James Shaw excited about his Tour de France debut: "I am a bit nervous. I am a bit scared. I want to make sure I gave it everything"
Cycling
James Shaw's dream will finally come true. The 27-year old's road to Grande Boucle was not an easy one, but that will make the moment even sweeter. Now EF Education-EasyPost rider nearly gave up his career when Lotto Soudal dropped him in 2018, but instead, he worked even harder, and now it's the time Shaw will make a Tour de France debut.
"Who would have thought, eh? The Tour de France. What a bike race!" he said on the EF Education website. "The whole thing came about at the Dauphiné when I was riding better than I have ever ridden and it obviously didn’t go unnoticed."
"Our DS Charly Wegelius pulled me over on the last day and he said 'look, we’ll put you on the long list. We’ll send you home to prepare. Go home and get ready as if you are going to go,' and I thought, is he pulling my leg? So I was like, don’t build yourself up too much but I prepared as if I was going to go. I put everything into it, and then he rang me and said we’ll do it."
"I am a bit nervous. I am a bit scared. It is obvious from the guys who are going that I am there to be the best team-mate I can – we have a hell of a roster. Paris is something I have on my mind. I want to make it all the way but, along the way, I want to make sure I am doing the job I am going there to do, be there for the guys and knowing that I gave it everything."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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