The pride of a nation: 15 Australians to compete at Tour de France and La Course 

A stellar 15 Aussies will race with the pride of Australia at their back in this year’s Tour de France and La Course by Le Tour de France, marking the beginning of a blockbuster catalogue of cycling action which includes the 2021 Giro Rosa and the Tokyo Olympics.

An exciting mix of debutants, stage winners and an experienced 2020 podium finisher by the name of Richie Porte form the Aussie contingent racing across France for the next three weeks.

Among the 10 men is four debutants, one of which is neo-pro Harry Sweeny from Warwick in Queensland.

Sweeny will embark on his first grand tour shadowing five-time Tour de France stage winner Caleb Ewan in Lotto Soudal’s pursuit of stage wins and the green jersey.

The 22-year-old said at the teams presentation overnight he was feeling comfortable in his role at Lotto Soudal and hadn’t been struck by nervous energy.

"It’s crazy just to be here, it feels really unreal, but I think it still won’t sink in for a little while – it's surreal really. I didn’t imagine this would happen this year," Sweeny said.

"I can’t really go wrong as a neo-pro here; to even be on the long list for the Tour was a great opportunity for me, so I’m happy to be in a role where I can do a job for Caleb and then take my opportunities when they come.

"He’s (Ewan) obviously another Australian so we have a good connection there and we live close together as well which is great.

"I think we can be really straightforward with each other, there’s obviously no beating around the bush really but it’s great - I prefer that in a person ... they tell you what they want and when it goes well it’s incredible."

Sweeny is joined by general classification hopefuls Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën Team) and Lucas Hamilton (Team BikeExchange) as three faces of Australia’s next class of burgeoning and established cycling stars poised to light up television screens down under for the next decade.

The talented trio all cut their teeth within the full gas racing environment of the National Road Series as teenagers before joining the Jayco-AIS World Tour Academy, and will now pin a number on at the world’s most prestigious and recognisable race.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the unflappable Richie Porte, hot off a win at the 2021 Critérium du Dauphiné and back on the INEOS Grenadiers juggernaut.

Porte remained coy on his Tour de France ambitions when speaking at the teams presentation.

"I think it’s no secret the two Slovenians (Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič) are probably the guys to beat but we have strength in numbers with four pretty strong guys so let’s just see how it all pans out on the road, but I think it’s going to be a pretty good race," he said.

"I’ve had a great season so far. To win the Dauphiné finally was a great moment for me, but let's see what happens - you never say never.

"The other teams are not going to let me just ride away, but you know we have two very strong guys here in Geraint (Thomas) and Billy Carapaz, so I think we’ve got some good cards to play."

Mirroring Stage 1 of the Tour de France will be the 107.4km final edition of La Course by Le Tour de France, with the inaugural Tour de France Femmes announced for 2022.

Australia’s impending Tokyo Olympians Grace Brown, Amanda Spratt (both Team BikeExchange) and Tiffany Cromwell (CANYON//SRAM Racing) will all suit up for the hard one-day race a month out from vying for gold on the hilly Tokyo 2020 road race parcours.

Brown enters La Course as a genuine contender to become the second Australian to jump on the top step of the podium, following Chloe Hosking's sprint to victory in 2016 on the Champs Élysées.

Brown said she thinks it (La Course) will be a really good course.

"The climb in the circuit isn't very long or steep, but the repetition over four laps will cause attrition," she said.

"I expect it will be raced quite aggressively with only a select group making it to the final.

"We are lining-up with a small but strong team and I think we will race smart and be really competitive at La Course this year."

Australia's love for Le Tour

The 15 Australians competing at this year’s Tour de France and La Course continue Australia's storied history of competing at the Tour de France, dating back to 1914 with Iddo Munro and Don Kirkham.

Phil Anderson put the world on notice in 1981 as Australia’s first wearer of the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) and the first non-European to don the legendary yellow.

Robbie McEwan and Stuart O’Grady marked the turn of the century with a decade of countless pulsating moments of victory and emotion beamed straight into our living rooms in the early hours of the morning.

That was followed by Cadel Evans capturing the imagination of the entire country on his journey to winning the Tour de France in 2011, after coming agonisingly close in the mid-2000s.

Then of course the not-so-distant past heroics of Chloe Hosking, Richie Porte, Michael Matthews and Caleb Ewan have provided our next generation of cycling champions with heroes to emulate.

The adoration of the Tour de France and La Course is no secret in Australia, and we at AusCycling can’t wait to ride the waves of emotion with you over the next three weeks.

2021 Tour de France

• Riche Porte - INEOS Grenadiers (11th TdF)
• Luke Durbridge - Team BikeExchange (7th TdF)
• Lucas Hamilton - Team BikeExchange (Debut)
• Michael Matthews - Team BikeExchange (6th TdF)
• Ben O'Connor - AG2R Citroën Team (Debut)
• Jack Haig - Bahrain Victorious (2nd TdF)
• Caleb Ewan - Lotto Soudal (3rd TdF)
• Harry Sweeny - Lotto Soudal (Debut)
• Miles Scotson - Groupama-FDJ (Debut)
• Simon Clarke - Team Qhubeka NextHash (6th TdF)

2021 La Course by Le Tour de France

• Grace Brown - Team BikeExchange (3rd La Course)
• Sarah Roy - Team BikeExchange (6th La Course)
• Amanda Spratt - Team BikeExchange (6th La Course)
• Tiffany Cromwell - Canyon//SRAM Racing (6th La Course)
• Brodie Chapman - FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope (3rd La Course)

How to watch

Tour de France

Every moment of the 2021 Tour de France will be live on SBS, with the ŠKODA Tour Tracker app, SBS TV and the SBS Cycling Central the place to be to catch all the pulsating action from France from June 26 to July 18.

La Course by Le Tour de France

Watch all the action from La Course by Le Tour de France from 4.30pm AEST Saturday on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand, just ahead of the beginning of Stage 1 of the men's Tour de France. There will also be daily highlights packages from the Giro Rosa, the major women's stage race key moments on SBS mid-afternoon daily from July 3 to 12.