Soler heads south

Mauricio Soler, winner of the maillot blanc à pois rouges of best climber at the 2007 Tour de France, will head to South Africa after two operations over the off-season. The 24 year-old Colombian will take part in the Pick' n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge this Sunday.

"I am a bit better," explained Soler in a recent Cyclingnews interview after surgery on his nose and wrist. He spoke with some difficulty as his nose was not completely recovered. "Today [October 27], they took out the stoppers I had in my nose and it seemed everything went alright. I am trying to recover; I already feel better today. Maybe in three days I hope to be almost completely recovered."

Soler will take part in the large race/ride that saw 27,000 participants in 2006. The Barloworld rider will soon be testing a new Bianchi, as it was announced recently that the team of Claudio Corti would ride on the famous Italian bike for 2008.