WorldTour teams FDJ and Team Katusha’s seven man squads have been confirmed overnight, all ready to take to the start line of the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under.

Race Director, Mike Turtur said that the quality of the field coming through would mean that fans should expect strong and competitive racing at the first UCI WorldTour race of the season.

FDJ

The FDJ team will be led by Steve Morabito who could target the GC. Anthony Roux, Laurent Pichon and Murilo Fischer offer options for the sprint finishes while Yoann Offredo and Johan Le Bon will use the race to prepare for the cobbled classics.

“French rider Johan Le Bon took honours on Stage 5 of the Eneco Tour this year and is joined on the FDJ team by two time Jayco Herald Sun Tour stage winner Steve Morabito,” said Mike Turtur.

The FDJ team at the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under will be led by Team Manager, Frederic Guesdon (FRA) and includes:

Steve Morabito SUI
Johan Le Bon FRA
Yoann Offredo FRA
Murilo Fischer BRA
Benoît Vaugrenard FRA
Laurent Pichon FRA
Anthony Roux FRA

Team Katusha (RUS)

Maxim Belkov returns to the Santos Tour Down Under in 2016 with Team Katusha.

"Katusha always come to the Santos Tour Down Under with a strong team and I am sure like all teams they will want a good start to the 2016 season," Turtur said.

"Belkov showed his strength when he attacked on the descent of stage nine of the 2013 Giro D'Italia and held on to take the stage win, so we are expecting this level of tenacity again. His fourth place finish on Stage 1 at the 2015 Santos Tour Down Under saw him put in a solid performance.”

The team will have several GC cards to play. Tiago Machado, Egor Silin, Sergey Lagutin and new signing Rein Taaramae could all finish in the top 10 and will have solid support from Maxim Belkov and Vladimir Isaychev. Alexei Tsatevich will take his chance in the sprints.

The Team Katusha team at the 2016 Santos Tour Down Under will be led by Team Manager, Dmitri Konychev (RUS) and includes:

Tiago Machado POR
Maxim Belkov RUS
Vladimir Isaychev RUS
Aleksei Tcatevich RUS
Egor Silin RUS
Sergey Lagutin RUS
Rein Taaramae EST

The 2016 Santos Tour Down Under will be held 16 – 24 January 2016.