The highlight of the Grand Tour season is just 3 weeks away. The 96th edition of the Tour de France begins on Saturday July 4 and will cover 21 stages (10 flat stages, 8 mountain stages, 2 individual time trials as well 1 team time trial) before it ends 3500 km later in Paris on Sunday July 26. This Tour kicks off this year in Monaco, crosses into Spain, Italy and Switzerland, returning to France where it remains to the finish in Paris. Out of a pre-selected pool of 12 riders (see below), 9 will be selected for the 2009 Cervélo TestTeam Tour de France roster.

“We have had a dream start to our inaugural season,” said Thomas Campana, Managing Director, Cervélo TestTeam.

“The Men’s TestTeam already have 14 victories to their credit, including four stage wins at the Giro d’Italia. The Women’s TestTeam are also having a great season with 18 victories to date. We are looking forward to our first Tour de France and are particularly pleased to have the great Carlos Sastre (ESP) riding for our team as the Tour’s defending champion. Carlos knows he has the entire team’s support to help him reach his goals. We would also like to
win a couple of other stages on the way to Paris and with our top sprinter Thor Hushovd (NOR) anything is possible.”

Pre-selection Cervélo TestTeam - Tour de France 2009
1 Inigo Cuesta ESP 03-06-1969
2 Xavier Florencio ESP 26-12-1979
3 Simon Gerrans AUS 16-05-1980
4 Volodymir Gustov UKR 15-02-1977
5 Heinrich Haussler GER 25-02-1984
6 Thor Hushovd NOR 18-01-1978
7 Andreas Klier GER 15-01-1976
8 Brett Lancester AUS 15-11-1979
9 José Angel Gomez Marchante ESP 16-05-1980
10 Gabriel Rasch NOR 08-04-1976
11 Hayden Roulston NZL 10-01-1981
12 Carlos Sastre ESP 22-04-1975