For the 1977 Tour de France, to ride the Tour, teams had to pay money. The other grand tours, the Giro and the Vuelta, paid the teams money to start. For financial reasons, some teams chose to avoid the Tour, and only 100 cyclists started the race, divided in ten teams of ten cyclists each. One of the notable absentees was Michel Pollentier. The ten teams that did start the Tour were: * Lejeune-BP * Miko-Mercier-Hutchinson * Peugeot-Esso-Michelin * Kas-Campagnolo * Frisol-Gazelle-Thirion * Gitane-Campagnolo * Teka * Fiat * Raleigh * Bianchi-Campagnolo