The Skil-Shimano team has announced four Dutch riders who will start their professional careers with the team in 2006. Sebastian Langeveld, the current under-23 Netherlands national champion, has signed for two years, while Kenny van Hummel, Piet Rooijakkers and Arno Wallaard have inked one-year contracts with the team.
At just 20 years old, Sebastian Langeveld is one of the Netherlands rising stars. As well as winning the under-23 national championships, he won a stage of the Olympia's Tour and placed well in the under-23 editions of Ronde van Vlaanderen (2nd) and Paris-Roubaix (7th).
A sprint specialist, 23-year-old Kenny van Hummel is 2005 Dutch national champion in the Elite without contract category and won the sprinter's jersey in the Olympia's Tour as well as five other victories this year.
Piet Rooijakkers, 25, is an all-round rider who finished ninth overall in this year's Ster Elektrotoer and won the final stage of the Olympia's Tour, and the time trial in Ronde van Midden-Brabant.
The team says these four complete its roster of European riders, which also includes Paul Martens (Ger), Christoph Meschenmoser (Ger), Rik Reinerink (Ned), Maarten Tjallingii (Ned), Aart Vierhouten (Ned) and René Weissinger (Ger). The team will also incorporate several Asian riders, including Japanese national champion Hidenori Nodera.
