Who Are the North Americans Competing in the 2022 Tour de France?
The 2022 Tour de France looks to be a banner year for North Americans, with ten Americans and Canadians set to start the race on Friday in Copenhagen, Denmark. And while we’re still waiting to cheer for another bona fide overall contender, this year’s group should give us plenty to get excited about with two Americans expected to help one of their teammates win the Tour, a Canadian climber looking to win a stage or two, and four American rookies (including three of the five youngest riders in this year’s race) hoping to finish the race and make the most of whatever chances they’re given by their teams.
Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)
American Sepp Kuss, a stage winner in last year’s Tour, headlines the list of North Americans competing in the 2022 Tour de France. Riding his third Tour for Jumbo-Visma, the 27-year-old’s primary responsibilities will be supporting Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard in the mountains. When it comes to doing his job, he’s one of the best in the world. But as we saw last year when he won Stage 15 in Andorra (and a stage at the Tour of Spain in 2019), he’s able to make the most of his own chances when he gets them. If all goes as planned he won’t get many of those this year, as Jumbo’s hoping to go toe-to-toe with Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates in a battle to win the Tour, but if he does, another stage win is a possibility.
Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates)
Speaking of Pogačar, after helping the Slovenian win his second Tour de France last year, American Brandon McNulty is once again set to race for UAE Team Emirates, again with the goal of helping his teammate win the race overall. The good news for McNulty is that his team is even stronger this year thanks to the additions of New Zealand’s George Bennett and Spain’s Marc Soler, so McNulty will have extra help. And if Pogačar puts the yellow jersey out of reach as early as he did last year, McNulty might even get a few chances to challenge for a stage win during the Tour’s third week. So far he’s had his best season to date as WorldTour pro, winning two races in Mallorca to start the season and then a stage at Paris-Nice in March. A Grand Tour stage win is the logical next step for the 24-year-old to take.
Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech)
Canada’s Mike Woods comes to the Tour de France fresh from winning La Route d'Occitanie, a four-day stage race in the French Pyrenees that many riders use to put the finishing touches on their form for the Tour de France. Woods won the race’s “Queen Stage” by more than a minute, which was more than enough to win the race overall. But despite the success, we don’t expect to see Woods challenge for a high finish on the Tour’s General Classification. Instead, the 35-year-old is most likely hunting for stage wins–and he’ll have lots of chances as several stages have profiles that suit his strengths as a climber. So don’t be surprised to see Woods lose lots of time on the Tour’s opening stages in the hopes of staying safe and fresh for mountains, while dropping far enough out of contention so that he’s not viewed as a threat when he goes on the attack to win stages later in the Tour (possibly as soon as Stage 7’s summit finish on the Super Planche des Belles Filles).
Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
Despite being registered in the USA, EF Education-EasyPost almost came to the Tour without an American rider, as the team’s cosmopolitan roster presents lots of hard choices when it came to choosing the eight riders most capable of supporting Rigoberto Uran’s GC chances while also challenging for stage wins along the way. But Powless made the cut, most likely for two reasons: he finished fourth overall at the recent Tour de Suisse; and somehow managed to avoid the COVID-19 outbreak that forced half of the team’s riders to abandon the race before the start of Stage 6. Look for Powless to hunt stage wins while doing his best to support Uran’s bid for a top-5 finish overall.
Joe Dombrowski (Astana)
After finishing the Tour of Italy and the recent La Route d'Occitanie, we weren’t expecting to see Joe Dombrowski on the start list for the Tour de France, but his team seems to be taking a “let’s throw everything against the wall and see what sticks” approach to the Tour de France, which means the American climber got a spot on the roster. Surprisingly, this is Dombrowski’s first Tour de France despite having raced in the WorldTour since 2013, but as far as we’re concerned, it’s better late than never. With so much racing in his legs these past two months, we suspect the 31-year-old will take it easy during the first week, staying out of trouble in the hopes of getting a few chances to take a breakaway stage win in the mountains during the Tour’s second and third weeks.
Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)
Another American making his Tour debut, Jorgenson’s an impressive up-and-comer who’s chosen a rather unique WorldTour path by riding for a predominantly Spanish team. But the decision has given him a chance to develop within a program that’s won over 15 Grand Tours, while getting a chance to ride in some pretty important races outside of Spain. And the team clearly views him as a future team leader: when announcing their roster for the Tour, the team gave him a prominent place in the press release, calling him their “American hopeful.” Expect the 22-year-old to spend much of his time supporting Spain’s Enric Mas, the team’s GC captain, while also getting a few opportunities to go on the attack himself once the GC race has settled down a bit, most likely in the Tour’s third week.
Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo)
Less than two months removed from his 21st birthday, Quinn Simmons is the youngest rider in the entire 2022 Tour de France. The American won the Junior road race at the World Championships in 2019, and then went straight to the WorldTour, skipping the Under-23 category altogether. Despite turning pro during the COVID-truncated 2020 season, Simmons still made his mark (on and off the bike), and last year won his first professional race and completed his first Grand Tour. Now he heads to the Tour, where he and teammates are focusing on stage wins. Strong, aggressive, and undaunted by the rigors of WorldTour racing despite his young age, we won’t be surprised if he wins a stage.
Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM)
The second-youngest rider in this year’s race, American Kevin Vermaerke is a rookie in the truest sense of the word as the 2022 Tour de France will be the first Grand Tour of the 21-year-old’s career. That’s a rare feat as most riders use the Tours of Italy or Spain to make their Grand Tour debuts, but Vermaerke–as evidenced by his aggressive riding at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné–looks ready to make the leap. And he’s on the perfect team for it: Team DSM comes to the Tour hunting for stage wins, and its “all for one; one for all” approach means Vermaerke should get opportunities to go on the attack and hunt for a stage win.
Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech)
Hugo Houle’s been a fixture of recent Tours de France, as the Canadian raced the last three editions as a key domestique with Astana. He moved to Israel-PremierTech this past off-season, where he’ll take-on a similar role. His team has several cards to play when it comes to winning stages with Woods, Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang, and South Africa’s Daryl Impey all coming to the race in top form (and Great Britain’s Chris Froome hoping to get there soon). So the ceiling for Houle is a top-10 ride in one of the Tour’s two individual time trials in addition to the hard work he’ll put in supporting his teammates.
Antoine Duchesne (Groupama-FDJ)
Another Canadian veteran, Antoine Duchesne’s been riding for top-tier French teams since 2014. Riding the Tour de France for the second time since finishing the race in 2016, the 30-year-old will spend the Tour as “domestique” for his French team, grabbing water bottles, jackets, and snacks for his team’s protected riders. If he does get a chance to go on the attack himself it will likely be later in the Tour, on days when his more accomplished teammates are either taking it easy–or (if things go pear-shaped) out of the race.
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