The organizers of the Tour de San Luis have announced the 26 teams for the 2015 edition of the race. However, the presence of defending champion Nairo Quintana (Movistar) is still uncertain.

World champion Michal Kwiatkowski, Mark Cavendish, Carlos Betancur, Thomas Voeckler, Filippo Pozatto, Janez Brajkovic and Daniel Moreno are the main stars announced by the the organizers of the Tour de San Luis (2.1) to line up at the race between January 19 and 25. They have confirmed 26 teams but the presence of defending champion Naio Quintana is still in doubt.

Race director Giovanni Lombardi is confident that Quintana will be at the start.

"On December 21, the Spanish team will finalize its race schedule and then we will know whether Nairo will be in San Luis but there is a high probability that he will," he said a press conference where he was accompanied bu Sports Minister Calos Rosso.

The 26 teams and the main riders:

7 WorldTour team: Movistar Team, with Quintana's presence being doubtful, the debut of Team Europcar with Thomas Voeckler as the biggest star; AG2R-La Mondiale with Carlos Betancur; Omega Pharma-Quick-Step with Mark Cavendish and world champion Michal Kwiatkowski; Lampre-Merida with Filippo Pozzato and Maximiliano Richeze; Garmin-Cannondal and Katusha with Daniel Moreno.

6 Professional Continental teams: Androni Giocattoli with Oscar Gatto; Bretagne-Séché Environnement with Eduardo Sepulveda; Unitedhealthcare Pro Cycling Team with Janez Brajkovic; Team Colombia; Vini Fantini-Nippo with Damiano Cunego; Team Novo Nordisk.

7 continental teams: Jamis-Hagens Berman, San Luis Somos Todos, Buenos Aires Provincia, SEP de San Juan, Funvic, Murias Taldea and Inteja-MMR.

6 national teams: Argentina, Italy, Cuba, Chile, Uruguay and Panama.

Regarding the course, the big news is the fact that the race will cross the borders of San Luis to enter Cordoba, Villa Dolores and Achiras in the fourth and sixth stages, respectively. This was already confirmed in August. However, the race keeps its identity with an individual time trial and three summit finishes: Mirador de Potrero, El Amago and the big novelty Filo Sierras Comechingones which is a prolonging of the climb to Mirador del Sol in Merlo which has been a traditional finishing site in previous years.

Route: 

Stage 1: San Luis - Villa Mercedes (186.8 km)
Stage 2: La Punta - Mirador de Potrero (185.3 km)
Stage 3: Concarán - Juana Koslay (176.3 km)
Stage 4: Villa Dolores (Córdoba) - El Amago (142.5 km)
Stage 5: San Luis (17.4 km) CRI
Stage 6: Achiras (Córdoba) - Filo Sierras Comechingones
Stage 7: San Luis - San Luis (122.4 km)

In 2014, Quintana beat Philip Gaimon and Yander Godoy; in 2013 local hero Dani Diaz beat Tejay van Garderen; in 2012 Levi Leipheimer won the race and in 2010 Vincenzo Nibali took the win. Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodriguez, Mark Cavendish, Tom Boonen and Peter Sagan have all done the race in recent years.

It was also annonced that the organizers are considering to broadcast the final minutes of each stage live, with an international broadcaster likely to make the feed available on the internet.