Ullrich joined Team Coast in January

The International Cycling Union (UCI) banned Team Coast from competing for non-payment of their riders' salaries.

But Ullrich confirmed on Sunday that the new Bianchi stable had received a licence from the UCI as well as confirmation that they would be allowed to enter the Tour starting on 5 July.

"I am delighted that everything has been sorted out," the German said on his website.

The new team, comprising most of the former Team Coast riders, is headed by Ullrich's sports director Rudy Pevenage and bears the name of its main sponsor, Italian cycle manufacturers Bianchi.

Ullrich said the Bianchi team had also been granted top-10 status by UCI.

"That means we are automatically allowed to enter all the races, and that naturally goes for the Tour as well," he explained.

Ullrich, regarded as the only man capable of challenging four-times winner Lance Armstrong's supremacy on the Tour, paid tribute to Bianchi team chiefs Pevenage and Jacques Hanegraaf for building the new enterprise.

"They did it in a record time and that's an incredible performance," he said.

Bianchi team manager Wolfram Lindner said the new outfit, comprising 19 riders, should start its first race at an event on Saturday in Erfurt, Germany.

"Before that we have to build the team's infrastructure," he said. "We need shirts, team cars and racing equipment."

Team Coast owner Guenther Dahms, who has been blamed by Ullrich for the stable's problems, plays no role in the new team.