BMC, LottoNL-Jumbo and Madison-Genesis announce Yorkshire squads
Three teams have announced their rosters for the upcoming first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire.
WorldTour outfits BMC and LottoNL-Jumbo and British Continental team Madison-Genesis have named their eight-man lineups for the three-day race.
BMC will bring some of their biggest names, includin Greg Van Avermaet and Samuel Sánchez, to the new race.
The team also includes Jempy Drucker, Ben Hermans, Klaas Lodewyck, Joey Rosskopf, Dylan Teuns and neo-pro Rick Zabel.
Meanwhile, Dutch team LottoNL-Jumbo will start with Steven Kruijswijk, Nick van der Lijke, Barry Markus, Timo Roosen, Mike Teunissen, Robert Wagner and Maarten Wynants, as well as general classification hopeful Moreno Hofland.
Madison-Genesis team manager Roger Hammond chose Erick Rowsell, Tom Scully, Tom Stewart, Liam Holohan, Tobyn Horton, Mike Northey, James McLaughlin and Mark McNally for the race which was founded as a result of Yorkshire's hugely successful Tour de France Grand Départ last year.
McNally enjoyed success at last year's Tour of Britain, winning the King of the Mountains classification, while Erick Rowsell won the recent Tour of the Reservoir.
Hammond said: "We've been really looking forward to the Tour de Yorkshire for a long time now and have been working hard to ensure we are ready to race on Friday in Bridlington," Hammond said. "I am extremely pleased with how the team has progressed this year with everyone going the extra mile in training; selecting the final eight riders has been very difficult, but in a good way."
"I'm confident that with the balance of climbers and rouleurs in the team led by the experience of Mark McNally, we will be ready for anything the beautiful (and demanding) Yorkshire countryside can throw at us! With the support of the fantastic Yorkshire crowds, I'm really looking forward to seeing the team step up to the challenge."
Poels hit with injury setback
Team Sky's Wout Poels has been dealt a blow after it was confirmed that he requires surgery.
The Dutchman crashed during La Flèche Wallonne last Wednesday and broke a bone in his shoulder.
His injuries meant that he was forced to withdraw from this week's Tour de Romandie.
Meeusen acquitted by Belgian Federation
Cyclo-cross rider Tom Meeusen has been acquitted of using performance-emhancing drugs.
The 26-year-old could have faced a two-year ban and a fine as well as the loss of his 2012 results after he was accused of using the banned substance Vaminolact.
But the Belgian Cycling Federation dismissed the accusations, citing a lack of evidence.
The star tweeted: "After three years, as I've always said: DOPING FREE So happy."