Tour selection storm at Groupama; team radios opened up to Tour fans; Steve Cummings on Ineos’s Tour selection dilemmas; transfer rumour mill ramps up

Tour de France selection is always a tricky business, team managers giving good news to some riders and dismaying others. This is typified by the hullabaloo at Groupama-FDJ, where team boss Marc Madiot has delighted Thibaut Pinot fans by selecting the mercurial climber for a final lap of France before his retirement, but made way for him by discarding sprinter Arnaud Démare, who's had the Tour on his programme all year. We delve into the news that created beaucoup de brouhaha in France.

Staying with Tour selection, we examine the riders pushing their case at the Tour of Switzerland and speak to Ineos directeur sportif Steve Cummings, who reveals that the British team's line-up is still very much under discussion after a Critérium du Dauphiné showing that left them with more questions than answers.

Cycling has followed F1 in its Netflix treatment of the sport, and now it's set to follow suit in another intriguing way with team radio transmissions being opened to fans during the Tour de France. The move is designed to offer more clarity on team tactics, but, as Jayco-Alula directeur sportif Matt White tells us, the teams aren't completely sold on the idea of letting their rivals know what they're up to when the race is on.

The Tour de France is just around the corner and, as is the case every season, that has been the trigger for the transfer rumour mill to pick up speed. We look at who's going where, who's staying put and which teams are looking to move up the hierarchy and challenge the big four squads at the top.   

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