March 19, 2009 (Redlands, CA) – It’s going to be a full house on both the Men’s and Women’s starting line come the prologue of the 2009 Redlands Bicycle Classic. With more than 200 men and nearly 150 women, the 2009 edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic is sure to scorch the streets when it gets underway on Thursday March 26th.

“Not only is this one of the largest number of entrants we’ve had for both the men’s and women’s fields, but it’s also one of the most prestigious,” said Race Director Dan Rendler. “The women’s field reads as a “˜who’s-who’ of female cycling, while the men’s field features 11 of the 13 registered UCI Continental teams!”

Some of the A-List ladies that will be hitting the streets of Redlands include Laura Van Gilder, Amber Neben, Mara Abott, Kim Anderson, Rebecca Much, Emilia Fahlin, Brooke Miller, Alison Powers, Ina Teutenberg, Kat Carroll, Tina Pic, and Alex Wrubleski (Can) Columbia-Highroad. Among those names are no less than five current national champions, one current world champion, the current NRC champion and over 20 race wins between them in 2008 alone… impressive to say the least.

As for the men, their field is highlighted by stand out performers such as Rhassan Bahati, Jeff Louder, Scott Nydam, Andy Bajadali, Floyd Landis, Chris Wherry, Ben Jacques-Maynes, Neil Shirley, Justin Williams, Pat McCarty, and Rory Sutherland. The list includes two current national champions; a Tour of California KOM Jersey winner; a two-time NRC Champion; former RBC stage and GC winners; the recipients of the Most Aggressive Riders Jersey at both the Tour de Georgia and Tour of California; the 2008 Carroll King Sportsmanship Award winner and former US National Road Champion, not to mention the winner of the ’06 edition of the Tour of California, Paris-Nice, and the Tour de Georgia… a proven and accomplished field that could line up for any European race.

With this much talent lining up to do battle for the coveted RBC overall leaders jersey there is no clear favorite, but one thing is for sure, the prologue of this years’ RBC is set to kick off 4 days of non-stop fireworks.

For a complete list of riders please visit www.redlandsclassic.com. Teams entered in the 2009 Redlands Bicycle Classic include:

Men’s Teams

– Bissell Pro Cycling
– BMC Racing Team
– Bobs Bicycles.com
– California Giant-Specialized
– Champion Systems Racing
– Colavita Sutter Home
– DLP Racing
– Empire Cycling Team p/b Northwave
– Fly V Australia p/b Successful Living Foundation
– Garmin-Holoweko Partners-Felt
– Jelly Belly
– Kahala La-Grange
– Kelly Benefit Strategies
– Land Rover-Orbea
– Metro Volkswagen Cycling Team
– Mt. Khakis
– OUCH p/b Maxxis
– Ride Clean Team
– Rock Racing
– Team Hotel San Jose
– Team Type 1
– Team VRC NOW-MS Society
– Team Waste Management
– Ten Speed Drive/BH Bicycles
– Trek-Livestrong
– Webcor/ Alto Velo

Women’s Teams

– Canadian National Cycling Team
– Colavita Cutter Home p/b Cooking Light
– DFT p/b Treads
– Kahala La-Grange
– Metro Volkswagen Cycling
– Metromint Cycling
– Nurnberger Sho-Air
– Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus
– Team BC
– Team Columbia Highroad
– Team Lip Smackers
– Team Squadra Swami’s
– Team Tibco
– Team Type 1
– Touchstone Climbing
– Value Act Capital Cycling Team
– Vanderkitten Racing
– Velo Classic Tours p/b Incycle.com
– Veloforma/Zym
– Webcor Builders Cycling Team
– Wines of Washington

For more information, visit www.redlandsclassic.com.