Cycling: Tour of Utah confirms 10 entries

Cycling • Seven countries will compete in Utah's cycling event.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

To no surprise, the 2013 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah looks to be stacked.

Ten professional cycling teams have accepted invitations to compete in the event scheduled on Aug. 6-11. Headlining five of those squads are Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) ProTeams, which are all currently competing at the Giro d'Italia, one of the three Grand Tours of the UCI WorldTour.

In all, seven countries will be represented for teams competing in the 2013 Larry H. Tour of Utah and eight of the 10 teams will be racing next week at the Amgen Tour of California, the second UCI stage race in North America this year. The final field of 16 professional teams at the Tour will be finished in late May.

Already confirmed for this year's Tour of Utah are top-10 ranked outfits, including RadioShack-Leopard of Luxembourg, which won the Tour of Utah team classification in 2012. Behind them are Team Garmin-Sharp and BMC Racing Team, both American-based teams. Orica-GreenEDGE, the first pro team from Australia, will be making its debut at the Tour of Utah. Other inaugural entrants include MTN-Qhubeka of South Africa, which is the top-rated team from the UCI Africa Tour, and Funvic Brasilinvest-São José dos Campos from Brazil, the top-rated team from the UCI America Tour.

Cannondale Pro Cycling, Champion System Pro Cycling, Optum Pro Cycling and Bissell Cycling round out the early teams confirmed for this year's race that begins in southern Utah for the first time in nine years, as the race will wind its way northward.

"It's very impressive to have such a strong, world-class field of professional cycling teams making Utah part of their race schedule each year," said Steve Miller, chief operating officer of Miller Sports Properties which organizes the Tour of Utah in a release.