Ineos announce their full Tour de France 2021 squad

Ineos have announced their eight-man squad for this year's Tour de France.

Geraint Thomas is of course on the start list - how else are they going to achieve their aim of delivering the Welshman a second yellow jersey without his name on their roster?

But here are the seven riders who will be supporting him, with many of them capable of winning the race themselves.

Ineos boast the two most recent Giro d'Italia winners in their line-up, if that's not Grand Tour pedigree I don't know what is, in Tao Geoghegan Hart and Richard Carapaz. 

Geoghegan Hart will be making his Tour debut, and this will be his first three-week race since that 2020 Giro win. Carapaz, meanwhile, recently took the overall victory at the Tour de Suisse and seems to be in frightening form.

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Richie Porte is another Ineos rider who's won a prestigious stage race already this year, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and has already promised to go "all-out for G" at the Tour as yet another super-domestique at Thomas' disposal.

The final four names are all familiar ones and have ridden the past two Tours for Ineos.

Spaniard Jonathan Castroviejo, former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski, road captain Luke Rowe and the Dutchman Dylan van Baarle.

“We won’t win this Tour by sitting in the wheels. We have the team to make it a racers’ race, take the initiative, seize every opportunity and make our opposition focus for every kilometre of every stage," team boss Dave Brailsford promises.

“We have changed our race philosophy this season to being more open and aggressive. Our performances have built all season and a joy of racing has infused the whole team. 

"This more adventurous approach has led us to fearless racing and this is exactly how we will hit the Tour. We will seek out every moment in every stage where the race is on and try to exploit it. Key for us this Tour is our collective strength and camaraderie to the end. Expect the unexpected.”