Petacchi set to defend Paris-Tours October 12

Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi made his triumphant return in the 2008 Tour of Britain, winning three stages. (Hamish Blair/Getty Images)

Italy's Alessandro Petacchi, who rides for LPR Brakes, is to defend his Paris-Tours title on October 12. The 102nd edition will be held over 252km and feature 25 teams.

The 34-year-old Petacchi, a sprinter who has won many stages in the Tour de France, Tour of Spain and Giro d'Italia, tested positive in last year's Tour of Italy and his German team Milram later terminated his contract.

After serving a five-month ban, Petacchi won three stages of September's Tour of Britain with his new team.

Teams for Paris-Tours:

Germany: Gerolsteiner, Milram; Belgium: Landbouwkrediet, QuickStep, Silence-Lotto, Topsport; Denmark: CSC; Spain: Caisse d'Epargne, Euskaltel; Estonia: Mitsubishi; United States: Garmin, Columbia; France: Ag2r, Agritubel, Bouygues Telecom, Cofidis, Credit Agricole, Francaise des Jeux; Ireland: LPR Brakes; Italy: Lampre, Liquigas, Tinkoff; The Netherlands: Collstrop, Rabobank, Skil.

© BikeRadar & AFP 2008

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