Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah - Stage 1 - The peloton passes by Checkerboard Mesa on its way out of Zion National Park(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Marco Canola (Nippo-Vini Fantini) celebrates final day Tour of Utah stage success(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Stage 7 of the Tour of Utah showcased some of the seasons craziest weather. Mid-race a storm blew through the hammered the peloton with heavy rain and hail. (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah - Stage 1 - Riders enter the 1.1 mile long tunnel cut through one of the mountains in Zion National Park(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Organisers of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah announced Tuesday that there will be 16 teams participating in the event, which is held from August 6-12. Nine teams have accepted early invitations including five WorldTour teams.
In January, organisers announced four WorldTour teams would start including BMC Racing, Mitchelton-Scott, EF Education First-Drapac and Trek-Segafredo. LottoNL-Jumbo is the latest to join that list of cycling's top-tier teams.
The race has also confirmed the participation of Professional Continental teams Bardiani-CSF, Israel Cycling Academy and Nippo Vini Fantini. Canadian Contiental outfit Silber Pro Cycling will also be competing in the event.
"We have an impressive lineup of international teams for the 2018 Tour of Utah at this early date. It is a tribute to the great support provided by host communities, Tour partners and staff that professional cycling teams around the world now ask to be invited to compete. The Tour of Utah has a solid reputation worldwide as one of the premier sporting events on the professional cycling calendar," said John Kimball, managing director of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah.
The nine teams announced so far improves the quality of the field compared to the 2017 edition where only one WorldTour team, BMC Racing, participated.
All of the nine teams have participated in at least one previous edition of the Tour of Utah. LottoNL-Jumbo competed in the 2012 edition as Rabobank. This year, the team includes American riders Neilson Powless and Sepp Kuss.
Mitchelton-Scott last competed in the event in 2013 as Orica-GreenEdge where Michael Matthews won two stages. BMC Racing has competed in 10 editions, while EF Education First-Drapac returns for an eighth year and Trek-Segafredo returns for a fourth year.
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Israel Cycling Academy, Nippo Vini-Fantini and Bardiani-CSF have all competed in the stateside event in previous years. Silber Pro Cycling won a stage of the 2016 edition with Kris Dahl.
Canadian Rob Britton of Rally Cycling captured the overall general classification victory at the 2017 Tour of Utah.
The Tour of Utah will start a week later than its traditional slot on the calendar. Organisers announced host cities in January with the race returning to the southern part of the state. It will kick off in St. George with a prologue time trial before heading north for the conclusion six days later in Park City.
Additional host venues are Cedar City, Payson City, Antelope Island State Park, Layton City, Salt Lake City, Canyons Village, and Snowbird Resort.
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