It's often a tough task to tell at a glance which teams are doing well at the Tour de France, there are 22 of them going around France, each with their own objectives and strengths.
To keep an eye on how each team is progressing, Cycling Central is running the Zwift Power Rankings during this Tour de France. It's a quick guide from stage to stage of which teams are excelling and which are unlucky or faring poorly.
Rankings are done according to a matrix of stage results, jersey standings and a team's ability to race with panache and flair.
1. Deceuninck-Quickstep (up one)
If Julian Alaphilippe had a personal conversation with Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme and asked him to design an ITT course perfectly suited to his abilities it would look a lot like today's 27km course in Pau, including the steep ramp at the finish. The Frenchman demonstrated similar prowess countless times this season including Strade Bianche, Fleche Wallonne and Stage 3 of this Tour, today's stage proving an ITT bike is no hindrance.
Throw in wolf cub Enric Mas' top 10 performance, 56 seconds behind his team mate, propelling him two places to 4th overall (and the white jersey) and the four stage victories of Jumbo-Visma no longer hold weight for the top of the crop.
Best Results:
Stage 2 - 3rd (TTT)
Stage 3 - 1st (Julian Alaphilippe)
Stage 4 - 1st (Elia Viviani)
Stage 8 - 3rd (Julian Alaphilippe)
Stage 10 - 2nd (Elia Viviani)
Stage 11 - 3rd (Elia Viviani)
Stage 13 - 1st (Julian Alaphilippe)
Current overall and other results:
Yellow jersey - 9 trips to the podium (Julian Alaphilippe)
1st overall - Julian Alaphilippe
4th overall - Enric Mas
2. Jumbo-Visma (down one)
Mixed fortunes for the Dutch squad with Steven Kruijswijk's strong 6th in the ITT moving him to 3rd overall while Wout van Aert crashed out of the race and all six of Kruijswick's remaining team mates finished outside the top 100.
While these results don't resemble the team's formidable TTT performance on Stage 2, tired legs on an undulating course as thoughts turn to ferrying their leader over the next two tough stages including up the Tourmalet and things start to make sense. Only slipping down a spot because of Deceuninck-Quickstep's ITT.
Best Results:
Stage 1 - 1st (Mike Teunissen)
Stage 2 - 1st (TTT)
Stage 7 - 1st (Dylan Groenewegen)
Stage 10- 1st (Wout van Aert)
Current overall and other results:
Yellow jersey - 2 stages
3rd overall - Steven Kruijswijk
3. Soudal Lotto (same)
Thomas De Gendt, De Gendted the De Gendt out of Stage 13, the fastest man in the ITT until Geraint Thomas hit the road then yellow skinsuited Julian Alaphilippe. Such a performance is about as close to a breakaway as you can get in an ITT. These guys stay put.
Best Results:
Stage 1 - 3rd (Caleb Ewan)
Stage 4 - 3rd (Caleb Ewan)
Stage 7 - 2nd (Caleb Ewan)
Stage 8 - 1st (Thomas de Gendt)
Stage 9 - 2nd (Tiesj Benoot)
Stage 11- 1st (Caleb Ewan)
Stage 13- 3rd (Thomas de Gendt)
Current overall and other results:
Polka dot jersey - 11 trips to the podium (Tim Wellens)
4. BORA-hansgrohe (same)
Despite Peter Sagan chucking a mono on the steep kicker in Pau on a ITT bike, the team suffered some misfortune with Max Schachmann crashing during the stage and suffering metacarpal fractures of his left hand.
Emanuel Buchmann also slipped a spot on GC. But Bora keeps the fourth slot for Sagan's consistency and stage win.
Best Results:
Stage 1 - 2nd (Peter Sagan)
Stage 5 - 1st (Peter Sagan)
Stage 7 - 3rd (Peter Sagan)
Current overall and other results:
Green jersey - 11 trips to the podium (Peter Sagan)
6th overall - Emanuel Buchmann
5. Team Ineos (up two)
The maroon bots climb over Aussie squad Mitchelton-Scott's two stage wins with an impressive performance by Geraint Thomas in the ITT finishing second only to surprise winner Julian Alaphilippe.
This is despite Egan Bernal losing a bunch of time, his 3rd place overall and the white jersey. But Thomas said he'd let rip and he did. And we reward such bravado. But now what does Skineos do with Bernal's time loss? Use him like a workhorse or keep him fresh as a co-leader just in case Thomas cracks in the high Alps? Let's wait and see.
Best Results:
Stage 2 - 2nd (TTT)
Stage 6 - 4th (Geraint Thomas)
Stage 13- 2nd (Geraint Thomas)
Current overall and other results:
White - 3 trips to the podium (Egan Bernal)
2nd overall - Geraint Thomas
5th overall - Egan Bernal
6. Mitchelton-Scott (down one)
Adam Yates losing just under two minutes to Thomas and slipping three spots on GC means the team also slides in the Power Rankings. But two stages wins and Yates is still in the top 10 and they don't slip too far. Plus, this guy is having a great debut Tour:
Best Results:
Stage 5 - 3rd (Matteo Trentin)
Stage 9 - 1st (Daryl Impey)
Stage 12 - 1st (Simon Yates)
Current overall and other results:
10th overall - Adam Yates
7. Bahrain Merida (down one)
A stage win and past breakaway performances keep Bahrain here. Jan Tratnik also managed a 16th placing during today's ITT.
Best Results:
Stage 5 - 4th (Sonny Colbrelli)
Stage 6 - 1st (Dylan Teuns)
Stage 7 - 4th (Sonny Colbrelli)
Stage 9 - 3rd (Jan Tratnik)
8. Trek-Segafredo (up two)
Richie looked gooooood. Just 31 seconds behind Thomas and improves his place on GC four spots. But for those crosswinds huh? Bauke Mollema finished 16th and just Koen de Kort placed outside the top 100 with Ciccone (32nd) and Jasper Stuyven (34) in the top 40.
Best Results:
Stage 3 - 3rd (Jasper Stuyven)
Stage 6 - 2nd (Giulio Ciccone)
Stage 13 -5th (Richie Porte)
Current overall and other results:
Yellow jersey - 2 trips to the podium (Giulio Ciccone)
15th overall - Richie Porte
9. EF Education First (up seven)
Such a big jump right? Rigoberto Uran's ITT performance saw him jump four spots on GC and while they haven't finished off in the breakaways, watching that pink and purple kit animate the race is mighty entertaining.
Current overall and other results:
Rigoberto Uran 8th overall
10. Groupama-FDJ (up ten)
Like Porte, Thibaut Pinot jumped a few spots (from 10th to 7th) on GC with his 7th place (35 seconds behind Thomas) a great containing ride. We asked for signs of life and this is it before a couple of tough days where Pinot may soar.
Best Results:
Stage 8 - 2nd (Thibaut Pinot)
Current overall and other results:
7th overall - Thibaut Pinot
11. Astana (up three)
Gaining momentum after Pello Bilbao's 2nd place yesterday, Jakob Fuglsang improved his position on GC two places (from 15th to 13th) with his ITT as did Alexey Lutsenko (23rd to 21st).
Best Results:
Stage 6 - 9th (Jakob Fuglsang)
Stage 12 - 2nd (Pello Bilbao)
Current overall and other results:
13th overall - Jakob Fuglsang
12. Movistar (up five)
Continuing the GC movers today on the Power Rankings, Nairo Quintana despite slipping a plcae on GC to 9th, he rode a great containing ride. Alejandro Valverde (13th to 12 overall) and Mikel Landa (20th to 18th overall) also improved their places on GC with impressive ITT performances.
Current overall and other results:
Nairo Quintana 9th overall
Relatively equally placed in regards to breakaways and close finishes (except for Katusha) the remaining teams will be ranked based on teams' best placed rider in the ITT:
13. CCC (up two)
Joey Rosskopf finished 10th today and combine with Serge Pauwels and Greg van Avermaets in breaks, and two times rewarded with the dots in the opening stages of the Tour for GvA.
Current overall and other results:
Polka dots jersey - 2 trips to the podium for GvA to get the KOM jersey.
14. Team Sunweb (down three)
Chad Haga finished 17th.
Best Results:
Stage 2 - 4th (TTT)
Stage 3 - 2nd (Michael Matthews)
15. UAE Team Emirates (down six)
Fabio Aru finished 26th today and Dan Martin 33rd but the Irishman dropped two places on GC (9th to 11th).
Best Results:
Stage 4 - 2nd (Alexander Kristoff)
Current overall and other results:
11th overall - Dan Martin
16. Cofidis (down three)
Anthony Perez - 29th.
17. AG2R-La Mondiale (down five)
Alexis Gougeard - 32nd. But Romain Bardet lost even more time, slipping to 17th (from 14th).
Best Results:
Stage 9 - 4th (Oliver Naesen)
Stage 12 - 7th (Oliver Naesen)
Current overall and other results:
17th overall - Romain Bardet
18. Wanty Groupe Gobert (down ten)
TTs kill teams like Wanty in the Power Rankings, but they're hanging in there. Xandro Meurisse continuing to be a revelation with a not too shabby 40th.
Best Results:
Stage 6 - 3rd (Xandro Meurisse)
Current overall and other results:
Combativity - 1 trip to the podium (Aime de Gendt)
19. Katusha-Alpecin (up three)
A bit of a correction for these guys, we overlooked Mads Wurtz Schmidt in the first Vosges mountain stage plus Jens Debusschere's fifth place on Stage 11 and 5th in the Stage 2 TTT and they deserve some time out of the cellar and up a few spots. Today they also pulled their ITT socks up earning four top 50 places with Nils Politt (18th), Mads Wurtz Schmidt (20th), Alex Dowsett (21st), and Ilnur Zakarin (43rd).
20. Dimension Data (down two)
Roman Kreuziger 45th.
21. Team Arkea-Samsic (same)
Maxime Bouet - 59th. Barguil dropped six places on GC but it's still 22nd and combined with Lédanois in the break yesterday, they don't deserve the bottom of the ladder.
Current overall and other results:
16th overall - Warren Barguil
22. Total Direct Energie (same)
They have ticked the breakaway box a number of times including with Lilian Calmejane but today their best placed rider was 78th and with no other significant awards or placings, this is where they stay for a little while.
