ASO has announced the teams invited to the 2010 Tour de France today, with wild cards going to:
• BMC Racing
• Cervélo Test Team
• Garmin-Transitions
• Katusha
• Team Radio Shack
• Team Sky
This assures the big-name appeal of the 2010 peloton: Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins, world champion Cadel Evans, Carlos Sastre, Thor Hushovd and Christian Vande Velde will all be vying for position, along with a host of other names capable of challenging for jerseys or a top 10 GC finish.
No big surprise, maybe. Team Sky’s results and line-up have more than justified its inclusion; arguably the Tour could not afford to ignore any of these teams, except (perhaps) Katusha. But the decision will disappoint Skil-Shimano, who returned to the race after an absence last year, and Vacansoleil in particular, the Dutch team that put on such a strong show in the early season, winning at the Tour of Qatar and the KBK.
It appears that Lampre – Farnese has sorted out its licence woes, and stays among the 16 Pro Tour teams automatically included under a 2008 agreement with the UCI.
These are: AG2R La Mondiale, Astana, BBox Bouygues Telecom, Caisse d’Epargne, Cofidis, le Crédit en ligne, Euskaltel – Euskadi, Footon – Servetto, Française des Jeux, Liquigas – Doimo, Omega Pharma – Lotto, Quick Step, Rabobank, Team HTC-Columbia, Team Milram and Team Saxo Bank.
Bring it on!
