Milan-San Remo winner, Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhybeka), will race in the inaugural Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on Sunday August 4.
The German, who outsprinted Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Leopard) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) to win La Primavera in March, heads an impressive start list, with line-ups from seven Tour de France teams expected next week.
Sacha Modolo (Bardiani Valvole CSF Inox), who won six stages of this year’s Tour of Qinghai Lake, is likely to provide Ciolek with strong competition should the race, which finishes on The Mall after following a route from central London through the Surrey Hills, be decided in a sprint.
And John Degenkolb, winner last season of five stages of the Vuelta a Espana, and currently on duty at the Tour de France as lead-out man to triple stage winner, Marcel Kittel, is first reserve for Argos Shimano.
Many of the riders from the team that won last year’s Tour of Britain will race on home soil for the first time since Endura Racing merged with NetApp to form the German-registered NetApp-Endura UCI Pro Continental squad.
Three of the squad’s British riders, Johnny McEvoy, Erick Rowsell, and Scott Thwaites, are on the start list, while former British road race champion, Russell Downing, whose gruelling schedule this season has included several WorldTour events, is first reserve.
Some of Britain’s strongest teams will line-up for an event billed as the nations’ most significant one-day race for decades.
Tour Series champions, Team UK Youth, will be led by Welshman, Yanto Barker, and Cornish sprinter, Chris Opie, while Rapha Condor Sharp will field Tour of Korea winner, Mike Cuming, among a five-strong line-up.
Team Raleigh will field IG London Nocturne winner, Tom Scully, and Alexandre Blain, stage three winner at the Tour de Normandie, while IG-Sigma Sport have included sprint jersey winner at last year’s Tour of Britain, Pete Williams.
The Malcolm Elliott-managed Node4-Giordana squad will include Steve Lampier, second in the recent Grand Prix of Wales, while British Cycling’s development squad will send out a strong line-up including Simon Yates and Owain Doull in the colours of Great Britain.
Organisers have already announced that seven teams from cycling’s elite UCI WorldTour will take part, headed by Team Sky. The teams, which include Belkin, Cannondale, FDJ, Garmin Sharp, Orica-GreenEDGE, and Vacansoleil, are expected next week, following the conclusion on Sunday of the Tour de France.
