If EF Pro Cycling can copy the tactics of the Tour de France's Criterium du Dauphiné over the next few weeks, Jonathan Vaughters will arrive in Paris happy. The U.S. team won the overall Tour de France warm-up race in August, and while it will be extremely difficult to duplicate that result, at least replicating the approach taken at the Dauphiné in the Tour would be a success in the coming weeks. The U.S. WorldTour team will be led by former Tour de France runner-up Rigoberto Urán, and in addition to the 33-year-old Urán, the promising Sergio Iguita and Dauphiné winner Dani Martínez will arrive in Nice.

According to Vaughters, the three will start the tools on equal footing, but the game plan may revolve around a patient approach rather than an aggressive all-out attack.

"I expect a similar development to that of Dauphine, where Jumbo and Ineos beat each other up.

"Rigo, Dani, and Sergio are on equal terms. We'll play from there," Vaughters explained.

"Rigo is like a boss, like a road captain, like a godfather to the team. They will listen to what Rigo thinks we should do, but as far as who we support, it's the three of them. We will see what they can accomplish when they get to the mountain. [Falls on day 11 after 10 days of support as in previous years ...... What a mess. We will know pretty early on who is here to play and who is not. We'll start with a big win with the goal of putting someone on the podium, but then if something goes a little bit wrong, stage wins and team classifications are achievable."

The rest of the EF Pro Cycling team for the Tour is made up of solid all-rounders who can add support on the flat stages and participate in most of the Tour de France's mountain stages (including 29 categorized passes and five mountain finishes) The team is made up of solid all-rounders. Michael Woods' omission was one of the topics derived from the announcement of the team's roster.

Some speculated that it was because Canadian rider Michael Woods was leaving the team at the end of the season, but Vaughters blamed the decision on Woods, who experienced a major crash in early spring with a broken femur. 'It has nothing to do with him going to another team,' Vaughters said. Otherwise, he would have been on our Dauphiné team," Vaughters explained.

"I didn't think a rider with a broken femur in mid-March should be in the first Grand Tour of this crazy season. Instead, he will do a light program in Tirreno-Adriatico and then race. I'm nervous about the Tour, and I didn't feel comfortable putting a rider with such a serious injury in the most dangerous race of the year."

Among those selected was Tejay Van Garderen. Although he had a relatively quiet ride in the Criterium du Dauphiné, Vaughters was hoping the American would make his mark in the Tour.

"Since the Dauphiné, he has grown a lot. We were the only team that didn't race anything until the Dauphiné. We were out cold. We won the race, by the way," Vaughters said of Van Garderen, who is in his second year with the team.

"But Tejay in this race is a high-powered helper and he likes that role. Some people think he's a super nervous rider from five years ago, some people think he's going to feel pressure on the great hope of American cycling, but he's just a normal guy with a big motor. He's a great guy and fits in well with the group."