Teams begin announcing squads for season-opening Tour Down Under

Believe it or not, the Santos Tour Down Under is only 41 days away and some teams are getting their squads out early.

For those riders racing out in Australia in January, Christmas lunch will likely be a little smaller as the training ramps up and Orica-GreenEdge, FDJ, Trek and Ag2r La Mondiale have given their guys a bit of a heads-up as to who exactly will be going.

For Orica, Simon Gerrans will lead the team in their home race, hoping to win his fourth overall title in South Australia, while sprinter Caleb Ewan will be on hand for the plentiful flat stages.

Trek are giving debuts to four of their new recruits including Jack Bobridge, who won a stage for Budget Forklifts in 2015. Ryder Hesjedal, Peter Stetina and Keil Reijnen are the other new riders making their bows.

Ag2r and FDJ have a more European feel in their squads, with the likes of Cyril Gautier and Domenico Pozzovivo lining up for the boys in brown and Steve Morabito and Yoann Offredo among FDJ's seven riders.

Teams for Santos Tour Down Under

Ag2r La Mondiale: Domenico Pozzovivo, Gediminas Bagdonas, Cyril Gautier, Alexis Gougeard, Matteo Montaguti, Christophe Riblon, Jesse Sergent

FDJ: Murilo Antonio Fischer, Steve Morabito, Yoann Offredo, Johan Le Bon, Benoit Vaugrenard, Anthony Roux, Laurent Pichot

Orica-GreenEdge: Simon Gerrans, Caleb Ewan, Michael Albasini, Daryl Impey, Luke Durbridge, Michael Hepburn, Mathew Hayman

Trek Factory Racing: Jack Bobridge, Julian Arredondo, Giacomo Nizzolo, Peter Stetina, Ryder Hesjedal, Boy Van Poppel, Kiel Reijnen