Tour de France 2023 ***spoilers*** Warning in OP
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Stall the ball, what about the pointless analysing and criticising of each team performance
Jumbo - Controlled the race won with ease but did not get a Wout stage win. Got what they needed from the Tour. Grade A
UAE - The plan was to win the tour with Tadej and ultimately unsuccessful but team was improved. Ended up with 3 stage wins as well as 2nd and 3rd overall but failed in number one objective Grade B+
Bahrain - 3 stage wins with 3 different riders and a 6th place overall.More than they could have expected even with Landa firing blanks, Bauhaus also consistent in the early sprints . Grade B+
INEOS - 2 Stage wins and 5th in GC. Realistically this is as much as they could have expected but not what a team of their budget aspires to. They should be content but question marks remain. I will give Pidcock's grand tour credentials a pass until after the olympics and doubtful if Bernal can recover his form and if that form is good enough to compete for GC in a grand tour again. Grade B-
Groupama FDJ - Meh the Pinot / Gaudu combination didn't work but you can't argue against bringing Pinot for a farewell tour, rode solidly. As for Gaudu he was a long way off being able to compete. Grade C
AG2R - Ben O'Connor failed to deliver on their GC ambitions but tried valiantly and emptied himself in support of Gall later on who spared their blushes in the final week with a very impressive showing. Grade B
Bora Hansgrohe - It was in hindsight a weak squad and under-performed for most of the tour but have two stage wins, a day in yellow and a top 10. Meeus' win on Champs Elysee bumps them up a grade. Grade B-
Cofidis - 2 stage wins, overall top 10 and a solid performance by Coquard in the sprints. Grade A
Team Jayco AlUla - Entered the tour looking at stage wins and a shot at the overall podium. Fell short of both so it has to be a disappointment. Grade C
Israel Premier Tech - Michael Woods stage win on the Puy de Dome saves the tour for them, realistically a team like theirs needs to invest in a sprinter to have an impact. Credit also to Kris Neilands for his efforts in the breaks. Grade B-
Movistar - Losing Mas on Day 1 meant they really should have packed up and gone home. Jorgensen showed glimpses but ultimately was also struggling before he went home. Grade D but unlucky
Arkea-Samsic - Gugliemi got in a few breaks but nothing else Grade D
Team DSM-Firmenich - Not a fan of the team anyway but seriously underperformed in all aspects. Bardet was a loss but was heading backwards before his crash Grade D
Lidl-Trek - Bit of a mixed bag, I actually expected more from them but when the chips were down they got a stage win and the KOM jersey and were always visible throughout. Skjelmosse didn't have it for GC this time but dug deep to help out the team Grade B-
Lotto Dstny - Caleb was there or thereabouts in the sprints but you could sense there were issues in the team before they abandoned him ( or he abandoned them depending on your sources) Lots of unhappy 2nd tier sprinters looking for a new home next year but Lotto will likely be all in on De Lie. Campanaerts always animates without getting the results he deserves and the team ended up with 3 second places in very different terrain. Grade C-
Total Energies - Anonymous Grade D
Uno X - Probably a year too late for Kristoff and a year too early for some of the other riders. Justified selection and hopefully improve squad for next year. Grade C
Alpecin - 4 stage wins two seconds and a green jersey would immediately have you thinking Grade A+ but I think they left a little behind them a few missed opportunities. Might be a little harsh but Grade A-
Soudal Quick Step - Jakobsen's crash was a major setback and it rarely happens that a rider can shake off a major crash like and recover to be competitive within the same grand tour. Alaphilippe obviously tried hard but is obviously lacking the top end from a few years ago. Asgreen saved some blushes late on in Stages 18 and 19 but still not good enough. Grade C+
Astana Qazaqstan - It was all about Cavendish and with losing him and Leon Sanchez in the space of a couple of days killed the Tour de France for them. Grade D
Intermarche Circus Wanty - Grmay never looked like challenging the sprints and Meintjes was already struggling for a decent GC position before his crash Grade D
EF Education Easypost - Carapaz' crash was a big loss but the team still underperformed massively, a squad of Powless, Uran, Bettiol, Cort and Amador should have done much better. Powless' attempt at polka dots doesn't count as any form of redemption. Grade E (One of the worst performing teams in the Tour given the calibre of rider)
Overall you can get a gauge for team performances by the number of UCI points collected by each team during the Tour. The performances sort of tally with my grades with the exception of Jayco ALUla who i still think underperformed even if they got a reasonable haul of points while Alpecin, AG2R and Cofidis overperformed relative to expectations.
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