The Tour of Turkey and Tour of the Gila have seen Drapac field a diverse squad of general classification riders, climbers and sprinters.

A return to the Tour of Turkey sees Sulzberger in an eight-man team seeking to take control over the eight stages finishing in Istanbul.

‘‘We have a solid sprint team and look forward to competing in this quality field,’’ said sports director Agostino Giromondo, who described the Launceston veteran as ‘‘dynamic in racing style’’.

Adam Phelan will target the king of the mountain jersey from a team which also boasts the experience of Graeme Brown, Brenton Jones, Peter Koning, Timothy Roe, Malcolm Rudolph and Samuel Spokes.

Clarke, of Campbell Town, is among seven riders making Drapac’s first assault on New Mexico’s five-stage Tour of the Gila, which starts the US racing season for the Australian team.

Sports director Tom Southam said the race presents some important objectives.

‘‘The guys will not have too much time to adapt to the altitude so we won’t be putting too much pressure on at the start of the race, however, we will have eyes on a stage win in the latter half,’’ he said.

Clarke will be joined by Dylan Girdlestone, Jordan Kerby, Martin Kohler, Travis Meyer, Lachlan Norris and Wouter Wippert.