of course, this can still change as the countdown to the opening stage continues. The make-up of the peloton of 176 is gradually becoming known but it can still switch around a little, even after the team presentation which takes place at Palazzo Vecchio and Piazzale Michelangelo on Thursday 27 June.

With five days to go, the Australians who have been selected for the Tour’s 111th edition are (in alphabetical order):

  • Jarrad Drizners (Lotto-Dstny) 1st TDF appearance
  • Luke Durbridge (Team Jayco-AlUla) 10th TDF appearance
  • Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) 5th TDF appearance
  • Chris Harper (Team Jayco-AlUla) 2nd TDF appearance
  • Michael Matthews (Team Jayco-AlUla) 7th TDF appearance

Luke Durbridge will start the Tour de France for a 10th time. He is one of three Australians in Team Jayco-AlUla’s selection of eight. (Photos: Stefano Sirotti)

The strongest Aussie representation comes from the only Australian-registered team, Jayco-AlUla, with Matthews one of a trio given leadership status. He returns to the Tour after a year away. When he last contested the race, he won stage 14 to Mende with a stunning surge up the steep final climb allowing him to break free of other escapees to claim his fourth TDF stage victory from seven starts.

Unless something dramatic happens in the coming days, we can expect that this quintet – plus one significant other – ie. Jai Hindley, a stage winner in last year’s Tour – will be the Australian reps in Le Tour of 2024.

Jai Hindley finished 7th on debut in the TDF. In 2023 he won a stage and wore the yellow jersey for a day…

Hindley expected to start

If all goes to plan, we can also expect to see Australia’s only Giro d’Italia champion, Jai Hindley, start the TDF for a second successive year. He won the fifth stage in 2023 and wore the yellow jersey for a day.

Hindley’s Bora-Hansgrohe team – which will be known as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe by the time the Tour begins – is yet to reveal their new colours with the arrival of a third title sponsor. The German/Austrian squad hasn’t yet confirmed its selection of eight but the 28-year-old from Perth has been on the shortlist since the start of the season.

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL: no Aussies in 2024

The Dutch-registered Dsm-firmenich PostNL team has a strong Australian presence on the full roster of 28. Last year half of the TDF selection was made up of Aussies with Chris Hamilton starting for a second time alongside a trio of compatriots: Matthew Dinham, Alex Edmondson and Sam Welsford.

In 2024 no Australians got the nod from a team that has enjoyed considerable success in the past thanks to the efforts of riders from down under. In 2017, for example, Michael Matthews enjoyed shared leadership status (when the title sponsor was Sunweb). That year he won two stages and became the third Australian to win the Tour’s green jersey after topping the points classification in the first of his four season as part of the team.

The Dutch squad’s eight-man selection in 2024 was confirmed on Monday afternoon (European time) and comprises an eclectic octet: Romain Bardet (FRA), Warren Barguil (FRA), John Degenkolb (GER), Nils Eekhoff (NED), Fabio Jakobsen (NED), Oscar Onley (GBR), Frank Vandenbroucke (BEL) and Bram Welten (NED).

Four of the team’s eight-man selection have previously won a stage of the Tour and two of them have won a prize classification (Bardet and Barguil, polka-dot jersey winners in 2017 and 2019, respectively).

Bahrain Victorious listed Jack Haig in its 2024 TDF selection on Monday 23 June.

No TDF for O’Connor or Clarke

Of the Australians who are still racing with teams that are starting the Tour de France, there are two who have previously won a stage of the race but will not be part of the peloton this year.

Ben O’Connor, who recently finished fourth in the Giro d’Italia (4-26 May), made his debut at Le Tour in 2021 when he won stage nine and jumped to second on GC for a couple of days. He finished that edition ranked fourth overall. That is the third-best general classification result for an Australian rider.

To date only two Aussies have finished on the GC podium in the Tour de France: Cadel Evans (second in 2007 and 2008, and TDF champion in 2011), and Richie Porte (third in 2020).

O’Connor’s Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale team’s selection of eight in 2024 is: Felix Gall (AUT), Sam Bennett (IRL), Bruno Armirail (FRA), Paul Lapeira (FRA), Dorian Godon (FRA), Nans Peters (FRA), Oliver Naesen (BEL) and Nicolas Prodhomme (FRA).

The other former stage winner who is part of a team that’s contesting the Tour in 2024 is Simon Clarke. In 2022 he became the first rider from the Israel-Premier Tech team to win a TDF stage when he won a tight sprint against Dutch rider Taco van der Hoorn after being part of a breakaway during the cobbled fifth stage.

The Israel-Premier Tech selection for 2024 is: Guillaume Bovin (CAN), Jake Steward (GBR), Jakob Fuglsang (DEN), Stevie Williams (GBR), Pascal Ackermann (GER), Derek Gee (CAN), Hugo Houle (CAN) and Krists Neilands (LAT).

Of the 22 teams that are part of the Tour de France in 2024, most have confirmed the selection of eight.

Check the team sites and / or LeTour.fr for an overview of who we can expect to see in the race from Florence to Nice from 29 June to 21 July (links below, or scan the QR codes on the respective team pages in the Official Tour de France Guide, Australian edition).

The 22 Teams + links to team sites