Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

Teams announced for Dodge Tour de Georgia

Days after confirming that Lance Armstrong will return to defend his title at the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia, race officials released today that Armstrong’s Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team will face the challenge from at least four other ProTeams from the UCI ProTour, professional cycling’s top ranked teams. With each team more than capable of laying claim to the coveted yellow Dodge Race Leader jersey, the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia is gearing up to be one of pro cycling’s most anticipated races of the year. 

An additional ProTeam may still be added to the roster of 15 national and international teams set to battle across the Peach State during the six-stage, 650-mile event this Apr. 19-24.

“In only its third year, the Dodge Tour de Georgia has attracted many of the world’s best, most powerful teams and riders,” said Stan Holm, executive director of the Dodge Tour de Georgia. “The level of competition continues to elevate each year, and this year is shaping up to be our most thrilling yet. We expect the top riders from the top international teams to be gunning for the ultimate prize on U.S. soil. It will be an epic showdown in the heart of the South.”

Race officials have confirmed that the Swiss team Phonak, the Danish team Team CSC, France’s Credit Agricole and Spain’s Saunier Duval/Prodir will each send its best riders to compete in the most difficult test of endurance and might in North America. Phonak will be led by American and former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, who hails from Pennsylvania. Landis competed in the first ever Dodge Tour de Georgia in 2003 after recovering from a pelvic fracture sustained in a training ride.  Team CSC is ranked a powerful second in the 2004 UCI team classification and will bring 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and Nevada resident Bobby Julich, who competed in the 2004 edition of the race. Credit Agricole will feature Dalton, Ga. native Saul Raisin, who laid claim to the Best Young Rider jersey in 2003’s Tour and returns this year as a formidable threat.  California’s Chris Horner, the 2003 Dodge Tour de Georgia champion, returns for his third consecutive Tour and is racing for Saunier Duval/Prodir.

“I've been looking forward to coming back to the Dodge Tour de Georgia since it ended last year. The course just gets better and better, and I can tell that this year is no exception,” said 2003 Dodge Tour de Georgia champion Chris Horner of Saunier Duval/Prodir. “I'm coming with a great team that is expecting me to lead them against the ProTour teams as well as the best domestic teams in the U.S.” 

"When Credit Agricole told me that we were doing the 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia I was so excited. It’s rare for me to make trips back home during the racing season, so to come back to race against the world’s best in a stage race of this caliber in my home state means a lot,” said Saul Raisin of the French team Credit Agricole. “The Dodge Tour de Georgia is the ultimate test of endurance and might in the U.S., and the ProTour teams know it. In 2003 I was the best young rider, and this year I want to be one of the best riders."  

The official 2005 Dodge Tour de Georgia route map can be found at www.dodgetourdegeorgia.com. The Dodge Tour de Georgia is America's premier, professional cycling event and a rolling festival of community activities. In 2004, nearly 750,000 spectators watched along the roadways as 15 international teams competed across 653 miles of the state of Georgia, having an estimated economic impact of $35-70 million.

Won by the U.S. Postal Service’s Lance Armstrong, the 2004 race featured world-class cyclists and Tour de France veterans such as American Julich (a 2004 Olympic Games medalist), Italian Mario Cipollini and German Jens Voigt. The Tour is sanctioned by the UCI (2.1 America Tour-Continental Calendar), the international governing body of cycling, and USA Cycling (2.1) as a premier event for elite athletes around the world. The Tour’s official beneficiary is the Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC), and the race proactively promotes a healthy lifestyle at its Healthy Georgia Expo. The Dodge Tour de Georgia, which started in 2003, is owned and operated by the Georgia Partnership for Economic Development.

For more information, visit www.dodgetourdegeorgia.com.