Yves Lampaert & Tim Declercq to Tour

World champion Julian Alaphilippe is missing, as are the new national champions Florian Sénéchal (France) and Mark Cavendish (Great Britain).

Fabio Jakobsen will start as the leader for the flat stages with the Belgian WorldTour team. The Dutchman has already scored ten times this season, making him the most successful sprinter of the spring. Jakobsen makes his debut in the Tour, just like the Italian Andrea Bagioli and the Dane Mikkel Honoré.

With Kasper Asgreen and leadout Michael Morkov, two more Danes start for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. The Italian Mattia Cattaneo, twelfth in the final settlement last year, closes the row.

No Alaphilippe

The absence of Julian Alaphilippe is especially striking. The world champion resumed competition in the French championship on Sunday after his heavy fall in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. “But he’s not quite at the top of his game,” said sports director Tom Steels. “And riders like Julian need that. He has worked hard to get back in shape after his fall, but we are now giving him a little more time to recover and build up. That way he can be 100 percent in the autumn .”

“Not disappointed”

The thirty-year-old Frenchman has won at least one stage in the past four editions of the Tour. “But I’m not disappointed,” he said on the team’s website. “I have a natural fondness for the Tour, from my days in the yellow jersey over the past three seasons, my stage wins and many great moments with my teammates. It’s a shame I’m not there now, but I know it’s a “It was a difficult decision for the team. I fully understand the decision, I don’t want to start if I’m not at my best.” Alaphilippe suffered fractures to the shoulder blade and some ribs and a collapsed lung in La Doyenne.

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl selection: Fabio Jakobsen (Ned), Michael Morkov (Den), Andrea Bagioli (Ita), Mikkel Honoré (Den), Kasper Asgreen (Den), Mattia Cattaneo (Ita), Yves Lampaert (BEL), Tim Declercq (BEL)