More teams to be announced soon, IG-Sigma Sport and Raleigh travelling from Europe
Two and a half months before the start of the Tour of the Battenkill, the race organisers have announced details of the first twelve teams confirmed as riding the 2012 edition.
Nine of those are UCI registered squads, with the Pro Continental Team Type 1 – Sanofi plus the Continental Bissel Cycling, Competitive Cyclist, Hincapie Sportswear Development, Kenda/5 Hour Energy p/b Geargrinder, Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies all being US-registered.
IG – Sigma Sport and Raleigh-GAC both come from Britain, while the third non-US Continental squad is Equipe cycliste EKOÏ.com/Gaspésien.
Elite teams CRCA /Champion System/Stan's Notubes, Hagens Berman Elite Cycling and Stans Notubes / AXA Equitable Cycling complete the initial rundown of teams.
The race, which is regarded as one of the US’s toughest single day events, is back on the UCI calendar this year after a one year absence. It will be run off one day after a pro/am event which should feature 3,000 riders.
Amongst the squads returning will be the Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies lineup, which last year took second with Jesse Anthony.
“Even though we fell painfully short of the victory last year, Team Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies will be extremely motivated and determined to win Tour of the Battenkill in 2012,” he said.
Anthony took a stage win at the Tour of Utah last year plus overall victories in the Univest Grand Prix and the Nature Valley Grand Prix.
His team will be up against a number of strong squads, including the Kenda/5-Hour Energy p/b Geargrinder lineup. Team owner Chad Thompson is determined that his riders will do well, and has an additional incentive as the Kenda company is the official tire sponsor for the race.
“We are tremendously excited and hungry to return to the Battenkill,” he said. “This is the toughest American classic and it demands the perfect rider and equipment to step onto the podium. We are more than confident that our roster and Kenda Tires will get us there.”
The race has long offroad sections and therefore poses additional demands on equipment.
The IG-Sigma Sport team will send a strong team, with former Cervélo Test Team and Garmin-Cervélo rider Dan Lloyd expected to head the selection.
US Pro Criterium Champion American Dan Holloway and British Circuit Race Champion Graham Briggs will be part of the Team Raleigh-CAC, which is also from England.
Further teams will be announced in the near future.
The pro/am event prior to the elite race will be the first of Anthem Sports’ events in the Stan's Notubes Great American Cycling Series. The others are May’s Tour of the Dragons in Bennington and Manchester, Vermont, August’s Tour of the Catskills in Hunter and Windham, September’s Tour of the Adirondacks (Lake George Region, New York) and Tour of Vail in Colorado, plus October’s BattenFall Classic in Cambridge.
Tour of the Battenkill 2012 – preliminary lineup:
Pro Continental teams:
Team Type 1 – Sanofil, USA
Continental teams:
Bissel Cycling, USA
Competitive Cyclist Racing Team, USA
Équipe cycliste EKOÏ.com/Gaspésien, CAN
Hincapie Sportswear Development, USA
Kenda/5 Hour Energy p/b Geargrinder, USA
Team Optum Presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies, USA
Team IG - Sigma Sport, GB
Team Raleigh-GAC, GB
Elite teams:
CRCA /Champion System/Stan's Notubes, USA
Hagens Berman Elite Cycling, USA
Stans Notubes / AXA Equitable Cycling, USA
(more teams will be announced in the coming weeks)