Tour de France 2020: 12 Germans, 5 Austrians & 4 Swiss

Cycling: The teams have announced their starters for the 2020 Tour de France. In this article we take a closer look at all Germans, Austrians and Swiss. What tasks do they have to do and what goals are they allowed to pursue?

Germany: Only Buchmann is captain

The 2020 Tour de France starts in Nice on Saturday with 12 German riders. With the sprinters taking center stage, despite having six fast finishers, we have little chance of a stage win. While André Greipel 's best days are likely behind him, the other German sprinters will primarily play a support role. Jonas Koch will support Matteo Trentin, while John Degenkolb and Roger Kluge will ride for Caleb Ewan. Max Walscheid will have to concede to the new European champion, Giacomo Nizzolo, and Nikias Arndt will probably be assigned to Cees Bol. Things look considerably brighter for the German riders when the profile becomes more demanding. Then, riders like Simon Geschke and Nils Politt will be able to exploit their freedom. Even though Tony Martin also has his strengths in this area, he will likely have to rely on all his experience to support his leaders throughout the 21 stages. In the mountains, we will certainly see Lennard Kämna and Maximilian Schachmann in a breakaway group on at least one stage . Even though it's clear that their primary role is to support Emanuel Buchmann , who, as the only German, can be considered the clear captain of his team.

Austria: Helpers with freedoms

The Austrians are also sending relatively few riders with realistic chances of victory to the start line of the 2020 Tour de France. However, it's not entirely out of the question that we'll see them in breakaways, and they could then suddenly find themselves in contention for a stage win. Team Bora-hansgrohe is particularly heavily Austrian, with three riders. Felix Großschartner and Gregor Mühlberger will support Emanuel Buchmann in the mountains. If he gives the go-ahead, they can be used as relay points on difficult stages or even try their luck themselves. Lukas Pöstlberger's strengths lie more on the flats, and he will have to sacrifice himself for Peter Sagan. A similar task awaits Marco Haller for Sonny Colbrelli . Michael Gogl will be at Giacomo Nizzolo's service in the lead-out for sprints and in chasing down breakaway riders. If it becomes too difficult for the Italian European champion, the Austrian might be allowed to reinforce a breakaway group.

Switzerland: Hirschi can and may

Tiny Switzerland has always been a cycling nation. For a country of its size, it boasts a surprisingly large number of top riders. Unfortunately , Stefan Küng will only be able to showcase his qualities to a limited extent. The new European time trial champion won't be competing in any flat time trials. The only time trial is a classic mountain time trial and won't suit the Swiss rider. Instead, he can be considered a super-domestique for Thibaut Pinot on the flat terrain. When the road gets hilly, Swiss champion Sebastien Reichenbach will be there to support the French general classification contender. Michael Schär is considered one of the most reliable helpers in the entire peloton. His teammates Greg van Avermaet and Matteo Trentin are particularly pleased about this. If they have a chance at the stage win, they wind up the Swiss watch and let him do his job. Marc Hirschi, on the other hand, wants to be given free rein. The recently turned 22-year-old is considered one of the greatest talents on hilly terrain. Since there's no clear leader on his team, we're sure to see him in action.