Lotto-Belisol to participate in Tour de India

Lotto-Belisol has announced its rider selection for the upcoming Tour de India, a series of three one-day races held in January 2012. The new Belgian World Tour team will participate in the Tour de India I, II and III, taking place on January 22, 26 and 29 in the cities of Pune, Delhi and Mumbai.

Team management has decided to send a mix of young talent and experienced veterans to the Asia Tour events. Kenny Dehaes, the team's appointed leader, will count on the support of newcomer Mehdi Sohrabi from Iran.

Sander Cordeel, Frederique Robert, Tosh Van der Sande and Jonas Vangenechten round out the roster.

"We are giving our young talented riders the chance to prove themselves on the highest level," team boss Marc Sergeant told Sporza. "It's up to us now to make the step a successful one. We want our 'young talent' to have the opportunity to ride for themselves and gain experience in international competitions from a selected continental calendar."

Other teams taking part in the Tour de India are the CFI International Team of India, Team Bonitas from South Africa, Genesys Wealth Advisers from Australia, SP Tableware from Greece, Colnago-CSF Inox from Italy, Uzbekistan Suren Cycling Team, Uzbekistan National Cycling Team, Kazakhstan National Team and Rapha Condor Sharp from the United Kingdom.