Team Barloworld ready to defend Giro del Capo Crown

After a strong start to the 2008 season, Team Barloworld is heading to Cape Town to defend this year's Giro Del Capo and Cape Argus crown. The races will be taking place from the March 4-9.

There has been a careful team selection as to get the optimal result. "When choosing the ideal team to race in the 'Mother City', there were six cyclists that stood out as ideally suited to the Giro del Capo. They are the fast paced Robert Hunter, versatile Christian Pfannberger, 2007 podium placed Hugo Sabido, 2007 stage winner Daryl Impey, climber Christopher Froome and 2007 stage winner Felix Cárdenas, who together make a formidable team," said Chris Fisher, head of Corporate Marketing at Barloworld.

· Christian Pfannberger (28) is the Austrian national champion and has been a professional cyclist since 2006. He'll play a vital supporting role for Mauricio Soler in the future. Pfannberger recently took a podium finish and points jersey at this year's inaugural World View Challenge in February.

· Robert Hunter (31), Team Barloworld's captain, is a South African sprinter and classic cyclist and has been competing professionally since 1998. Hunter, who has a wealth of racing experience for the team to draw upon, including nine participations in the Tour de France, has 33 victories to his name, the most recent two sprint finishes at the World's View Challenge.

· Daryl Impey (22), the young South African who joined Team Barloworld from MTN Microsoft, was impressive in the 2007 Giro del Capo, after winning the prologue and a stage and is one to look out for in this year's race.

· Christopher Froome (22), a talented climber from Kenya, won the Tour De Maurice in 2006, a stage in the 2007 Giro delle Regioni, a prestigious stage race in Italy, a stage at the Tour of Japan and a silver medal at the 'B' World Championships time trials. Froome had a strong start to the 2008 season by winning the King of the Mountains jersey on the third day of the World's View Challenge

· Hugo Sabido (29) is from Portugal and has been cycling professionally since 2001. Sabido has four victories to his name, including a podium finish at the 2007 Giro del Capo.

· Columbian cyclist Félix Rafael Cárdenas (35) has been a professional since 2000 and has 21 victories to his name, including winning stage one at the 2007 Giro del Capo.

"By living Team Barloworld's culture of teamwork and individual excellence and competing in world class races, these cyclists are on their way to being recognised as some of the best in the world. We look forward to experiencing the passion, excitement and endurance during this year's Giro de Capo and Cape Argus," concluded Fisher.