Pascal Ackermann
Israel-Premier Tech, 30 years, first participation
The Palatine had to wait a long time for his Tour debut. It didn't work out at Bora-Hansgrohe, and Team UAE Emirates also pursued other goals. Israel-Premier Tech finally nominated him, and Ackermann delivered. Seven top 10 finishes, including three third places, are a good result on his debut. Although he didn't achieve the stage win he was aiming for, "I would have laughed out loud if someone had told me that beforehand, given the three difficult years before," he said, emphasising the positive aspects of his performance. "I'm now back among the world's best," he stated.
Nils Politt
UAE Team Emirates, 30 years, eighth participation
It's a shame that the kilometres are only counted for breakaway groups and not for the men, who go into the wind and set the pace for their captains at the front of the peloton. Nils Politt would be pretty high up in such a ranking. He was not only a bank for his captain Tadej Pogacar on the flat. He also amazed with his leadership on the Tourmalet. The reward was huge applause at the team bus. "It was spectacular to ride the entire Tourmalet from the front," he commented on his greatest performance. "It paid off that I trained a lot on the mountain after the classics," he said.
Nico Denz
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, 30 years, first participation
The all-rounder certainly wanted his Tour debut to be more successful. For months, he had been preparing with the Tour squad to support Primoz Roglic in the battle for the yellow jersey. But then the Slovenian crashed, not particularly well protected by the team. Like everyone else, Denz fell into a mental hole afterwards. Timid escape group attempts failed to yield any results. The best result remains that he made it through to Nice.
Simon Geschke
Cofidis, 38 years, twelfth participation
The oldie had big plans for the twelfth and final Tour de France of his career. Altitude simulation training in his home town of Freiburg should bring good form. He also tried to get into the breakaway groups, but had no luck. "The form at the Giro was good, but maybe the two Grand Tours in a row were a bit too much," he summarised. Unfortunately, this Tour of France was too fast for him - and also for his captain with ambitions for the overall classification, Guillaume Martin.
Nikis Arndt
Bahrain Victorious, 32 years old, sixth participation
The rider from Buchholz had his greatest Tour moment on the 13th stage. In the wind edge spectacle that ended in Pau, he made it to 5th place on the day: "I'm actually the lead-out man. But after we lost our sprinter Phil Bauhaus at the front, I focussed on the sprint. I'm not one of the fastest. But I'm in good shape and the result is good," he said. Arndt would also have liked to show off his good legs in one or two breakaway groups. But the ambition of the teams of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard destroyed many hopes for promising breakaway attempts.
Georg Zimmermann
Intermarche-Wanty, 26 years old, fourth participation
This year, the Augsburg rider's chances of breaking into breakaway groups were limited due to the success of team-mate Biniam Girmay in the sprint. "The most important task was to secure Biniam's green jersey," he said. However, he was given time off on stage 17; although it didn't work out with the stage win, he was also able to appreciate the privilege of being on a par with the approaching Tadej Pogacar in the finale. "It was very sporty with him. He doesn't just go up the mountains quickly, but also down them," he said, describing his special Tour moment.
Phil Bauhaus
Bahrain-Victorious, 30 years, second participation
Bauhaus may have missed the sprint in Pau, but the Bahrain sprinter was involved in many other mass arrivals. His 2nd place on the stage in Nimes was outstanding. Four further top 10 finishes round off his good performance. "I lack a bit of speed compared to the best," he admitted honestly, but did not resign himself. Because the Sprint Royale at the Tour finale was not part of the programme this year due to the Olympics, he pulled out for the 17th stage. His big goal remains to ride the sprint on the Champs-Elysees one day.
John Degenkolb
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, 35 years, tenth participation
The veteran himself was pretty satisfied with his tour. "The form was good. My legs were burning in the mountains, but I got through quite well," he said. He was also pleased with a top place in the sprint. However, he would have preferred to take the sprint for team-mate Fabio Jakobsen. However, the Dutchman rode far behind his former class, which of course did not make things any more pleasing for road captain Degenkolb. However, the team's balance sheet was saved by former champion Romain Bardet with a stage win and the yellow jersey right at the start of the Tour.
