An inside look at what America’s coolest team did the day before the Tour de France

Daniel McMahon / Business Insider

When one of the world’s best pro cycling teams offers you the opportunity to join them at the Tour de France, you don’t hesitate to say yes.

Cannondale-Drapac is one of three American teams that race at the sport’s highest level, in the UCI WorldTour (the two others teams are BMC Racing and Trek-Segafredo).

Cannondale Bicycle Corp. is a bike manufacturer based in Connecticut, and Drapac Capital Partners, a brand-new co-title sponsor, is a property funds management business. The team is managed by former pro cyclist and Tour de France rider Jonathan Vaughters, a native of Colorado. The team has a lot of character, and it is known for playing the bike-racing game a little differently than its more traditional European rivals. Its aggressive strategy has led to some great victories at cycling’s top races.

In announcing its Tour roster, Vaughters said: “We go into this race as a hungry mongrel of a team. But I’ll take that over a poncy, over-fed poodle any day.” And in keeping within its own tradition, for this Tour, Vaughters has made a “Moneyball” bet on French climber Pierre Rolland, as VeloNews’ Andrew Hood reported.

The 103rd Tour de France runs July 2-24, and Business Insider has joined Cannondale-Drapac for a little while at the race. Here’s some of what we’ve been seeing so far: