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."

Thomas rode as a stagaire for Saunier Duval in the 2006 season and has a track background. He won the European U23 pursuit title and took silver at the world track championships in Bordeaux as part of the Great Britain team pursuit. He won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March 2006 and was 2004 junior world champion in the scratch race in Los Angeles.