Costa heads up Lampre's Tour de France team

Paris - Portugal's former world champion Rui Costa will headline the Lampre team at the Tour de France, the Italian outfit announced Tuesday.

Winner of three Tour stages, in 2011 and 2013, Costa has had to withdraw from the last two Tours, his 18th place in the 2012 edition his best finish.

Lampre will start the Tour on July 2 with a Japanese rider, Yukiya Arashiro, and two Africans in South African Louis Meintjes and Ethiopian Tsgabu Grmay.

Grmay, 24, will be the first Ethiopian to take part in the Tour, having last year already raced the Giro and Vuelta.

Lampre team

Yukiya Arashiro (JPN), Matteo Bono (ITA), Davide Cimolai (ITA), Rui Costa (POR), Kristijan Durasek (CRO), Tsgabu Grmay (ETH), Louis Meintjes (RSA), Luka Pibernik (SLO), Jan Polanc (SLO)