![\"NTT](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-62657-0-99688600-1597741496-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Grand Depart is set for Nice, France on 29 August with our line-up featuring an exciting array of experience, coupled with youth.<\/p>\n
Ryan Gibbons<\/strong>, the South Africa road race champion, will be one of two Tour de France debutants who are set to be on the start line for NTT Pro Cycling.<\/p>\n Gibbons (26), will sport his national colours in cycling\u2019s biggest race and he will be looking to build on what\u2019s been a strong 2020, including six-top 10 finishes to go with the national title he won in Mpumalanga in February. It\u2019s a selection that he\u2019s described as \u201ctruly special\u201d and one in which he \u201chopes to do the jersey proud\u201d.<\/p>\n His power will be a key asset to the group of fast men that make up the NTT Pro Cycling selection for the race, as also making his Tour debut is the big German sprinter Max Walscheid<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old secured wins early in the season at the Tour de Langkawi, and has crucially struck up an excellent partnership with fellow sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Italian rode his first Tour de France for our team in 2019, and is confident ahead of the 2020 depart. He\u2019s yet to win a career Grand Tour stage but has been in excellent form this year, taking WorldTour wins at the Tour Down Under, Paris-Nice as well as finishing an excellent 5th at Milano-Sanremo in early August.<\/p>\n Tour de France veterans Edvald Boasson Hagen<\/strong> and Roman Kreuziger<\/strong> both appear at the race for a tenth time, with the Norwegian having ridden all of the previous editions for our team.<\/p>\n The 33-year-old triple stage-winner, in particular, will be hoping to go one better on the Champs Elys\u00e9e, having finished six times in the top-5 on the iconic final sprint stage in Paris.<\/p>\n Meanwhile for the Czech Republic\u2019s Kreuziger, who first rode the Tour in 2008, he has notched up four top-10 finishes overall in his nine previous appearances but has yet to claim a stage victory, a goal that he has set himself to add to his impressive palmares.<\/p>\n 28-year-old Dane Michael Valgren<\/strong> will start his sixth Tour de France in fairly familiar surroundings, with the race\u2019s opening stages taking place on some of his home training roads in and around Monaco. Valgren made his debut at the event in 2015 under current team manager Bjarne Riis. The former Amstel Gold Race and Omloop Het Niuewsblad winner is keen to add a stage win at the Tour to his list of achievements.<\/p>\n Domenico Pozzovivo<\/strong> had two strong days at the recently completed Criterium du Dauphine before the heat and difficulty of the parcours took its toll but he showed very encouraging signs for the coming race. His selection comes, remarkably, just a year after his horror crash while training and saw him undergo multiple surgeries on his arm and leg. This will be the diminutive Italian\u2019s third appearance at the race where previously he\u2019s taken two top-10 stage positions, as well as finishing inside the top-20 overall in 2018.<\/p>\n Completing the selection is the 26-year-old Austrian Michael Gogl<\/strong> who will play a crucial leadership role across the race for our team. He\u2019s takes to the start line for a first time for NTT Pro Cycling, having ridden the race twice before and comes into the race off an excellent top-10 finish at Strade Bianche.<\/p>\n The 2020 edition of the Tour de France is set to pose a unique set of challenges across the peloton in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and as such NTT Pro Cycling has explored innovative ways of engaging our partners in even deeper meaningful ways. Throughout the race, exclusive insights will be shared on what life is like \u201cinside the bubble\u201d as we offer our partners unprecedented access while proudly riding in support of the Qhubeka charity.<\/p>\n 2020 marks the 10th year that our organisation has ridden in support of Qhubeka and seen us fund over 30 000 bicycles to people in disadvantaged communities. The power to create positive change through cycling is a cornerstone of our team\u2019s purpose and once again we look forward to being ambassadors for the power that sport has to effect positive change, on the biggest stage of all.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n