The WorldTour starts in less than two weeks and most of the teams from the elite division have finalized their recruiting process. Tinkoff-Saxo have assembled the oldest squad while it is no surprise to see that Cannondale-Garmin has the youngest average age.

CyclingQuotes.com has analyzed the rosters of the 17 WorldTour teams and have calculated the average age of each of the teams. The list is topped of three of the major stage racing teams who all count on experienced riders to support their grand tours captains.

With an avergae of 29.45 years, Tinkoff-Saxo tops the list. With veterans like Matteo Tosatto, Ivan Basso, Evgeny Petrov, Michael Rogers, Sergio Paulinho and Daniele Bennati all at least 34 years old, the team can expect to line up in the biggest races with a massive amount of experience. With averages of 29.35 and 29.34 years respectively, Team Sky and Katusha are next on the list.

It is no surprise to find Cannondale-Garmin at the bottom of the list. The team has always been focused on development of young riders and with the retirement of Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriske and David Millar, the team has undergone a generational change. Instead, they have brought in lots of new talents from the Cannondale team.

The American team has an average age of just 26.02 years. In fact, only four riders have had their 30th birthday - Ryder Hesjedal (34), Ted King (31), Alan Marangoni (30) and Andre Cardoso (30) - while 11 riders have not even turned 25 yet. The youngest rider on the team is former U23 and junior world champion Matej Mohoric who is just 20 years old.

The only team to slightly challenge Cannondale-Garmin is Giant-Alpecin which is another team known for its commitment to the development of young riders. The team has an average age of 26.68 years while Etixx-QuickStep is a very distant third with their average of 27.62 years.

AVERAGE AGE

TEAM		NUMBER OF RIDERS	AVERAGE AGE
	Tinkoff - Saxo	30	29.45
	Team Sky	28	29.35
	Team Katusha	29	29.34
	Trek Factory Racing	28	29.14
	FDJ	29	28.73
	AG2R La Mondiale	30	28.58
	IAM Cycling	29	28.45
	Movistar Team	28	28.44
	Astana Pro Team	30	28.27
	ORICA GreenEDGE	26	28.15
	Team Lotto NL - Jumbo	25	28.01
	Lampre - Merida	26	27.86
	Lotto Soudal	28	27.73
	BMC Racing Team	28	27.71
	Etixx - Quick Step	27	27.62
	Team Giant - Alpecin	27	26.68
	Team Cannondale - Garmin	26	26.02