24 Aug 2010

World’s top cycling teams line up for The Tour

SOME of the world’s leading cycling teams have announced their line-ups for The Tour of Britain.

HTC-Columbia, Garmin-Transitions Pro Cycling Team and Team Saxo-Bank have confirmed they will be among 17 teams competing in The Tour which will race through Devon and Somerset on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 September.

Devon and Somerset County Councils are co-hosting the two South West Stages of The Tour, with Stage 4 covering from Minehead to Teignmouth and Stage 5 from Tavistock to Glastonbury.

HTC Columbia won the 2009 Tour of Britain, with their former rider Edvald Boasson-Hagen taking the Yellow Jersey. Their team for this year’s race underlines their determination to defend the title, with a line-up headed by Tour Down Under winner Andre Greipel, Mark Renshaw, Tour of California winner Michael Rogers, as well as current Italian Time Trial Champion Marco Pinotti and his German equivalent Tony Martin.

The Garmin-Transitions line-up includes Ireland’s Dan Martin, recent winner of the Tour of Poland, as well as Tour de France stage winner Robbie Hunter and Australian Cameron Meyer, the current track World Champion in the Team Pursuit, Madison and Points Race disciplines.

Team Saxo Bank, ranked second in the world, includes Denmark’s Alex Rasmussen, an Olympic silver medallist in the track Team Pursuit in Beijing and Polish Time-Trial Champion Jaroslav Marycz. It also features Jonathan Bellis from the Isle of Man, riding his comeback Tour of Britain following his near fatal scooter accident last year which left him in a coma. He finished 12th overall in the 2008 Tour of Britain.

They will be joined by Dutch outfit Skil–Shimano and Belgian squad Topsport Vlaanderen–Mercator.

Two British teams, Sigma Sport-Specialized and Team Raleigh, will be making their Tour of Britain debuts but they include some experienced riders.

Sigma Sport-Specialized includes former Somerset resident Simon Richardson, who will be appearing in his fourth Tour of Britain and will be looking to improve on his best result of 17th overall in 2008.

Team Raleigh features Dan Fleeman, 7th overall in the 2008 Tour of Britain and Welsh Champion Dale Appleby.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Councillor for Highways and Transportation, said: “Such world class teams demonstrate what a high profile event the Tour of Britain is. It’s great for spectators who will be able to see some of the best cyclists from home and abroad racing through their communities and we hope everyone enjoys the occasion.”

Councillor David Hall, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member Economic Development, said: “The Tour of Britain is a great opportunity for local people to experience the excitement of an elite sporting event on their doorstep. Having top cyclists taking part in the South West stages is great news for us, because it helps to showcase Somerset and Devon as great places to cycle”.

The Tour of Britain 2010 begins in Rochdale on Saturday 11 September and finishes in London on Saturday 18 September. Daily highlights will be broadcast on ITV4 at 7pm.

Team HTC – Columbia provisional line-up:
Bert Grabsch; André Greipel; Tony Martin; Marco Pinotti; Mark Renshaw; Michael Rogers

Garmin – Transitions Pro Cycling Team provisional line-up:
Murilo Fischer; Robbie Hunter; Dan Martin; Martijn Maaskant; Cameron Meyer; Travis Meyer

Team Saxo Bank provisional line-up:
Jonathan Bellis; Lucas Sebastien Haedo; Frank Høj; Jonas Aaen Jorgensen; Jaroslav Marycz; Alex Rasmussen

Sigma Sport – Specialized provisional line-up:
Stephen Gallagher; Kit Gilham; Tom Murray; Simon Richardson; Matt Stephens; Wouter Sybrandy

Team Raleigh provisional line-up:
Dale Appleby; Tom Barras; Dan Fleeman; Richard Handley; Liam Holohan; Daniel Shand

Skil – Shimano provisional line-up:
Roy Curvers; Bert De Backer; Koen De Kort; Jin Long; Kenny Van Hummel; Robert Wagner

Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator provisional line-up:
Pieter Jacobs; Stijn Joseph; Gert Steurs; Michael Van Staeyen; Kristof Vandewalle; Pieter Vanspeybrouck