Six riders per team in Eindhoven

The ProTour team time trial in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, on June 19, will only have six riders per team taking part. It was originally planned to have eight or nine riders per team, but the team managers were against the idea, and were backed up by the UCI.

"Up until the last moment we defended our concern," said organiser Gerrie van Gerwen. "We wanted eight or nine riders to make it a really ultimate test for the team time trial in the Tour de France, but we came up against a veto from the team leaders. They wanted teams of no more than six riders. The UCI ruled in their favour."

The television production of the race will be managed by the Belgian VRT, which is considered one of the best in the world at covering cycling. Rival bidder Dutch View was not happy with that decision, as VRT is a subsidised broadcaster, while Dutch View is a private enterprise.

Finally, the UCI intends to use the Eindhoven team time trial as an example for other ProTour organisers, who have all been invited to The Netherlands to watch the event.