July 12, 2013 (Edmonton, Alberta) – The 15 teams that will make up the roster of the Canada’s first major pro cycling stage event – the Tour of Alberta – have been confirmed and will see some of the world’s top teams and cyclists taking to the 900-kilometre route September 3 to 8, 2013.

Completing the roster of the 15 teams slated to compete in September, five additional teams have been confirmed, including the Canadian National Team, comprised of top Canadian talent, and managed by former elite Canadian cyclist Gord Fraser. The other four teams include U.S. Pro Continental UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, and U.S. Continental teams Jelly Belly presented by Kenda, Bissell Pro Cycling, and 5-Hour Energy presented by Kenda Racing Team.

UnitedHealthcare is one of the world’s top Pro Continental teams and features top sprinter Jacob Keough as well as climbers Philip Deignan of Ireland and Mac de Maar of Curacao, a stage winner at this year’s Tour of Beauce. Jelly Belly p/b Kenda features current U.S. National Champion Fred Rodriguez, who is the only American to win four national championships in the road race. 5-Hour Energy p/b Kenda features Spain’s Francisco Mancebo, three times a top 10 finisher in the Tour de France, and rising American talent like Nathan English and Max Jenkins.

The Bissell Pro Cycling team features former U.S. National Time Trial Champion Chris Baldwin, New Zealand’s former Time Trial champion Jeremy Vennell, Jason McCartney, a winner of the Tour of Spain, and up and comer Carter Jones, the King of the Mountain jersey winner at the 2013 Amgen Tour of California.

Earlier this month, Tour of Alberta organizers confirmed Australia’s Orica-GreenEDGE as the sixth Pro Team competing in the inaugural year of the Tour of Alberta. Orica-GreenEDGE is having successful start to the 2013 Tour de France, which is currently underway, with rider Simon Gerrans winning Stage 3, the team winning the team time trial on the fourth day of the event, and Gerrans and Daryl Impey then wearing the yellow leader jersey for a total of four days of the race so far.

“For a first-year event, we are extremely pleased with the response from the cycling community that enabled us to assemble a world-class field of athletes,” said Duane Vienneau, the Tour of Alberta’s Executive Director. “We are very excited to have a Canadian National Team competing in Canada’s first major race of its kind, and I think we can pretty much guarantee there will be many world and national champions, as well as heroes from the major races around the world racing on Alberta roads this September.”

With the final teams confirmed, the full roster of teams for the Tour of Alberta includes:

Pro Teams:

– Team Argos-Shimano (Netherlands)
– Belkin Pro Cycling Team (Netherlands)
– BMC Racing Team (USA)
– Cannondale Pro Cycling (Italy)
– Team Garmin-Sharp (USA)
– Orica GreenEDGE (Australia)

Pro Continental Teams:

– Champion System Pro Cycling Team (China)
– UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team (USA)

Continental Teams:

– Bissell Pro Cycling (USA)
– Canadian National Team (Canada)
– 5-Hour Energy p/b Kenda Racing Team (USA)
– Equipe Garneau-Quebecor (Canada)
– Jelly Belly p/b Kenda Racing Team (USA)
– Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies (USA)
– Team SmartStop p/b Mountain Khakis (USA)

Eight riders from each team will compete in the Tour of Alberta. The final roster of cyclists for each team will be announced in August.

More information on the Tour of Alberta can be found at Tour of Alberta. Follow the Tour of Alberta on Twitter or on Facebook.

About the Tour of Alberta
The Tour of Alberta: Canada’s Pro-Cycling Festival is a six-day stage race scheduled to be held September 3 to 8, 2013. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), cycling’s governing body, awarded the inaugural Tour of Alberta with a 2.1 sanctioning in September 2012, making it one of the highest level pro cycling events in Canada, and one of the highest level events in North America. An annual event beginning in 2013, the event will be broadcast live daily in Canada on Sportsnet, and broadcast internationally on various networks, as it is expected that the event will host riders from over 20 countries around the world.