The Volta will be an almost all-European affair this season as the final teams were announced yesterday. England and the Netherlands were the best represented nations with five teams apiece, with Australia breaking up the European dominance with three strong entries.
  
  Following a hectic 48 hours of sign ups, the tour organisers were pleased to announce that all twenty teams had completed the series of checks and balances and the riders would soon proceed with the mandatory medicals.
  
  It proved especially close for some teams, as Team Jochem, Dodge and _Striker_ dropped enough points in the hours leading up to proceedings to scrape through to the final list. In fact, the latter team was soon back up in the Top Division again just hours after their forms had been approved.
  
  Notable absentees from last year include Fairfields Flyers Cycling (Top Division), Bajen Balfast (Top Division), mtrompie (Top Division) and Corydoras (Did not enter) among others. There was also talk briefly of powerhouse Team Zyte crashing the party, but it felt to eventuate as the hours ticked down. However, tour director Joaquin Agostinho seemed ecstatic with the final lineup, praising the teams for the professionalism shown in an otherwise uneventful sign-up.
  
  Leading

betting agencies were already opening books on the race yesterday, with Club Ciclista Riaza’s Greek climber Isaak Papadimitriou an early favourite to take the coveted gold jersey. Torreira’s Yasir Sahir and Il Grillo’s Frank van Galen were also in the running as punters headed for the counters yesterday.
  
  Meanwhile, Team WonderDee’s Gerald Karda issued a “Come and get me” challenge to his fellow competitors as he set his sights on the sprint title. The English sprinter will be ably backed up by the powerful duo of Norwegian Freddy Vold and Dane Hubert Paulsen during the contest and seemed confident as he fronted the media. His toughest competition will probably come from the likes of Shinboner’s Torben Sturmann and Jahn Rosenlund of Team Jochem, but there is as yet no comment from other parties.
  
  There were also reports from the Japanese media about Yasunari Yamauchi. The Gradient Levellers Japanese superstar was apparently quoted as complaining to reporters back in his homeland about poor food standards within the team’s facilities. However, he seems to have backed down since, insisting that his comments were taken out of context and that he was focused on making an impression at the second edition of the Volta ao Porto.