Julian Alaphilippe back in Tour de France spotlight with Tudor Pro Cycling

Julian Alaphilippe will return to the Tour de France after a one-year absence as the leader of debutant team Tudor Pro Cycling. The Frenchman missed the national championships at the weekend, citing fatigue, but his participation in the Tour was confirmed on Monday.

Alaphilippe will be joined in the Tudor team by fellow new signing Marc Hirschi and by Michael Storer, who has been the squad’s outstanding performer so far in 2025. Alberto Dainese is the team’s sprint option, and the Italian is seeking to complete a full set of Grand Tour stage victories.

Matteo Trentin is the road captain, while Marco Haller and Tour debutants Fabian Lienhard and Marius Mayrhofer complete the Tudor line-up.

Tudor made their Grand Tour debut in 2024 at the Giro d’Italia and they signalled their ambition to make the Tour de France in 2025 by signing Alaphilippe from Soudal-QuickStep and Hirschi from UAE Team Emirates during the off-season.

The Swiss squad, which is owned by Fabian Cancellara, was confirmed in late March as one of three wildcard invitations to the Tour alongside Uno-X Mobility and TotalEnergies. 

“Every stage of the Tour requires a lot of concentration and motivation, but especially in the first week, I see some opportunities with several stages designed for puncher profiles,” Alaphilippe said then.

The two-time world champion was subdued in his opening months at Tudor, but he showed distinct signs of form at the recent Tour de Suisse, where he placed fifth overall.

Alaphilippe has won six Tour stages over the years, including two in 2019 when he led the race for ten days en route to fifth overall in Paris. He won stages on the opening weekend of the Tour in both 2020 and 2021, moving into the yellow jersey on each occasion.

On his last Tour appearance in 2023, Alaphilippe was in the break on no fewer than seven stages but he ended the race with just one top-ten finish to show for his efforts.

Hirschi returns to Grand Tour racing after a three-year absence. The Swiss rider made a sparkling debut in 2020, capped by a stage win in Sarran and he was part of the team that helped Tadej Pogacar to overall victory the following year. He wasn’t selected for a Grand Tour in his final two seasons at UAE. He placed second at the road race at the Swiss national championships at the weekend.

After winning the Tour of the Alps in April and placing 10th overall at the Giro d’Italia, Storer will have the freedom to chase stage victories in the mountains at the Tour.

• Julian Alaphilippe (FRA)
• Alberto Dainese (ITA)
• Marco Haller (AUT)
• Marc Hirschi (CHE)
• Fabian Lienhard (CHE)
• Marius Mayrhofer (CHE)
• Michael Storer (AUS)
• Matteo Trentin (ITA)