Frenchman Cyril Dessel (AG2R), who finished seventh overall at the Tour de France, will be the top star at the Tour de l'Ain, which starts this Sunday, August 6. Dessel's teammate Sylvain Calzati, a stage winner in the Tour and Samuel Dumoulin, will also be present, along with Tour of Austria winner Tom Danielson (Discovery), and Credit Agricole riders Patrice Halgand and Christophe Le Mevel. In total there are 17 teams, including eight ProTour squads.
The four stage race is 579 km long and consists entirely of point-to-point road stages.
