Overview

• Team Picnic PostNL added 26-year-old Niklas Märkl to its start list for Saturday’s Grand Départ in Lille, replacing the injured John Degenkolb.
• Swiss-based Tudor Team secured a wildcard entry and will debut 24-year-old Marius Mayrhofer in the three-week race.
• Zimmermann will begin the Tour in the German national champion’s jersey after claiming the road race title on home soil.
• Märkl arrives with Grand Tour experience from this year’s Giro d’Italia and a recent 22nd-place finish at the German road race championships.
• The strengthened German lineup underscores the role of regional programs in the Palatinate and Tübingen in cultivating elite Tour de France talent.