Organisers say the Tour de France team list will remain the same Paris – Arabstoday Katusha's successful appeal to be reintegrated into cycling's World Tour means 23 teams instead of the usual 22 will line up for the Paris-Nice and Criterium du Dauphine races, organisers ASO announced on Tuesday.
"We aren't going to leave a team by the side of the road," Christian Prudhomme, director of the two stage events as well as the Tour de France, told AFP.
Katusha are back in cycling's top league after overturning their original exclusion from the circuit on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAS handed down its verdict in favour of the controversial Russian outfit last week.
While 23 teams compete for the March 3-10 Paris-Nice and June 2-9 Criterium du Duaphine, the cast list for the Tour de France remains at 22, Prudhomme said - the 19 teams with World Tour licences plus three invitees, instead of the traditional four.
He added that the number of riders per team would remain at nine for the Tour de France, rather than the eight-strong teams for the other races.
Source: AFP