Cervélo TestTeam announces Tour pre-selections

On Friday the Swiss registered Cervélo TestTeam announced its pre-selection of 12 riders for next month's Tour de France. The team has indicated the final nine-man selection will support last year's Tour winner, Carlos Sastre, in the battle for overall honours. At the same time the team will target stage wins through sprinters Thor Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler.

The nine-man tour squad will be selected from the following riders: Inigo Cuesta, Xavier Florencio, Simon Gerrans, Volodymir Gustov, Heinrich Haussler, Thor Hushovd, Andreas Klier, Brett Lancaster, José Angel Gomez Marchante, Gabriel Rasch, Hayden Roulston and Carlos Sastre.

Cervélo TestTeam has already had a strong season with 14 victories, including four stage wins at last month's Giro d'Italia. The team is currently leading the International Cycling Union's (UCI) team rankings.

"We have had a dream start to our inaugural season," said Cervélo TestTeam's managing director, Thomas Campana. "We are looking forward to our first Tour de France. Carlos knows he has the entire team's support to help him reach his goals. We would also like to win a couple of other stages on the way to Paris and with our top sprinter Thor Hushovd and Heinrich Haussler anything is possible."