The organizers for the Vuelta a España have announced the 21 teams that will take part in the last Grand Tour of the season. The list of those that will take the start on August 29th includes 16 ProTour teams and 5 Pro Continental teams.
The race won’t hit Spanish soil until after the first several stages, beginning in the Netherlands and making its way south towards home via Belgium and Germany.
Notably absent from the start list are ProTour teams Katusha and Fuji-Servetto. Both teams have had their share of doping scandals over the past year, and that is likey the reason they were left off the list by organizers.
The other team that will be hurting with the new is that of Giro d’Italia runner-up Danilo Di Luca, who had been actively trying to get his LPR Brakes team on the roster. This also means that Di Luca’s teammate Alessandro Petacchi, who also had a fine performace in the Giro, will be unable to add to his tally of stage wins in the Spanish race.
Teams for 2009 Vuelta:
ProTour: AG2R, Astana, Bouygues Telecom, Caisse d’Epargne, Cofidis, Euskaltel, Française des Jeux, Garmin-Slipstream, Lampre, Liquigas, Quick Step, Rabobank, Silence-Lotto, Columbia-High Road, Milram, Saxo Bank
Pro Continental: Andalucia, Cervélo, Contentpolis, Vacansoleil, Xacobeo