Tour of Britain 2008

American squad become the fifth Tour de France team to sign up for 2008 Tour of Britain

The Tour of Britain have announced the participation of Team Garmin/Chipotle presented by H30 in the 2008 race, beginning on Sunday 7th September in central London.

The American squad, known as Team Slipstream until shortly before the Tour de France, have evolved from a strong US domestic squad into a world-class team who have competed in both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France so far this season.

Headlining their provisional roster for The Tour of Britain is British favourite David Millar, who will be riding his home tour for the first time and current Irish champion Daniel Martin.

Also named as starting is former Paris – Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt, and Julian Dean, who has already enjoyed success in The Tour of Britain, finishing 2nd overall and taking the Points jersey in 2004.

Welcoming Garmin – Chipotle to The Tour of Britain, spokesman Peter Hodges said:

“It is excellent news that Team Garmin will be riding this year’s race. They are bringing over a strong team, and with riders more than capable of taking victory on each stage, they are bound to play a part in shaping the overall outcome of the 2008 Tour of Britain.

We’ve seen so far this year that the team are a force to be reckoned with in a variety of races, from Martijn Maaskant’s performance in Paris – Rouxbaix to their fantastic victory in the Team Time Trial at the Tour of Italy.

We’re expecting many fans will also be excited by the opportunity to see David Millar racing, and the route of this year’s Tour of Britain could well suit him, while Martijn Maaskant performed well in last year’s race and Julian Dean will of course be looking to go one better than in 2004.”

The Tour of Britain 2008 – The Teams
Agritubel
An Post – M.Donnelly – Grant Thornton – Sean Kelly Cycling Team
Barloworld
Great Britain
MTN Energade
Palmeiras Resort - Tavira
Pinarello RT – Candi TV
Plowman Craven Cycling Team
Rapha – Condor – Recycling.co.uk
Rock Racing
SouthAustralia.com - AIS
Team CSC – Saxo Bank
Team Columbia
Team Garmin – Chipotle presented by H30
Topsport Vlaanderen
TBA