On its 20th Tour de France appearance, French Pro-Continental team Cofidis are aiming for stage wins with Nacer Bouhanni. The 25-year-old has won eight races in 2016 and will be looking to take a breakthrough Tour win to add to his Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana stages.
Bouhanni is yet to finish a Tour from two previous appearances with sixth place in Cambrai last year his best Tour result yet. The Frenchman will have a dedicated train at his disposal for the sprint stages with Cyril Lemoine, Borut Bozic, Geoffrey Soupe and Christophe Laporte all selected.
Along with WorldTour wins at Paris-Nice, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and Criterium du Dauphine, Bouhanni enjoyed a stage at the Ruta del Sol, and the Tour de Picardie overall after winning the first two stages.
Arnold Jeannesson, who wore the best young rider jersey at the 2011 Tour, makes his Tour debut with Cofidis after five seasons with FDJ. Jérôme Cousin also makes his first Tour appearance with Cofidis following his Tour debut in 2013.
While Cofidis' objective is the sprints with Bouhanni, Spanish climbers Luis Angel Mate and Daniel Navarro provide options for the high mountains.
The 2016 Tour de France starts on July 2 with a 188km stage from Saint-Mont-Michel with the finish in Utah Beach expected to feature a bunch sprint with the first rider over the line to claim the first yellow jersey of the race.
Cofidis for the 2016 Tour de France: Nacer Bouhanni (Fra), Borut Bozic (Slo), Jérôme Cousin (Fra), Arnold Jeannesson (Fra), Christophe Laporte (Fra), Cyril Lemoine (Fra), Luis Angel Mate (Esp), Daniel Navarro (Esp) and Geoffrey Soupe (Fra).
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