Amgen Tour of California Announces Teams

3/17/11 – A world-class field of professional cycling teams, rivaling every other stage race in 2011, has once again been assembled for the upcoming Amgen Tour of California, the largest cycling event in America, which will travel nearly 800 miles throughout California from May 15 – 22, 2011. Announced today by AEG, presenter of the race, the lineup of teams includes 19 elite international and domestic squads, ensuring a spectacular racing competition for the sixth-annual event.

With the race’s move on the calendar to May last year, the Amgen Tour of California has further solidified its position as one of the most important cycling races in the world by continuing to draw the strongest and most talented field of teams ever assembled for a U.S. cycling race. This year is no exception.

The 19-team field is comprised of a collection of the world’s best professional cycling teams, including HTC-Highroad, the most successful team of the peloton with more than 400 wins since 2008, featuring sprint sensation Matthew Goss and promising young American Tejay Van Garderen; Team Garmin-Cervélo, one of the most powerful teams in the pro peloton with Americans David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde on the roster; three-time Amgen Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer’s team, Team RadioShack; Sky ProCycling, which features last year’s overall Amgen Tour of California winner Michael Rogers; Saxo Bank Sungard, whose prolific sprinter Juan Jose Haedo will be looking to add to his five Amgen Tour of California stage wins this year; Rabobank Cycling Team, which includes Australian U23 world champion Michael Matthews; and BMC Racing Team, with veteran racing pro George Hincapie at the helm.

The 2011 Amgen Tour of California roster includes the following 19 teams:

UCI ProTeams

  • Sky ProCycling (GBR)
  • Rabobank Cycling Team (NED)
  • Team Garmin-Cervélo (USA)
  • HTC-Highroad (USA)
  • Team RadioShack ( USA)
  • Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA)
  • Saxo Bank Sungard (DEN)
  • Leopard Trek (LUX)
  • BMC Racing Team (USA)

UCI Professional Continental Teams

  • Team NetApp (GER)
  • Team Type 1-sanofi aventis (USA)
  • Team Spidertech Powered By C10 (CAN)
  • UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (USA)

UCI Continental Teams

  • Movistar Team (COL)
  • Jamis-Sutter Home (USA)
  • Kelly Benefit Strategies – Optum Health (USA)
  • Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)
  • Jelly Belly p/b Kenda (USA)
  • Kenda/5-Hour Energy Pro Cycling p/b Geargrinder (USA)

“The caliber of teams participating in the Amgen Tour of California seems to grow with each passing year, which is a great testament to the status of our race on the professional racing calendar,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports. “Beyond the incredible talent of Tour de France competitors, world champions, Olympic Champions and internationally known cyclists, is the amazing talent of up and coming American cyclists, like Peter Stetina of Team Garmin-Cervélo, Ben King of Team RadioShack and Tejay Van Garderen of HTC-Highroad. I am thrilled that our race gives them the opportunity to build their profile among cycling in the U.S.”

There are a total of 14 teams returning to the Amgen Tour of California for 2011, including: Bissell Pro Cycling; BMC Racing Team; HTC-Highroad; Jamis-Sutter Home (formerly Colavita-Sutter Home); Jelly Belly p/b Kenda; Kelly Benefit Strategies-Optum Health; Liquigas-Cannondale; Rabobank Cycling Team; Saxo Bank Sungard; Team Garmin-Cervélo, Team RadioShack; Team Spidertech Powered by C10; Team Type 1-sanofi aventis; and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling.

"The Amgen Tour of California has become one of the world’s great sporting events,” said Bob Stapleton, owner of HTC-Highroad. “With its epic stages in Tahoe, the central coast and Mt Baldy, it's a spectacle only exceeded in cycling by the Tour de France. Our home state provides a stunning setting for athletes, spectators and a world-wide television audience."

Teams new to the Amgen Tour of California roster include Kenda/5-Hour Energy Pro Cycling p/b Geargrinder; Leopard Trek; Movistar; Sky ProCycling; and Team NetApp.
“The Amgen Tour of California is one of world’s greatest showcases for professional cycling full stop. The atmosphere, the fans and the race as such is something truly special and we are very happy to participate with a strong line-up for Leopard Trek,” said Brian Nygaard, general manager of Leopard Trek. “It is without a doubt one of our big goals of the season, and we look forward to racing one of the most scenic and attractive races of the season with the highest ambitions.”