Spain's Movistar team to ride at Australia Tour Down Under

Sydney (AFP) - Spain's Movistar Team will return to the Australia's Tour Down Under next month with an experienced squad, organisers said on Thursday.

Among their lineup is sprinter Juanjo Lobato, whose victories this year include the Tour de Wallonie and the Vuelta a Burgos, plus a fourth place finish in the Milan-San Remo.

The Tour Down Under is the first UCI World Tour event of 2015.

"Movistar is celebrating its second consecutive year as the top-ranked team in the world, with 34 victories in 2014," race director Mike Turtur said.

Spain's Ruben Fernandez, the winner of the 2013 Tour de l'Avenir, is a new face on the Movistar Team roster in 2015.

The only non-Spanish rider set to represent Movistar Team in Australia is Italy's Eros Capecchi, a Giro d'Italia stage winner.

The Tour Down Under will be staged in and around Adelaide from January 17 to 25.