NTT Pro Cycling (open in new tab) has selected Giacomo Nizzolo (open in new tab), Max Warscheid, Ryan Gibbons, and Edvald Boasson Hagen (open in new tab) to form the blue train for the Tour de France sprint Aiming for the finish.

The African WorldTour team also selected Michal Valgren and Michal Gogl, with Domenico Pozzovivo as protected climber and veteran Roman Kreuziger completing the eight-man team.

Last year, team manager Doug Ryder made the difficult decision not to select Mark Cavendish, who was recovering from Epstein-Barr syndrome. This year, Louis Meintjes and Ben King will not be available, and Victor Kampenaerts will target the time trial stage of the Giro d'Italia in October.

"With nine flat stages and three hilly stages, our team has at least 12 chances over the 21 days of racing. That's what we're focused on," team manager Doug Ryder said after the lineup was announced in a video presentation.

"We have seven stage wins and seven podiums in five Tour de France, so we will definitely try our best to increase this and do our best with the blue train on these stages. There are four opportunities in the first week and, as in 2016, a chance for the yellow jersey. It's a special team and special riders for a special race."

Gibbons and Warscheid will be making their Tour de France debuts, while Boasson Hagen will be making his 10th Tour and sixth for the South African team. It will also be Boasson Hagen's 10th Tour and 6th for the South African team. He has won three stages so far and is expected to join Bargren in a late-race breakaway.

"The Tour is one of a cyclist's biggest dreams. I can't wait. （I like the pressure [of winning a stage], but I think the team is going for the stage win, and that's of course what I'm going for.

NTT is also working with ASO, the organizer of the Tour de France, to provide live race tracking and data analysis.

This agreement has been extended through 2024, but it is not yet known if the team's sponsorship will be extended beyond the 2020 season.

Bjarne Riis joined NTT Pro Cycling as team manager in 2020 to focus on the team's sporting performance. Riis had not yet officially secured 30% ownership of the team in June, but is seen as key to turning around the team's performance. He did not take part in the Tour de France team announcement, but was involved in the team selection process and will be in Nice for the August 29 start.

Rias won the 1996 Tour de France ahead of Telekom teammate Jan Ullrich and Festina's Richard Virenque, but admitted in 2007 that he had doped for most of his career, including the 1996 Tour. Despite direct allegations (opens in new tab) from former athletes Tyler Hamilton, Jörg Jaksche, and Michael Rasmussen, he has always denied knowing about and encouraging doping during his time as team manager.

He returned to the world tour level with NTT after a four-year absence, which he spent raising money through other cycling activities and building a new team structure.

"I'm excited to be back in the Tour after a long time, maybe too long," he said.

(Team selection) is very exciting, but it's also hard work. But it's part of the job.

"Looking at our roster, it's clear that we're going for the stage and that's going to be our main focus. We know that Roman was 16th last year, but a lot can happen before the race and we need to look at that. They are a team that can do sprints, summit sprints, mid-pack stages, and hopefully mountain stages as well."

Riis observed the battle between Team Ineos and Jumbo Visma at the Criterium du Dauphiné and expected the hard racing to take its toll. He wants the NTT team to be prepared to gain an advantage.

"Everything is up for grabs in this race. The Dauphiné is very, very hard and some athletes will pay the price and some will do better," Riis said.

"There is a big battle between Jumbo-Visma and Ineos. A lot of riders went deep and will pay the price for it in the future, but that is for the riders to decide. The important thing is to take care of the team, do the right thing, and race intelligently in the Tour. A lot of people will suffer and I wish I could save something for that."