An American in the yellow jersey would help erase painful memories of the Lance Armstrong scandal. But is the country turning away from road cycling?
When the Tour de France starts on Saturday, cycling fans in the US will be without a serious home contender for the yellow jersey in the world’s best-known bicycle race. The omission of Tejay van Garderen from the BMC team’s lineup leaves the Cannondale-Drapac team fielding the three US riders in the race.
While many will be glad to see Taylor Phinney belatedly debut in the Tour, where he and Nathan Brown will support the team’s co-leader Andrew Talansky, the best that can realistically be hoped for from this team is a frequent presence in breakaway groups and at the front end of the 198-rider peloton as they hunt for stage wins.
Related: Tour de France 2017: full team-by-team guide
Related: Chris Froome: This Tour de France route is biggest challenge of my career
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