April 15/15 15:16 pm - Tour of Utah Announces Teams

Posted by Editoress on 04/15/15
 

A collection of 13 of the world's best international and domestic men's professional cycling teams have accepted invitations to compete at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on August 3-9. Three additional teams will be added later this spring, for a total of 16 men's teams in the final field of the UCI 2.HC men's stage race.

Four of these teams will travel to Utah directly from competition at the Tour de France, including three UCI ProTeams registered in the United States - BMC Racing Team, Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling and Trek Factory Racing. The South African-based MTN-Qhubeka presented by Samsung team, registered at a Professional Continental level, is the first team from the African continent to receive a wild card invitation to the Tour de France. It is the second appearance for MTN-Qhubeka (2013) and Trek Factory Racing (2014) at the Tour of Utah. BMC Racing Team, which captured three stage wins at last year's Tour of Utah, will make its seventh appearance. Cannondale-Garmin, which expects to bring two-time defending champion Tom Danielson (USA) again in August, will race as a Slipstream Sports squad for a sixth year.

UCI ProTeams
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling (USA)
Trek Factory Racing (USA)

UCI Professional Continental Teams
Drapac Professional Cycling (Australia)
Team Colombia (Colombia)
Team MTN-Qhubeka presented by Samsung (South Africa)
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team (USA)

UCI Continental Teams
Axeon Cycling Team (USA)
Hincapie Racing Team (USA)
Jamis-Hagens Berman presented by Sutter Home (USA)
Jelly Belly presented by Maxxis (USA)
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies (USA)
Team SmartStop (USA)

"Each year we are honored to have such an impressive list of teams competing in the Tour of Utah. To have four teams already committed to travel to Utah from the Tour de France makes a big statement in the sports world about the growing prestige of the Tour of Utah. Our fans and our partners can expect more great racing battles from these world-class teams in August," said Jenn Andrs, executive director of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, a division of Miller Sports Properties.

Earlier in April, 11 women's professional and domestic elite cycling teams were announced as part of the field for the Tour of Utah Women's Edition: Criterium Classic. The omnium-style competition will take place in Logan, Utah on Aug. 3 and Ogden, Utah on Aug. 4. Four women's UCI teams were confirmed to compete, including the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling team which captured the inaugural Tour of Utah Women's Edition title in 2014.
 
The final fields for both men's and women's competitions will be announced later this spring. This year's Tour of Utah will continue as the first internationally-sanctioned cycling competition in North America for men following the Tour de France. The Criterium Classic is sanctioned by USA Cycling as part of the National Criterium Calendar (NCC).

Press release