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The best Tour de France pros to follow on Strava

Tour de France 2023: The best pros to follow on Strava during the world's biggest bike race

The yellow jersey contenders, stage hunters, sprinters and home favourites you need to be following this July...

by Dan Alexander

Tue, Jun 27, 2023 13:57

Brace yourselves, KOM holders, the Tour de France peloton is coming...

And don't for a second think that just because they're all big time with their fancy bikes, stage wins and leaders' jerseys that they won't, like the rest of us, log on to Strava after a hard day out to upload their ride.

> How to use Strava to make you fitter

In fact, it might be easier to write a 'who's not uploading their rides to Strava' feature this year, such is the ride-sharing app's grip over the cycling world. Here are the big names, and a few newcomers, we reckon it's worth dropping a follow...

Tadej Pogačar

Obviously. The two-time champ is on the comeback trail after that season-derailing fall at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, returning to racing and winning with Sunday's victory at the Slovenian national road race championships.

You can bet your bottom dollar, come Saturday, Tadej will be uploading all his Tour efforts... whether any jealous locals take issue with the blistering segment times remains to be seen...

> Tadej Pogačar uploads Tour of Flanders win to Strava... gets flagged

A quick mention for reigning champ Jonas Vingegaard too... the great Dane is on Strava, but hasn't uploaded since a training camp ride on Tenerife in March 2021. A return now seems unlikely.

Wout van Aert

The man who can do it all. Whether it's sprinting to green, time trial destruction, epic stage wins or peloton-shredding work for team leader Vingegaard, the newly crowned Belgian TT champ will be uploading it all to Strava.

Mathieu van der Poel

The big question of this list — will Mathieu make a return? The prodigious pedalling power used to be a prolific Strava sharer: Flanders, Giro wins, THAT Amstel victory for the ages and the Strade Bianche watt explosion all with full glorious power data uploaded for our nerdy pleasure.

However, the Dutchman's account has been dormant since the start of the year, with not even a first San Remo nor Roubaix tempting him back. Are the Van der Poel Strava glory days a thing of the past?

Tom Pidcock

Another former favourite-turned-sporadic ride sharer, Mr Pidcock goes in search of stage wins once again this July, looking to add another to his ever-growing palmares and building on last year's Alpe d'Huez epic.

That sent us into something of a meltdown when it appeared on Strava, 100km/h Galibier descent max speed and all, a stunned reaction repeated over the winter when Pidcock went and obliterated the Sa Calobra KOM. An uploader for the big occasion, come on Tom, bag another big one and stick it online for us...

Thibaut Pinot

One stage win. Just one Thibaut Pinot stage win is all we ask from the next three weeks. Victory or defeat, it'll all be there because he's a pretty staunch Strava user.

David Gaudu

Next up, the teammate of Pinot and fellow French darling. Gaudu loves a Strava upload, rarely missing a ride. Now 26, the FDJ climber's hunt for a podium will be under the microscope of the French expectation as well as his online following.

Romain Bardet

One more home favourite for the list. The perennial French hope's tenth appearance at his home Grand Tour and looking for a return to the podium six years since his last.

Jasper Philipsen

The pick of the sprinters on Strava. Two stage wins last year, how many more this term? He'll have to find time to accept your follower request, mind, but I guess that makes the whole process a touch more personal...

Egan Bernal

Back at Le Tour for the first time since 2020, the 2019 winner will be the Ineos Grenadiers' Strava man to watch, alongside the aforementioned Pidcock and road captain Michal Kwiatkowski.

Dylan van Baarle

The newly crowned Dutch champ will be one of the easiest riders to spot in the peloton, resplendent in his national champ's jersey, something proudly Dutch team Jumbo-Visma will be sure not to skimp on colour for.

A crucial cog in the Jumbo machine, Van Baarle will be an interesting follow to see just how much work a loyal domestique gets through.

Fred Wright

Another national champ now. Can Fred finally get that Tour stage win, in the bands, after five top 10s last year? Fingers crossed.

James Shaw

Seven British riders will be on the start line in Bilbao, EF Education-EasyPost's James Shaw one of the most intriguing. After a couple of years with Lotto-Soudal earlier in his career, Shaw has served his time on the British Continental scene, rebuilding with SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling and Ribble Weldtite.

Just a couple of years ago the Nottingham-born rider was racing the Tour of Estonia and smaller 2.2 French races... now he gets his shot at the biggest one of them all. Be sure to follow his progress.

The best of the rest

Remember when we said it would be easier to list the riders not on Strava? Fill your boots...

Strava

Tour de France

Tour de France 2023

Dan Alexander

Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.