The USA Pro Cycling Challenge today announced the participation of the world’s No. 2-ranked team, Saxo Bank-SunGard of Denmark.  This is also the team of three-time Tour de France winner and recent Giro d’Italia champion Alberto Contador.
 
“Saxo Bank-SunGard is one of the world’s top teams and having them participate in our race rounds out a great group of the professional teams that will be featured in the Tour de France in July,” said Shawn Hunter, co-chairman of the event. “They’ve got the world’s top stage racer in Alberto Contador as well as a deep and talented roster.”  
 
The Saxo Bank-SunGard team’s general manager is Bjarne Riis whose team not only features Contador who was ranked No. 2 in the world in the individual rankings as of May 31 by the UCI, but Nick Nuyens, the 2011 Tour of Flanders winner; Gustav Larsson, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the time trial; J.J. Haedo, a five-time stage winner at the Amgen Tour of California; Nicki Sorensen, a Tour de France stage winner; Baden Cooke, a stage winner and Sprint Points jersey winner at the Tour de France and Richie Porte, young and talented Time Trial expert and winner of last year’s youth jersey in the Giro.
 
“We are excited about competing in Colorado.  It’s a beautiful part of the world with a route unlike any we’ve seen before,” said Bjarne Riis, the general manager of Saxo Bank-SunGard. “Altitude will be a unique challenge for all of the riders, but I am confident that our team will rise to the occasion.”
 
Saxo Bank-SunGard joins the list of ten professional teams previously announced.  They include: Team Garmin-Cervelo, HTC-Highroad, Team Radioshack, BMC Racing Team, Leopard Trek, Liquigas-Cannondale, United Healthcare Pro Cycling, Team Type 1 - Sanofi Aventis, Skil Shimano and Team Spidertech Powered by C10.

From Christina Brodsly, Vladimar Jones