Sprinter Arnaud Demare will once again miss out on the Tour de France, heading to the Giro d'Italia for the second consecutive season.

Last season, Demare won a stage at the Giro in Modena and battled with Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) for the points prize, but ultimately missed out on the Cicliamino jersey by 13 points.

The 28-year-old will resume his season after a coronavirus interruption at the Vuelta a Burgos (July 28-August 1) before heading to Italy for Milan-Torino (August 5) and Milan-San Remo (August 8).

He will then head north for the Tour de Wallonie (August 16-19) and the French national championships, Tour Poitou-Charentes (August 27-30), GP de Fourmise (September 13), Tour de Luxembourg (September 15-19), and Paris Choni (September 27). The latter will be held in Switzerland. The latter will coincide with the UCI Road World Championships men's road race in Switzerland.

DeMare started the season on the UAE Tour and was quarantined at a race hotel in Abu Dhabi for 11 days before finally being released after testing negative for COVID-19. During quarantine, he suffered a small setback when he broke his wrist in a mountain bike crash.

He is expected to compete for points and stage wins at the Giro d'Italia, which begins on October 3. RCS Sport has not yet announced the venue for the Grande Partenza, but it is likely to be a time trial in Palermo, with three stages cancelled in Hungary An additional route in Sicily is planned to replace it.

Thibaut Pinot, who tearfully abandoned the 2019 Tour de France while in fifth place overall due to a thigh injury, will return as Groupama-FDJ leader at the Tour, which opens in Nice on August 29.

Pinot will resume his season at La Route d'Occitanie (August 1-4), followed by the Criterium du Dauphiné (August 12-16) and the French championships.

The 30-year-old Pinot had a strong start to the 2020 season, finishing in the top 10 overall at the Tour de la Provence, Tour des Alpes, and Paris-Nice before the coronavirus interrupted all racing.

Joining Pinot on the Tour de France roster are time trial specialist Stéphane Kühn and Frenchmen Rudy Morard, Valentin Madouas, and David Gaudoux.

In 2019, Gaudoux was an important domestique for Pinot, finishing 13th overall. He follows the same program as Pinot, except he will compete in the Vuelta a Burgos instead of La Route d'Occitanie.

Gordou and Pinot will also compete in the shortened Vuelta a España, which begins on October 20 in the Basque Country.

Cung will start the season with the Swiss time trial championships on the world championship circuit in Aigle, before heading to Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo. After the Dauphiné and Tour de France, he will focus on the classics: After the Dauphiné and Tour de France, he will again focus on the classics.