More teams for Paris-Nice

With the "race to the sun" kicking off on Sunday, March 6 in Issy-Les-Moulineaux, more teams have confirmed their lineups for the first ProTour event ever. Lampre-Caffita is starting with Gilberto Simoni as team captain, and the team indicated that he would be riding for overall classification.

"I enjoy this race, it's an important race for me as it also starts the long awaited Pro Tour," said Simoni. "It's important for me to know my actual form for racing in these conditions with one week long stage racing. If I am feeling good then I will try for a stage win or for some other results. I would not mind having the same condition and results as I had in 2003."