North American Riders To Watch at the 2023 Tour de France

The 2023 Tour de France starts on Saturday in Bilbao, Spain, and now that every team’s start list has been announced, we can say with certainty that there will be nine North Americans on the starting line–one fewer than last year. All familiar faces to readers and fans, there should be no surprises as to who made the cut, and all of them have the chance to make an impact.

Here’s a look at the North Americans competing in the 2023 Tour de France:

Guillaume Boivin (Israel-PremierTech)

PremierTech is a Canadian company, so it’s nice to see the team honoring one of its sponsors by bringing three Canadians to the 2023 Tour de France. Starting his third Tour in a row, Guillaume Boivin came agonizingly close to finishing last year’s Tour, but failed to start the final stage due to illness.

The 34-year-old is riding mainly to support his teammates but will certainly make the most of things should have a chance to play his own hand–in a manner similar to the way in which his teammate Hugo Houle won a stage last year.

Lawson Craddock (Team Jayco AlUla)

Racing his first Tour de France since 2018, Lawson Craddock heads to Bilbao as a key support rider for his team’s sprinter, Dylan Groenewegen, and climber, Simon Yates.

The French grand tour is a race in which Craddock has failed to make a noticeable impact: his best result was 13th on a stage in 2016. But the Tour has a funny way of completely changing a rider’s career, and Craddock has more than enough talent to win a stage.

Hugo Houle (Israel-PremierTech)

Canada’s Hugo Houle has become a Tour stalwart in recent years, but was never someone who jumped off the start list as a possible stage winner. Well, that all changed last year when the Canadian won Stage 16, a tough stage through the Pyrenees.

The win overshadowed Houle’s third-place finish on Stage 13, a result that proved the 32-year-old’s stage victory didn’t come by chance: he was always a key part of his team’s opportunistic plans.

Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)

One of several young Americans making his Tour debut last year, Jorgenson rode aggressively, featuring in several stage-winning breakaways and coming close to taking Stage 16 for himself.

He’s had a fantastic 2023 season as a stage racer and as a one-day specialist, and it’s only a matter of time before he takes his first major victory. Rumored to be heading to Jumbo-Visma next season (another sign of his immense talent), a Tour stage win would certainly help him negotiate his new contract.

Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)

If Jorgenson moves to Jumbo-Visma, he’ll join his compatriot, Sepp Kuss, on the Dutch squad. We’re biased of course, but we think Kuss is the most valuable mountain domestique in the sport, having helped Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard win last year’s Tour de France and Slovenia’s Primož Roglič win three Vueltas a España and one Giro d’Italia–all while winning stages at the Tour (2021) and the Vuelta (2019) for himself.

He starts the Tour as Vingegaard’s mountain bodyguard, where he’ll set a ferocious pace for his captain to both discourage and cover any accelerations from the team’s rivals. And if things go well and Vingegaard’s lead is safe, he might have a chance to win another stage of his own.

Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)

Powless finished thirteenth overall in last year’s Tour de France, but we suspect the American would have traded it for a stage win. The 26-year-old took another step in his development this year, winning two races in February and then scoring top-10 finishes in Paris-Nice, Milan-Sanremo, and the Tour of Flanders.

We consider him a contender to win a Basque stage on the opening weekend. The finale of Stage 2 mirrors that of the Clasica San Sebastian, a one-day classic that Powless won in 2021.

Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek)

After a tough spring, Quinn Simmons came to life this past weekend, winning the road race at the US National Championships in Knoxville. Now the 22-year-old gets to wear the stars and stripes jersey at the Tour de France.

The youngest rider in last year’s race, Simmons rode well in his Tour debut, supporting his teammates, featuring in several breakways, and even being named the Tour’s Most Aggressive Rider on Stage 19. Without a GC contender and a new sponsor, his team comes to the race with similar goals as last year, which means Simmons will have more chances to show off his new jersey and hopefully win a stage.

Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM-Firmenich)

Kevin Vermaerke is also riding his second Tour de France–which happens to be just the second grand tour of his career. The second-youngest rider last year, the American dropped-out after breaking his collarbone on Stage 8.

He’s back this year to support Romain Bardet’s bid for stage wins and a high GC finish, while hoping he has the luck to avoid crashes and finish his first Tour.

Michael Woods (Israel-PremierTech)

A former world class distance runner, Canada’s Mike Woods has been knocking on the door of a Tour de France stage victory for years. A two-time stage winner at the Vuelta a España, the climber certainly has the chops to close the deal, but luck just hasn’t been on his side. That could change this year, thanks to a mountainous route that offers the former runner-up at Liège–Bastogne–Liège lots of chances to shine.

We’re keeping our eyes on him during the Tour’s hilly opening weekend. Not a true threat for a high GC finish, the 36-year-old won’t garner much attention from the GC favorites should he attack, which might give him just enough leeway to score a stage win and perhaps a day in the yellow jersey. Fresh from taking a stage win and the overall title at La Route d'Occitanie, he’s got the form he needs to pull it off.

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