34 Nations, 21 Teams, 177 Riders: An Analysis of the Most Star-Studded International Field in Tour de Taiwan History

UN Cycling Congress Held in Taiwan

34 countries, 21 teams, 177 riders—the 2026 Tour de Taiwan has been described as “the most star-studded lineup in history,” and that is no exaggeration.

Team Tier Distribution

UCI Tier	Count	Team Names
WorldTeam (Tier 1)	1	Lotto-Intermarche (Belgium)
ProTeam (Tier 2)	5+	Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spain), Kern Pharma (Spain), Israel-Premier Tech (Israel), etc.
Continental (Tier 3)	15+	Continental teams from various countries

Team Profiles

European Powerhouses

Lotto-Intermarche (Belgium)

Tier: WorldTeam
Key riders: Matthew Fox (Australia), Matys Grisel (France)
Results: 2 stage wins, mid-race yellow jersey
One-line verdict: “We came to gain experience, and just happened to take two stage wins along the way”

Euskaltel-Euskadi (Basque Country/Spain)

Tier: ProTeam
Key riders: Jordi Lopez, Paul Hennequin
Results: 1 stage win, 3rd overall, green jersey, team classification winner
One-line verdict: “127 UCI points—worth every cent of the airfare”

Equipo Kern Pharma (Spain)

Tier: ProTeam
Highlight: Features Taiwanese rider Ho Yen-Yi
One-line verdict: “Bringing the Taiwanese son-in-law back home”

Burgos-BH (Spain)

Tier: ProTeam
Key riders: Lorenzo Quartucci (Italy)
Results: 5th overall

Unibet Tietema Rockets (Belgium)

Key riders: Davide Bomboi, Lander Loockx
Results: Polka dot jersey (King of the Mountains), runner-up on Stage 5

Hrinkow Advarics (Austria)

Key riders: Josef Dirnbauer, Jaka Primozic
Results: 3rd in team classification

Asian Powerhouses

JCL Team Ukyo (Japan)

Key riders: Andrea D’Amato (Italy), Yoshiki Terada (Japan)
Highlight: Although a Japanese team, the roster features riders from multiple countries
Results: Multiple top-three stage finishes

KINAN Racing Team (Japan)

Key riders: Yuma Koishi, Lucas Carstensen
Results: Blue jersey (Best Asian), 2nd in team classification

Aisan Racing Team (Japan)

Key riders: Yuhi Todome, George Matsui
Results: Led the mountains classification for multiple days

Terengganu Cycling Team (Malaysia)

Key riders: Adne van Engelen
Highlight: One of Southeast Asia’s strongest teams

Victoria Sports Pro Cycling (Philippines)

Key riders: Jeroen Meijers, Ismael Jr. Grospe, Jude Francisco
Highlight: The standard-bearer of Philippine cycling
Standout: Meijers claimed two sprint prime wins at the Pingtung stage

Roojai Insurance Winspace (Thailand)

Members: Li Ting-Wei (Taiwan), Jaebin Yun (South Korea)
Highlight: A multinational Asian team

Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali (Italy/Japan)

Key riders: Dusan Rajovic (Serbia)
Results: 2 stage wins (most individual stage victories)

Chinese Taipei National Team

5 national team members
Best result: Chang Yu-Cheng, 18th on Stage 1

National Representation Breakdown

Riders from 34 countries gathered in Taiwan, including:

Continent	Countries (partial list)
Europe	France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia
Asia	Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Israel
Oceania	Australia
Others	More riders from additional countries spread across the teams

The Road to Internationalization for the Tour de Taiwan

From a regional event dominated by Asian teams in its early years to a UCI 2.1-ranked race attracting WorldTeams today, the Tour de Taiwan’s internationalization has been nothing short of impressive.

The “most star-studded lineup in history” for 2026 is not just a marketing slogan—it is the strongest proof of Taiwan’s growing influence in the international cycling arena.