The remaining nine teams for the 2009 Tour of California were announced today and there weren't too many surprises. One fun factoid worth reporting is that there were sixteen(16) teams participating in the first Amgen Tour of California comprised of eight Pro Tour and eight non-Pro Tour squads. In 2007 and 2008, eighteen teams toed the line composed of nine Pro Tour and nine non-Pro Tour squads.

In 2009, there will be seventeen total teams, eight Pro Tour and nine non-Pro Tour which is a bit of a departure from previous years. Rumour has it that two Pro Tour teams Fuji-Servetto and Milram tried to obtain a slot in the race, but obviously they did not make the cut. So, it is a bit of a mystery why the race organizers didn't even out the Pro Tour and non-Pro Tour squads by inviting either Fuji-Servetto or Milram.

The original eight teams (all part of the Pro Tour) announced last month are:

AG2R- La Mondiale, Astana, Garmin-Chipotle, Liquigas, Quick Step, Rabobank, Saxo Bank, Team Columbia.

The final nine teams (all non-Pro Tour) announced today are:

Bissell Pro Cycling Team, BMC Racing Team, Cervelo Test Team, Colavita/Sutter Home Presented by Cooking Light, Fly V Australia presented by Successful Living Foundation Team, Jelly Belly Cycling Team, Ouch Presented by Maxxis, Rock Racing,  Team Type 1.

It looks like the predictions I made last month when the Pro Tour teams were announced were pretty spot on with Colavita and Cervelo Test Team replacing Kelly Benefits on my potential list.

Probably the most interesting tidbit from today's announcement is that with the inclusion of Ouch Medical, it means that the first ever winner of the Amgen Tour of California, Floyd Landis, will make is return to racing at the California event. In a year of comebacks, will Floyd be as welcomed as that guy named Lance?

Bruce