The 19 teams that will compete at the Amgen Tour of California have been announced and 11 are based in the US, although they feature an international cast of cyclists. Fourteen of the have been to this show previously.
The sixth annual week-long bike race rolls out May 15-22 and starts at Lake Tahoe high in the Sierra Nevadas. It winds through the state with another high mountain stage to Mount Baldy before finishing in Thousand Oaks.
Although the rosters for each team won't be known until shortly before the race, Sky ProCycling (current home of last year's champion Mick Rogers, who left HTC-Columbia) and Team RadioShack (home to three-time winner Levi Leipheimer, 2007 – 2009) have been selected.
Teams
The 19 teams announced by the Tour of California organizers are:
UCI ProTeams
- Sky ProCycling (GBR)
- Rabobank Cycling Team (NED)
- Team Garmin-Cervélo (USA)
- HTC-Highroad (USA)
- Team RadioShack ( USA)
- Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA)
- Saxo Bank Sungard (DEN)
- Leopard Trek (LUX)
- BMC Racing Team (USA)
UCI Professional Continental Teams
- Team NetApp (GER)
- Team Type 1-sanofi aventis (USA)
- Team Spidertech Powered By C10 (CAN)
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (USA)
UCI Continental Teams
- Movistar Team (COL)
- Jamis-Sutter Home (USA)
- Kelly Benefit Strategies – Optum Health (USA)
- Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)
- Jelly Belly p/b Kenda (USA)
- Kenda/5-Hour Energy Pro Cycling p/b Geargrinder (USA)
Of the 19, US-based HTC-Columbia is the winningest with 400 victories since 2008, thanks in large part to Mark Cavendish. HTC-Columbia won the race last year, but Rogers has since moved on to Sky Pro Cycling.
As happened last year, the Tour of California is rolling out during the three-week Giro d'Italia, May 7 through May 29. This means that teams have to choose between the two or pick cyclists that will make them competitive at each race.
More information at the Amgen Tour of California press release.
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