Johannesburg - Australian-based UCI Professional Continental team Drapac will line-up in next month's Tour de Boland.
The Aussie outfit, which is headed up by South African export Dylan Girdlestone, will take on South Africa's top pro teams in the five-day road tour, which starts and finishes in Paarl.
The team's general manager Jonathan Breekveldt said they would bring a full six-man line-up, which comprised team leader Girdlestone, sprinter Brenton Jones and domestiques Peter Koning, Cameron Peterson and Malcolm Rudolph.
“We are very excited to be bringing the riders to South Africa for the first time,” Breekveldt said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It's the home of our new signing, Dylan, and our bike sponsor SwiftCarbon, so we look forward to helping them in their native country and growing our brand in a new territory.”
Tour director Carinus Lemmer said organisers were delighted that more international teams like Drapac would be able to compete in the tour after the UCI recently relaxed restrictions on pro cyclists riding non-UCI-accredited events.
“This is on condition that only a certain number of riders from one team may participate and that teams may not renege on the contract they have with the UCI regarding participation in sanctioned events scheduled for the same timeframes.”
Lemmer said the window had also opened new opportunities for international riders.
“In addition to these pending announcements, we've also got multiple mountain bike world champion Christoph Sauser on board,” Lemmer said.
“He has been a staunch supporter of the event for a number of years and will bring a number of well-known riders as part of his songo.info invitational team.”
Sapa