Rabobank announces Tour Down Under lineup
Rabobank is the second team, after HTC-Highroad, to announce its full line-up for the Tour Down Under in January, the first event of the World Tour calendar.
Rabobank will be led by two local Australian cyclists, Tour Down Under veteran Graeme Brown and the team’s newest signing, under-23 World Champion, Michael Matthews.
"Matthews’ presence will be an added boost to the star-studded race in January 2011," said race director Mike Turtur in a press release.
"Matthews is immensely talented and has shown he can perform at the big occasions when he won the under-23 road race at this year’s World Championships. The 2011 Santos Tour Down Under will see Matthews making his debut with his new team Rabobank."
Lance Armstrong of Team RadioShack was the first rider confirmed for the event, Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Cervelo was second and André Greipel of Omega Pharma-Lotto was the third. It will be the first time that Greipel, winner of the 2008 and 2010 editions
of the race, will compete against Mark Cavendish, his former teammate at HTC.
"It's going to be great to watch Cavendish and Greipel go head-to-head in Adelaide," said Turtur. "They are superb sprinters and it will be fascinating to see who will come out on top."
20-year-old Matthews competed in the previous edition as part of the local team, but will have the advantage of a team of ProTour riders in 2011.
Brown, his Australian teammate, has won four stages so far in the race. The pair will be supported by five Dutch riders at Rabobank, namely Laurens Ten Dam, Pieter Weening, Tom Leezer, Jos Van Emden and Coen Vermeltfoort.
"Brown is a great sprinter and boasts a successful record at our event as a four-time stage winner," said Turtur. "The Santos Tour Down Under is a sprinter’s race and with Cavendish, Greipel and now Brown confirmed to race here, we are expecting stiff competition."
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