Field of 17 teams announced for 2012 Tour of Utah

Seventeen teams from around the globe, including seven competing at the Tour de France, have accepted invitations to the UCI 2.1 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, held August 7-12.

Among those teams is the Omega Pharma-Quick Step squad of two-time Tour of Utah champion Levi Leipheimer.

Other UCI ProTeams racing in Utah include BMC Racing, Garmin-Sharp, Liquigas-Cannondale, RadioShack-Nissan and Rabobank.

A total of five UCI Professional Continental teams have accepted invitations to race in Utah: Champion System, of China; Argos-Shimano, of The Netherlands; SpiderTech-C10, of Canada; NetApp, of Germany; and American team UnitedHealthcare.

Six UCI Continental squads round out the field of 17 teams.

The final field represents teams registered from nine countries, including two teams from The Netherlands and one team from China, all three first-time entries. Other countries include Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the United States.

Partnering with six different host venues across northern Utah, “America’s Toughest Stage Race” will be the first UCI 2.1-rated stage race for ProTeams in the U.S. following the Tour de France and the London Olympic Games. The overall start is in Ogden and the race will finish in Park City. The Tour of Utah also boasts the only professional Team Time Trial (TTT) in the U.S. this year.

The athletes will compete for six days across the mountains, valleys and plateaus of Utah, vying for UCI points, award jerseys and a prize purse that totals $127,000.  Teams are expected to announce their final rosters for the Tour of Utah at the end of July.

UCI ProTeams: (world rankings as of June 17, 2012)
BMC Racing (USA), No.9 on UCI WorldTour
Garmin-Sharp (USA), No. 6 on UCI WorldTour
Liquigas-Cannondale (ITA), No. 3 on UCI WorldTour
Omega Pharma-QuickStep (BEL), No. 4 on UCI WorldTour
Rabobank (NED), No. 13 on UCI WorldTour
RadioShack-Nissan-Trek (LUX), No. 10 on UCI WorldTour

UCI Professional Continental Teams: (rankings as of June 25, 2012)
Champion System (CHN), No. 5 on UCI Asia Tour
Argos-Shimano (NED), No. 2 on UCI Europe Tour
NetApp (GER), No. 9 on UCI Europe Tour
SpiderTech-C10 (CAN), No. 12 on UCI America Tour
UnitedHealthcare (USA), No. 3 on UCI America Tour

UCI Continental Teams: (USA Cycling rankings  as of May 8, 2012)
Bissell (USA), No. 21 on UCI America Tour; No. 3 on NRC
Bontrager-Livestrong (USA), No. 5 on NRC
Competitive Cyclist (USA), No. 10 on UCI America Tour; No. 1 on NRC
EPM-UNE (COL), No.5 on UCI America Tour
Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies (USA), No.7 on UCI America Tour; No. 2 on NRC
Team Exergy (USA), No. 17 on UCI America Tour; No. 7 on NRC