Pressemelding fra Team Barloworld:
Barloworld attack the Giro delle Tre Regioni with a strong team

Team Barloworld will field a young but competitive team in the Giro delle Tre Regioni triptych in Italy between August 1-3 with several riders from the Tour de France and two new stagiaire or apprentice riders in the team’s line-up.

The G.P. Carnaghese, the G.P. Nobili Rubinetterie and the Giro dell’Appenino races have this year combined in a new format and with a new place in the calendar, creating three days of intense racing in the Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria regions of northwest Italy.

For the first two races directeur sportif Alberto Volpi will direct a team that includes strong climbers Chris Froome, Gianpaolo Cheula and John-Lee Augustyn ­ first rider to the summit of the Col de la Bonette, the highest climb in the 2008 Tour.
Sprinter Robert Hunter will also be in the line-up in case of a sprint finish, while Austrian National Champion Christian Pfannberger is suited to the difficult race route.

The team will also include two young riders who will be the team’s stagiaire as they try to impress the Team Barloworld management and gain a contract for 2009. 23 year-old Italian Michele Gaia - 2th classified in the 2007 Under 23 Italian Road Championship - , comes from the team UC Bergamasca, is a good climber and aggressive rider, while Australian David Tanner, was recommended by Baden Cooke because of his all-round ability. Tanner, who lives in Marseilles - France - , comes from the Velo Club La Pomme Marseill and achieved important results in 2008. They have a great chance to get a taste for professional races in a well organized team like Barloworld.

The team’s busy weekend of racing ends on Sunday August 3 with the Giro dell’Appennino, where Alberto Volpi will again be directeur sportif. Tanner and Gaia will be in the line-up along with Pfannberger, as will Chris Froome and Gianpaolo Cheula. They both showed their form in the mountain stages of the Tour de France and so have an excellent chance of success in the selective route of the Giro dell’Appennino that includes the key climb of thePasso della Bocchetta, that almost always decides the race.