Tour of Britain Race Director Mick Bennett today announced that UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team would take part in the race for the first time, after Colnago CSF Inox team withdrew their entry from the event.
“We are very pleased to welcome the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team to The Tour of Britain. I am sure that they will have a very successful debut in The Tour,” he said.
The American team will be joining a strong line up of already-confirmed teams which include Sky Procycling, Garmin-Cervélo, Leopard Trek, Rabobank and HTC – Highroad.
“They have a strong all round team that looks well suited to this year’s route, while in Robert Förster they have a sprinter who has won stages in both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana, and will I’m sure be in contention for both The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey and the new-for-2011 Yodel Sprints jersey,” Bennett said.
Upon hearing the news, General Manager and Directeur Sportif, Mike Tamayo added, “We are honored and pleased to have received an invitation to race in the Tour of Britain’s 2011 edition.”
He added, “The Tour of Britain is a great race that is very well suited for Team UnitedHealthcare. The sprint stages are shorter punchy hills, and that is what this team is best at doing and where we’ve been able to make a mark for ourselves this season.”
Leading the team will be Robert Förster and Rory Sutherland who’s had major success on the domestic racing scene in America in recent years. He returned to some European racing this season with a number top five placings namely in the Vuelta Ciclista Asturias and Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi-Bartali
“Rory Sutherland will be coming off of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado with great form and is an ace when it comes to Britain style of racing. And Robert Förster will be chomping at the bit for some more bunch kicks and to have an opportunity to be there at the finish. This is going to be a great race and we are looking forward to competing again against the best in the world in September in Britain,” Tamayo concluded.
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team’s provisional Tour of Britain line-up:
Robert Förster (Ger); Chris Jones (USA); Karl Menzies (Aus); Rory Sutherland (Aus); Boy van Poppel (Ned); Scott Zwizanski (USA)