Considered the best collection of talent to compete in a U.S. professional cycling stage race, the world-class roster of teams and cyclists scheduled to participate in the 2009 Amgen Tour of California has been announced by race presenter AEG.  The 2009 Amgen Tour of California will host 17 teams and 136 riders from 24 countries for the fourth-annual race from February 14-22.

The race will bring the top cycling talent in the world to compete across more than 750 miles down the state of California, USA from the state’s capital, Sacramento, to San Diego County.  Attracting an unprecedented field of riders from around the world, cyclists hail from countries as far away as Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Cuba, Finland, New Zealand, and South Africa. 

“As the Amgen Tour of California continues to grow in stature year after year, we continue to see the caliber of the field increase,” Andrew Messick, president, AEG Sports told Roadcycling.com.  “The group of cyclists that will comprise the field for the 2009 race will create an unprecedented level of competition that is sure to make 2009 the best year yet.  We are looking forward to watching the competition unfold.”

The field will include riders from well-known teams such as Astana, Team Columbia-Highroad, Quick Step, Saxo Bank and Garmin-Slipstream, which returns to defend the title as the winner of the overall team competition.  Some of the notable riders planned to begin the race in Sacramento on February 14 include:

Tour de France Champions
Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
Carlos Sastre (ESP), Cervélo Test Team

Tour de France Stage Winners
Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
Tom Boonen (BEL), Quick Step
Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-Highroad
Oscar Freire Gomez (ESP), Rabobank
Tyler Hamilton (USA), Rock Racing
George Hincapie (USA), Team Columbia-Highroad
Thor Hushovd (NOR), Cervélo Test Team
Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia-Highroad
Floyd Landis (USA), Ouch Presented by Maxxis
Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
Stuart O’Grady (AUS), Saxo Bank
Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana
Carlos Sastre (ESP), Cervélo Test Team
Frank Schleck (LUX), Saxo Bank
David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream

World Champions:
Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
Tom Boonen (BEL), Quick Step
Janez Brajkovic  (SLO), Astana
Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team Columbia-Highroad
Francisco Chicchi (ITA), Liquigas
Oscar Freire Gomez (ESP), Rabobank
Brett Lancaster (AUS), Cervélo Test Team
Stuart O’Grady (AUS), Saxo Bank
Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Astana
Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-Highroad

Olympic Medalists:
Lance Armstrong (USA), Astana
Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
Tyler Hamilton (USA), Rock Racing
Gustav Larsson (SWE), Saxo Bank
Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana
Stuart O’Grady (AUS), Saxo Bank
Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-Highroad
Hayden Roulston (NZL), Cervélo Test Team

Current National Champions (by country):
Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Saxo Bank
Tyler Hamilton (USA), Rock Racing
Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia-Highroad
Michael Rogers (AUS), Team Columbia-Highroad
Frank Schleck (LUX), Saxo Bank
Tadej Valjavec (SLO), AG2R-La Mondiale
David Zabriskie (USA), Garmin-Slipstream

American Race Champions:
Lance Armstrong (Astana), 2004 Tour de Georgia
Janez Brajkovic (Astana), 2007 Tour de Georgia
Tom Danielson (Garmin-Slipstream), 2005 Tour de Georgia
George Hincapie (Team Columbia-Highroad), 2007 Tour of Missouri
Chris Horner (Astana), 2003 Tour de Georgia
Floyd Landis (Ouch Presented by Maxxis), 2006 Amgen Tour of California, 2006 Tour de Georgia
Levi Leipheimer, (Astana), 2007 and 2008 Amgen Tour of California
Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream), 2008 Tour of Missouri

“Welcoming such an impressive group of international and domestic cyclists to the race is something that we are incredibly proud of,” added Messick.  “The growing reputation of the Amgen Tour of California has resulted in the best, most accomplished, field of cyclists to ever to race on U.S. soil.”

The 2009 Amgen Tour of California roster includes the following 17 professional cycling teams.  The eight ProTour teams compete regularly on the UCI’s ProTour race calendar, including the Grand Tours of Europe: Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

ProTour Teams

1.) AG2R-La Mondiale (FRA)
Cyril Dessel (FRA)
Hubert Dupont (FRA)
Martin Elmiger (SUI)
John Gadret (FRA)
Stéphane Goubert (FRA)
Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA)
Christophe Riblon (FRA)
Tadej Valjavec (SLO)

2.) Astana (KAZ)
Lance Armstrong (USA)
Janez Brajkovic (SLO)
Christopher Horner (USA)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Steve  Morabito (SUI)
Yaroslav Popovych (UKR)
Gregory Rast (SUI)
José Luis Rubiera Vigil (ESP)

3.) Garmin-Slipstream (USA)
Steven Cozza (USA)
Thomas Danielson (USA)
Tyler Farrar (USA)
Trent Lowe (USA)
Thomas Peterson (USA)
Svein Tuft (USA)
Christian Vande Velde (USA)
David Zabriskie (CAN)

4.) Liquigas (ITA)
Ivan Basso (ITA)
Kjell Carlström (FIN)
Francesco Chicchi (ITA)
Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA)
Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
Daniel Oss (ITA)
Brian Vandborg (DEN)
Alessandro Vanotti (ITA)

5.) Quick Step (BEL)
Carlos Barredo (ESP)
Tom Boonen (BEL)
Kevin De Weert (BEL)
Addy Engels (NED)
Kevin Hulsmans (BEL)
Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL)
Jurgen Van De Walle (BEL)
Marco Velo (ITA)

6.) Rabobank (NED)
Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (COL)
Stef Clement (NED)
Oscar Freire Gomez (ESP)
Robert Gesink (NED)
Pedro Horrillo Munoz (ESP)
Bauke Mollema (NED)
Grischa Niermann (GER)
Pieter Weening (NED)

7.) Saxo Bank (DEN)
Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
Juan José Haedo (ARG)
Gustav Larsson (SWE)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Stuart O'Grady (AUS)
Andy Schleck (LUX)
Fränk Schleck (LUX)
Jens Voigt (GER)

8.) Team Columbia-Highroad (USA)
Michael Barry (CAN)
Mark Cavendish (GBR)
Adam Hansen (AUS)
George Hincapie (USA)
Kim Kirchen (LUX)
Thomas Lovkvist (SWE)
Mark Renshaw (AUS)
Michael Rogers (AUS)

Pro Continental Teams

9.) BMC Racing Team (USA)
Mathias Frank (SUI)
Thomas Frei (SUI)
Jonathan Garcia (USA)
Jeffry Louder (USA)
Ian McKissick (USA)
Alexandre Moos (SUI)
Scott Nydam (USA)
Markus Zberg (SUI)

10.) Cervélo Test Team (SUI)
Inigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (ESP)
Thor Hushovd (NOR)
Edward King (USA)
Brett Lancaster (AUS)
Serge Pauwels (BEL)
Dominique Rollin (CAN)
Hayden Roulston (NZL)
Carlos Sastre (ESP)

Continental Teams

11.) Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)
Andy Jacques-Maynes (USA)
Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA)
Omer Kem (USA)
Peter Latham (USA)
Kirk O'Bee (USA)
Frank Pipp (USA)
Jeremy Vennell (USA)
Tom Zirbel (USA)
           
12.) Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light (USA)
Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (ARG)
Anibal Andres Borrajo (ARG)
Davide Frattini (ITA)
Andy Guptill (USA)
Aaron Olson (USA)
Luis Romero Amaran (CUB)
Lucas Sebastian Haedo (ARG)
Tyler Wren (USA)

13.) Fly V Australia presented by Successful Living Foundation Team (AUS)
Jonathan Cantwell (USA)
Scott Davis (AUS)
Ben Day (AUS)
Robert Gunn (AUS)
Michael Grabinger (USA)
David Kemp (AUS)
Bernard Sulzberger (AUS)
Phil Zajicek (USA)

14.) Jelly Belly Cycling Team (USA)
Charles Bradley Huff (USA)
Jonathan Clarke (AUS)
Matthew Crane (USA)
Phillip Gaimon (USA)
Kiel Reijnen (USA)
Nick Reistad (USA)
Will Routley (CAN)
Bernard Van Ulden (USA)

15.) Ouch Presented by Maxxis (USA)
Cameron Evans (CAN)
Timothy Johnson (USA)
Floyd Landis (USA)
Karl Menzies (AUS)
John Murphy (USA)
Jonathan Patrick McCarty (USA)
Rory Sutherland (AUS)
Bradley White (USA)

16.) Rock Racing (USA)
Chris Baldwin (USA)
Glen Chadwick (NZL)
Enrique Gutierrez (ESP)
Tyler Hamilton (USA)
Francisco Mancebo (ESP)
Victor Hugo Pena (COL)
Freddy Rodriguez (USA)
Oscar Sevilla (ESP)

17.) Team Type 1 (USA)
Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX)
Fabio Calabria (AUS)
Christopher Jones (USA)
Valeriy Kobzarenko (UKR)
Darren Lill (RSA)
Ian Macgregor (USA)
Phil Southerland (USA)
Matthew Wilson (AUS)

Stages for the 2009 Amgen Tour of California include:
Prologue: Saturday, Feb. 14 – Sacramento
Stage 1: Sunday, Feb. 15 – Davis to Santa Rosa
Stage 2: Monday, Feb. 16 – Sausalito to Santa Cruz
Stage 3: Tuesday, Feb. 17 – San Jose to Modesto
Stage 4: Wednesday, Feb. 18 – Merced to Clovis
Stage 5: Thursday, Feb. 19 – Visalia to Paso Robles
Stage 6: Friday, Feb. 20 – Solvang (individual time trial)
Stage 7: Saturday, Feb. 21 – Santa Clarita to Pasadena
Stage 8: Sunday, Feb. 22 – Rancho Bernardo to Escondido