Four Kiwis in California start list

Four New Zealanders have earned starts in the Amgen Tour of California starting this weekend.

Patrick Bevin, who has been racing with the BikeNZ Under-23 team, returns to line-up for his Bissell pro team alongside fellow kiwi Jeremy Vennell.

Josh Atkins, the Tour of Southland winner who has also been racing with the New Zealand team in Europe, will get a start with the Bontrager Livestrong team while George Bennett also gets a start in a powerful looking Radioshack Nissan Trek team that includes Jens Voigt, Greg Rast, Ben King and Chris Horner.

Orica GreenEdge has a powerful team of young guns including the Meyer brothers Cameron and Travis, Leigh Howard and Luke Durbridge alongside Robbie McEwan, who will bring the curtain down on his illustrious career following the week-long tour.