Barloworld signs two African riders

Team Barloworld has signed two African riders for the coming season: Daryl Impey of South Africa and Chris Froome of Kenya. "Team Manager Claudio Corti has decided to continue his strategy of bringing talented young riders to the team, and is naturally pleased to have two African riders in the 2008 line-up because the team is sponsored by Barloworld, a major South African company," the team said.

Impey, 22, currently rides for the MTN Microsoft team. He won the prologue and a stage at the Giro del Capo, and is considered fast and strong on the flat. Froome, 22, was born in Kenya but lives in South Africa. Barloworld describes him as "an eclectic rider who has also done well in mountain biking." This year he won a stage in the Giro delle Regioni and the Tour of Japan. He also won a silver medal in the time trial at the B World Championships, held in New Zealand.

"Cycling needs to find new faces and new talented riders and that's our strategy at Team Barloworld. We're convinced that by inserting talented young riders in our already successful team, we can continue to achieve even more excellent results in 2008," team manager Claudio Corti said.