Gee is coming off a third-place finish in the Criterium du Dauphine, an eight-day stage race considered a key warm-up for the Tour. It marked his first WorldTour general classification podium.
“I’m unbelievably excited to be lining up at my first Tour,” Gee said in a statement. “It’s truly a childhood dream to race the Tour de France, and I can’t wait to experience the atmosphere of the biggest race in the world.
"The dream would be to win a stage and try to follow what Hugo and
An emotional Houle won Stage 16 of the 2022 Tour, pointing to the sky as he crossed the finish. Houle dedicated the win to younger brother Pierrik, who died in
Woods, who finished third behind Houle that day, went on to win Stage 9 of the 2023 Tour.
“The main goal is to win a stage,” said sports director
“The Tour is never easy, but we know we have guys who can win," added Bauer.
He should know. Bauer fourth overall in 1988, winning Stage 2 and spending five days in the leader’s yellow jersey. In 1990, he wore the yellow jersey for nine consecutive days.
Canadian-Israeli entrepreneur
Canadians
Gee won Stage 3 of the Criterium du Dauphine earlier this month, earning the right to wear the yellow leader's jersey in the general classification. He became the first Canadian to wear the leader's jersey since
Houle finished 64th overall behind Gee. The 33-year-old from
It's a fourth consecutive Tour ride for the 35-year-old Boivin, from
Gee was promoted to
Competing in his first Grand Tour race, Gee finishing second four times and fourth twice in the 2023 Giro. He placed 22nd in the final general classification standings and was runner-up to Italy’s
The Canadian was also honoured as the Giro’s “super combative rider.”
Stewart, making his Tour debut and Boivin are set to help Ackermann in the sprints, while Fuglsang and Neilands help in the mountains.
Williams, making his Tour debut, won the Tour Down Under and Flèche Wallonne earlier this season.
Ackerman is also making his Tour debut but already has stage wins in the Spanish Vuelta and Giro d’Italia.
"I am pleased with our roster for this year’s Tour," Adams said in a statement. "It was one of the toughest team selections we have ever had to make which speaks of the depth of our rider roster. Ultimately, our performance team was unanimous in making these selections, knowing we wanted a team geared toward hunting for individual stages, rather than a high placing on GC (general classification).
"For the third consecutive year, our roster will boast three Canadians, cementing our position as both Israel’s and Canada’s home programs."
Woods, who crashed out of the Giro, is healthy again and will race in the Spanish Vuelta, the third Grand Tour. He is due to compete in the Canadian Road Championship this weekend in
Due to the Paris Olympics, the Tour will not finish in the French capital for the first time. This year's race will take the 176 riders through
The race features prize money of
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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