Published March 12, 2009 03:35PM
It’s too early to say if Alberto, Levi, Andreas or Lance will show, but Team Astana is confirmed to race in this year’s Tour of Missour, September 7-13.
The Kazakstan-registered team joins Garmin-Slipstream, Columbia-High Road, Liquigas, Cervelo TestTeam as confirmed ProTour teams at the race, which will feature 15 teams.
“To have the participation of Astana is yet another huge step for this race,” said Chris Aronhalt, the managing partner of event organizer Medalist Sports.
Team rosters will be announced in August. Additional teams will be announced in coming weeks, organizers said.
“We are very much looking forward to coming to the Tour of Missouri. We like to compete in the big American races,” said Johan Bruyneel, the general manager of Team Astana. “The Tour of Missouri is a very good race and will be competitive this year looking at the initial roster of teams. As always, we will bring a very good team to compete for the win.”
The overall course will start in St. Louis and end in Kansas City, covering more than 600 miles. Last year the race was won by Garmin’s Christian Vande Velde.