With three months to go until the start of this year's Tour Series, Cycling Weekly can reveal the teams it expects will be on the start line come the end of May.
Last year's series was a great success with solid viewing figures on the road and at home with teams clamouring at the opportunity to take part in this year's event.
Endura, Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta, Rapha Condor Sharp, Raleigh, Sigma Sport Specialized (all UCI Continental-ranked teams) will all be riding along with Corley Cervélo, with Pendragon Le Col Colnago and Cycle Premier.com both expected to make the cut from the original 17 teams that applied.
Two continental teams are also widely rumoured to be taking part and are expected to complete the ten teams that will contest this year's series.
Last year's sixth-place finishers Sports Beans, now under the name of Wilier, unfortunately missed out on a place.
"To say I'm shocked is putting it lightly," explained team manager and rider Ben Luckwell. "I've got pretty realistic ambitions about what this team can achieve and was 95 per cent sure we'd get a ride. There's not much we can do about it [though], we've just got to move on".
Make it a date
This year's Tour Series will run for five weeks through the summer from the end of May until late June Cycling Weekly can reveal.
This year the event has been planned to coincide better with the National Circuit Race Series (which runs from May 28 until August 8) to make it easier for teams travelling between races.
Blackpool is widely rumoured to have lost its place in the series, whilst Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which succumbed to major flooding in 2007, will make its debut.
Exeter, Southport and Woking have all been given a second showing in this year's Series with the other locations set to be announced next week.
Tour Series teams
Endura
Motorpoint Marshalls Pasta
Rapha Condor Sharp
Raleigh
Sigma Sport Specialized
Corley Cervélo
Pendragon Le Col Colnago
Cycle Premier.com/Metaltek
Continental team TBC
Continental team TBC
Tour Series dates
First round (TBC) May 25
Second round (TBC) May 27
Tewkesbury June 1
Exeter June 3
Southport June 8
Sixth round (TBC) June 10
Seventh round (TBC) June 15
Eighth round (TBC) June 17
Ninth round (TBC) June 22
Woking June 24
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