What to expect from the Canadians at the Tour de France and Giro Rosa

The Giro Rosa gets underway on Friday, with the Tour de France launching the next day in Brussels, Belgium. Four Canadians are on tap for the two races, newly minted national champion Karol-Ann Canuel and Leah Kirchmann in the ten-stage Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile and Hugo Houle and Michael Woods in the Tour de France. How might the four riders’ races play out in July?

First of all, Kirchmann and Canuel have had very similar Giro Rosa experiences. In the 2016 edition, Kirchmann triumphed in the time trial opener on Canada Day to take pink for one day before going on to place eighth overall. The next year, Canuel’s Boels-Dolmans took the team time trial on Stage 1 and Canuel wore the pink for one day before going on to place eighth overall.

Kirchmann’s Sunweb has a GC contender in Lucinda Brand, and the team will be hoping to put either one of them in the race lead after the opening team time trial. Last year, the squad claimed the Stage 1 team time trial, with Ellen van Dijk, Brand and Kirchmann all wearing the pink jersey in succession, the Canadian in the race lead for two days.

In general the Giro Rosa’s 2019 parcours is more hilly than in the past few years, with even the team time trial over a lumpy course. This will play into the hands of Canuel’s Boels-Dolmans, who also has hope for Stage 1 victory to set up two-time winner, world champion and Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen for what should be a knock-down GC battle with current title holder Annemiek van Vleuten, who leads the WorldTour standings.

Both Kirchmann and Canuel are key to their team’s opening team time trial objectives.

Hugo Houle makes his Tour de France debut with a team that has one of the race’s GC favourites, Jakob Fuglsang. Houle won’t be part of Astana’s mountain train, but he’ll be a flatland worker with domestique duties. However, he’s exactly the kind of rider on a team with GC aspirations who will be given free rein to join in breakaways. Look for him in the larger escapes of Week 2 and 3.

Along with Wout Van Aert and Caleb Ewan, Michael Woods is making the most anticipated Tour de France debut. The EF Education First rider isn’t looking for a high GC position, but for stage wins. His vow to attack also makes him a candidate for the King of the Mountains competition versus Julian Alaphilippe, Thomas De Gendt, Giulio Ciccone and newly crowned French champion Warren Barguil.

Woods and American Tejay van Garderen will be the main lieutenants of Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran, the 2017 runner-up.