A diverse and international peloton will line up next week in Baku for the start of the 2016 Tour d'Azerbaidjan, with recent Tour of Croatia winner Matija Kvasina leading the way as one of the pre-race favourites.

Kvasina leads a strong line-up from the Azeri, Synergy Baku Cycling that will be looking for success on home roads. The in-form Croatian is also joined by third place finisher of the Tour d'Azerbaijan in 2015, Matej Mugerli. They will be up against a strong roster from Pro Continental Bora Argon-18 who bring the experienced Jan Barta alongside fast-finisher Phil Bauhaus who has already sprinted to a podium place in Belgium this spring.

Another of the six Pro Continental teams in the race, Australian outfit Drapac Professional Cycling boasts strength in depth with several years of WorldTour experience between names including Will Clarke and Nathan Earle.

The experienced Rinaldo Nocentini, a yellow jersey wearer in the 2008 Tour de France, leads the line-up from Continental team, Team Tavira that includes climber David De La Fuente, who in 2006 wore the Polka Dot jersey at the TdF.

For the fast finishes Team Roth’s Alberto Cecchin and Cycling Academy Team’s Guillaume Boivin will also be ones to watch. Boivin is also joined by 2015 stage winner, Daniel Turek. However, in this race that has a habit of creating surprise and suspense even the lesser known riders could steal the show.

Last year’s winner Primoz Roglič has since joined the WorldTour ranks with Lotto-NL Jumbo, and his previous team, Adria Mobil, will not be on the start line of the 2016 edition.