ASO names four wild card entries to complete the 22-team field. - AFP/Bicycling
Tour de France organisers have announced the final four teams invited to compete in this year’s 101st edition of the race which begins on July 5 in Leeds, England.
French Pro Continental teams Bretagne-Seche and Cofidis were included along with the Swiss team IAM Cycling and German squad Netapp-Endura, organisers confirmed. Only the Cofidis outfit has featured on the Tour de France before while the other trio are newcomers.
Twenty-two teams of nine riders will be on the start line as the legendary three-week race gets set to visit England for only the third time.
Apart from the four invited teams, the other 18 squads qualified automatically as members of the top flight WorldTour circuit.
“The ASO [Amaury Sport Organisation, and organising body for the Tour] keeps a close eye on international cycling and continues to support French cycling,” explained TDF director Christian Prudhomme.
The 2007 race began in London, the only other time the race kicked off in the United Kingdom, where Swiss time-trial specialist Fabian Cancellara won the prologue before former green jersey winner Robbie McEwen of Australia won the first stage, which finished in Canterbury.
The 2014 race starts in northern England for the first time with a 191km ride from Leeds to Harrogate before the second day of racing between York and Sheffield. The peloton then makes its way down to Cambridge where they will race over 159km to London on Stage 3.
The rest of the 18 stages will largely take part in France—with brief visits to Belgium and Spain—as the pack winds its way clockwise around the country and back to Paris for the traditional finish on the Champs Elysees on July 27.
Click here for the 2014 Tour de France route details.
2014 Tour de France Teams, by Country
France (5):
AG2R La Mondiale, Bretagne-Seche, Cofidis, Europcar, FDJ.fr
United States (3):
BMC, Garmin-Sharp, Trek
Belgium (2):
Omega Pharma–Quick-Step, Lotto-Belisol
Italy (2):
Cannondale, Lampre
Netherlands (2):
Belkin, Giant-Shimano
Germany (1):
Netapp-Endura
Australia (1):
Orica-GreenEdge
Demmark (1):
Tinkoff-Saxo
Spain (1):
Movistar
Great Britain (1):
Sky
Kazakhstan (1):
Astana
Russia (1):
Katusha
Switzerland (1):
IAM Cycling
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