The full team list for this year’s Tour of Ireland cycle race in association with Fáilte Ireland has been announced.
Team Saxo Bank and Cervélo Test Team are the latest additions to top teams already announced for the 2009 tour.
Both teams were very prominent in the Tour de France which finished in Paris last weekend. The team rosters for Ireland have not been announced yet, but both have strong squads with many riders capable of achieving podium places.
Saxo Bank brothers Andy and Frank Schleck were both competitors in the inaugural Tour of Ireland in 2007.
Cervélo have Donegal man Philip Deignan in their squad. The 25-year-old from Letterkenny is a talented climber with two top 10 finishes in stages of the Vuelta España. He rode the Giro d'Italia for the second time this year.
Two national teams feature in the team list for the 2.1 ranked UCI calendar event.
Australia brings a strong team to the start at The Ritz-Carlton, Powerscourt on Friday 21 August. Jack Bobridge, Travis Meyer and Leigh Howard are all named in the Australian National Team. Leigh Howard won his first senior World Championship in Poland this year when the 19-year-old showed his all-round ability by winning a gold medal on the track.
The Aussie trio have been racing together for many years since they won gold medals at the Junior World Championships in the team pursuit in 2003. Bobridge picked up two silver medals at the World Track Championships in 2009.
The Irish team features a blend of youth and experience. 18-year-old Sam Bennett came to prominence when he won the Irish Junior Road Race championships and the Junior Tour of Ireland in 2008.
He has also won the gold medal in the points race in the Junior European Track Championships and went on to kick start his senior career by winning stage seven of this year’s FBD Milk Rás.
Teenager Philip Lavery joins Bennett in the team captained by seasoned campaigners David McCann and Paul Griffin. Martyn Irvine, Paul Healion, Stephen Barrett and Sean Downey are all in contention for the remaining places in the seven man team.
The full team list for the race is:
Astana, Team Columbia – HTC, Team Saxo Bank, Cervélo Test Team, Irish National Team, ISD – Neri
An Post Sean Kelly, Rapha Condor, Team Type 1, CandiTV-Marshalls, BMC Racing, Australian National Team,
Joker-Bianchi, Rabobank, MTN Energade, Halfords-Bike Hut
