Joe Laverick, British rider of Hagens Berman Axeon, was supposed to be riding the Tour de Wallonie, but tested positive for Covid-19. For the sake of his sanity, Portuguese Cycling Magazine launched him a challenge: to choose, together with one of our writers, 15 riders that he enjoyed in the Tour de France.

In our choice, it can intentionally be observesed the absence of big names, such as the Tour champion Tadej Pogačar or the ‘king of sprints’ Mark Cavendish. There is no doubt that we enjoyed seeing them both racing, but additional praise to the one they have already achieved on their own merits is of little use to them. Nor do we need to write about how extraordinary are Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van Der Poel, or that Julian Alaphilippe is not far behind, because everyone knows that. Everyone knows these riders, as well as their characteristics and achievements.

Thus, we intend to focus on lesser known riders, who have less media attention, or who simply, like the big stars, we enjoyed seeing on the road during the three weeks. We present our list of 15 riders that we enjoyed in the Tour 2021!