16 Tour de France riders you should be following on Strava
As fans of professional cycling, we now have more ways of engaging with the sport than ever before. Behind the scenes videos from teams, social media updates direct from riders, footage from on-board cameras, rich data overlays during TV broadcasts — it all helps paint a rich and detailed picture of the sport we love. Of course, Strava is a vital ingredient as well.
Among the social cycling giant’s 36 million-plus users are a great number of professional cyclists. There’s great variation in how religiously these pros use Strava and how much data they’re willing to share, but all have something to teach us about the highest level of the sport. What does it take to set a KOM on one of cycling’s most legendary climbs? What sort of effort is required to ride the breakaway on a Tour de France stage? How hard is a TTT? All of this and more can be gleaned from the Strava accounts of the pros.
The vast majority of this year’s Tour de France field is on Strava. And the majority of those have decided to make their power numbers publicly visible. That’s a blessing for us — power data is the best way to quantify a rider’s effort, to see exactly how good the pros are, and how us mere mortals compare (spoiler: poorly).
With all that in mind, here are 16 riders you should be following on Strava during the 2019 Tour de France (and beyond).
Riders with power data
These riders have made all their data available, and for that we’re very thankful:
Greg Van Avermaet
Be sure to check out Van Avermaet’s file from stage 1 where he got in the break, and took the polka-dot jersey. In doing so he set the Strava KOM for the legendary Muur van Geraardsbergen climb.
Follow the link to see Greg Van Avermaet’s Strava profile.
Thomas De Gendt
De Gendt is almost certainly going to be in several breakaways throughout the Tour. Here’s his effort on stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya this year — a stage he won.
Follow the link to see Thomas De Gendt’s Strava profile.
Jack Haig
The Aussie up-and-comer will be a key domestique for Adam Yates in the mountains.
Follow the link to see Jack Haig’s Strava profile.
Alejandro Valverde
The evergreen world champion will almost certainly feature at some point, probably in the mountains given he’s supposedly dropped 3kg.
Follow the link to see Alejandro Valverde’s Strava profile.
Matej Mohoric
The former U23 world champion is bound to go on the attack at some point.
Follow the link to see Matej Mohoric’s Strava profile.
George Bennett
The Kiwi should be a key man in the mountains for Steven Kruijswijk.
Follow the link to see George Bennett’s Strava profile.
Emanuel Buchmann
The German climber should feature in the Alps and Pyrenees. Check out the ride that put him onto the Criterium du Dauphine podium.
Follow the link to see Emanuel Buchmann’s Strava profile.
Yoann Offredo
The Frenchman was in the break on stage 3 and is likely to be on the move again.
Follow the link to see Yoann Offredo’s Strava profile.
Guilio Ciccone
Giro d’Italia KOM winner and a key man for Richie Porte in the mountains. Check out the file from Ciccone’s win on a miserable stage 16 of the Giro.
Follow the link to see Guilio Ciccone’s Strava profile.
Mike Woods
A contender for a stage win in the mountains. For some eye-watering numbers, check out his data from his Vuelta stage win last year, and from last year’s world championships, where he finished third.
Follow the link to see Mike Woods’ Strava profile.
Riders without power
While the following riders don’t make their power data available, they’re still worth a follow:
Richie Porte
Many Aussies will be hoping Porte can play a role in the mountains.
Follow the link to see Richie Porte’s Strava profile.
Romain Bardet
A contender when the roads head up, if not for the overall.
Follow the link to see Romain Bardet’s Strava profile.
Tejay Van Garderen
Had a strong season. Could feature late in the race?
Follow the link to see Tejay Van Garderen’s Strava profile.
Michal Kwiatkowski
A brilliant rider in his own right, but will be on super-domestique duties for Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas, particularly uphill.
Follow the link to see Michal Kwiatkowski’s Strava profile.
Wout Van Aert
CX world champ-turned road star. Check out his ride from the Tour’s stage 2 team time trial which his Jumbo-Visma team won.
Follow the link to see Wout Van Aert’s Strava profile.
Mike Teunissen
Lead-out man for Dylan Groenewegen. It’s worth checking out what it took him to win stage 1 of the Tour.
Follow the link to see Mike Teunissen’s Strava profile.
Who have we missed? Who else in the Tour de France peloton is worth following on Strava?
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