Hoogerland and Cooke named in Vacansoleil's Vuelta shortlist

The Vacansoleil team

The Vacansoleil team (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Vacansoleil have named a thirteen rider shortlist for their 2009 Vuelta a España squad.

The nine-man team will be picked from the following riders: Borut Bozic, Matteo Carrara, Baden Cooke, Johnny Hoogerland, Sergey Lagutin, Björn Leukemans, Gerben Löwik, Marco Marcato, Jens Mouris, Matthé Pronk, Bobbie Traksel, Frederik Veuchelen and Lieuwe Westra.

The team says it will make its final selection in mid-August.

The Dutch pro continental squad is one of 21 teams selected for the Spanish Grand Tour. They will be joined at the start by Spanish pro continental squads Andalucía-Cajasur, Contentpolis-Ampo and Xacobeo-Galicia. ProTour teams Katusha and Fuji-Servetto were both denied invitations to the race by the race organiser, Unipublic.

For Vacansoleil the race will begin at home as the prologue and first three stages of the Vuelta are scheduled to take place in the Netherlands. The race begins on August 29 with a 4.5-kilometre prologue on the grand prix motorcycle circuit in Assen.

The race will conclude in Madrid on September 20.

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