Evans, Menchov and Petacchi, in Andalucia

By Antonio J. Salmerón

The Vuelta a Andalucia-Ruta del Sol announced this weekend that 14 teams and 98 cyclists will take part in their five-days race, which begins February 17 in Malaga and runs until February 21 in Cordoba.

The fourteen squads competing include the three Spanish Pro Tour teams of Euskaltel-Euskadi, Caisse d'Epargne and Sauniver Duval, as well as the Pro-continental teams Karpin-Galicia, Andalucia-CajaSur, Región de Murcia and Extremadura-Ciclismo Solidario.

Foreign participation will include Silence-Lotto, Quick Step (Belgium), Rabobank (Netherlands), Skil Shimano (Netherlands), Milram (Italy), Cycle Collostrop (Switzerland) and Katyusha (Russia).

Two-time Vuelta winner Denis Menchov (Russia), 2007 Tour de France runner up Cadel Evans (Australia), sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (who will try to extend his record of 129 victories), and one-day specialist Juan Antonio Flecha (Spain) are all on the start list.