Team Barloworld Confirmed for Belgium and Holland Classics

With their contingent of South African riders firmly back in the fold after the Commonwealth Games, Team Barloworld have named two strong teams for the upcoming GP Pino Cerami and Profronde van Drenthe.

Enrico Degano, the team’s Italian sprinter, will lead the squad at the GP Pino Cerami in Belgium on April 6. Jock Green, the South African super domestique, will be the workhorse in the squad that includes Giosué Bonomi, Diego Cacci, Mauro Facci, Jeremy Maartens, James Perry and Hugo Sabido. The GP Pino Cerami, held in the Belgian town of Hornu in the honour of the Italian-born racer of the same name, was won by Dutch rider Kai Reus last year after he broke clear of the field on the last climb, the Tienne du Dragon, which was 4 kilometers from the end.

Eddie Serri finished ninth in last year’s race, which has had big-name winners in the past. Eddy Merckx, Joop Zootemelk and Bernauld Hinault are among the famous names on the honours list. There is a tough field for the 2006 race with five Pro-Tour teams: Milram, Davitamon-Lott, Euskaltel-Euskadi, QuickStep and Liberty Seguros, as well as seven of the top European Pro Continental teams. The South Africans in the race will get the chance to gain some revenge on Allan Davis, the bronze medal winner from the Commonwealth Games, and it is also expected that Erik Zabel, the veteran German sprinter will take part.

Maartens, who along with Green and Ryan Cox, was part of the team that helped South Africa clinch silver in the Commonwealth Games road race two Sunday’s ago, is expected to be the go-to man at the Ronde van Drenthe race in the Netherlands on April 8. Perry has recovered well from the broken leg he suffered last year and will provide strong back-up to Maartens, as will Briton Tom Southam.

Maartens’ early-race break in Melbourne set up South Africa’s strong showing at the Games and the South African team manager, Tony Harding, said in Melbourne that Maartens was in impressive form after some good training in the Victorian capital.

Team Barloworld’s 2003 World Champion, Igor Astarloa, has moved into the top 10 of the European Pro Continental rankings. He is ninth overall after some high finishes in recent races.