The T-Mobile women's professional team has chosen US National Champion Mara Abbott to join its squad for 2008. The team announced a team of 13 riders on Thursday, keeping ten members from this year's squad and adding Abbott and two German riders, German Road Champion Luise Keller and young rider Madeleine Sandig.
The T-Mobile team had a successful 2007 season, thanks to Judith Arndt's trio of stage wins in the Giro d'Italia Femminile and overall victory in the Thuringen-Rundfahrt as well as a World Cup win in Sweden by Chantal Beltman. Overall, the team racked up total of 31 victories and finished ranked number one on the UCI rankings.
Team director Anna Wilson gave a clue about the team's ambitions for next season. "We will be aiming to win the early World Cups of the season and maintain our status as the number one team in the world. That is a huge feather in our cap and one that we are very proud of as we place teamwork as the most important pillar of the team."
Other changes include the addition of a second team director in Ronny Lauke, who is coming from the men's Wiesenhof continental team. Kristy Scrymgeour will continue to manage the team, and Petra Rossner will stay on as the coach.
Full roster: Mara Abbott (USA), Kim Anderson (USA), Judith Arndt (Germany), Kate Bates (Australia), Chantal Beltman (Netherlands), Luise Keller (Germany), Emilia Fahlin (Sweden), Alex Rhodes (Australia), Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Germany), Madeleine Sandig (Germany), Linda Villumsen (Denmark), Anke Wichmann (Germany), Oenone Wood (Australia).
