By Susan Westemeyer
Nine ProTour teams will take part in the Österreich Rundfahrt this year, the race has proudly announced. "The ProTour teams have said yes to Austria," said race director Ursula Riha. She added that under UCI rules, the race was only able to accommodate nine ProTour teams. "We were easily able to meet this quota, and we even had to turn some teams down."
The participating ProTour teams are Quick Step, Silence-Lotto, Gerolsteiner, Milram, CSC, Lampre, Astana, Rabobank and High Road.
There will also be four Austrian teams in the race: the two Professional Continental teams, Elk Haus Simplon and Team Volksbank, will be joined by two Continental teams yet to be chosen. The remaining five start places will be given to Professional Continental teams, with Team Barloworld considered a shoo-in.
