Barloworld signs another & looks toward ProTour

By Susan Westemeyer

Team Barloworld signed young Welsh rider Geraint Thomas as its 16th rider for the 2007 season, the team announced Tuesday. The team looks to move up a notch to the ProTour.

Team manager Claudio Corti said, "We're caught in a very confusing situation at the moment. What will happen with the ProTour is still very uncertain. We're a 'Professional' category team, and we've made a request to join the ProTour, but we still haven't had any kind of answer to our request." Meanwhile, Corti is assembling his team for the coming season. "We've had a good year overall, and I consider it the first stage of a long-term project with Barloworld as we work to build a high quality and prestigious team."