Tour of Utah teams selected

Tour of Utah organisers have released the list of teams for this year's race, to be held August 17-22. A total of 18 squads have been invited, with 144 riders set to compete for a share of the US$45,000 prize purse and valuable National Racing Calendar (NRC) points.

The event is regarded as one of the toughest races on the US domestic calendar, with testing high altitude climbs matched with time trials and criteriums over five stages. The event kicks off with the 4.5-kilometre Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau Prologue.

Organisers have dubbed it 'America's toughest stage race' thanks to the 30,000-plus feet (over 9,000m) of climbing that are a feature of a race route that includes 300 miles (over 480km) along Utah's Rocky Mountain Wasatch Range.

Squads to watch include Bissell Pro Cycling, Fly V Australia and UnitedHealthcare presented by Maxxis, the trio of teams taking the lion's share of race wins throughout the NRC thus far in 2010. Each has been invited to Utah and will no doubt continue their run of good form during the week.

The 11 professional squads attending include:

Adageo Energy Pro Cycling
Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling
Bissell Pro Cycling
Fly V Australia
Holowesko Partners/Garmin U23
Jamis/Sutter Home
Kelly Benefit Strategies Pro Cycling
KENDA Pro Cycling presented by GEARGRINDER
Trek-LIVESTRONG Development Team
Team Type 1
UnitedHealthcare presented by Maxxis

Seven amateur teams slated to start the event include:

Official California Giant Cycling Team
Canyon Bicycles Utah Allstars
Cole Sport Racing
Team Exergy
Hagens Berman Cycling Team
K-FANN Elite Composite Team
Team Rio Grande

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