New UCI rules mean they can't invite more than 50% ProTour teams. Mike Turtur, the promoter, was saying he could have got 10 PT teams but for UCI rules.

I think it works well into most big teams schedules, especially the ones not like Disco and T Mob, who don't have the huge budget. It is a good training race, and builds up the base miles. It is not a real race. No onw goes with GC aspirations apart from a few Australians and O'Grady. Turtur and TDU would cover most expenses like plane tickets, and ofcourse the hotel bill, so it is a very cheap training camp. Compare it with training camps in the Middle East or South Africa. These would cost the teams much more. Ofcourse, the entire squad is not coming out. But it is easier to train with a squad in a training camp, or a bunch in a summer race (southern hemisphere) than it is getting out into near freezing temperature in Belgium or anywhere in Europe.

It serves a purpose. But the UCI rules instigated with the Protour means the field is not necessarily decimated, but it is much weaker than it could have been. Hence Turtur got the best teams outside the Protour like Chocolade and Navigators.