Barloworld's sponsorship extended
Brad Morgan
8 May 2008
The success of the Team Barloworld cycling team has been reflected in a contract extension with the team's South African sponsors, Barloworld, which will continue into 2009.
In the six years that it has campaigned under the sponsorship of Barloworld, the team has become increasingly successful, both on South African soil and abroad.
Chris Fisher, the head of corporate marketing at Barloworld, says the current team is stronger than ever before and they have high expectations for 2008.
Objective achieved
"With invitations to both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Team Barloworld has already achieved one of their objectives of being invited to two of the Grand Tours, and with nine wins already under their belt, they are also well on their way to another successful season.
"The team's focus for 2009 will be to compete for two of the four jerseys in each Grand Tour that we are invited to participate in. With this in mind we have already secured team manager, Claudio Corti and director sportiffs, Alberto Volpi and Valerio Tebaldi.
"This sponsorship has become very public and accordingly we feel we owe it to our cyclists, employees and supporters around the world to communicate our continued commitment to the team," Fisher concluded.
Grand Tour aims
It doesn't take a genius to work out which jerseys in the Grand Tours Fisher was referring to; one needs only to consider Team Barloworld's exceptional performance in the team's first campaign in a Grand Tour – the 2007 Tour de France – to draw an informed conclusion.
In last year's Tour, Mauricio Soler, who was little known then, stunned the big guns by winning the polka dot jersey awarded to the King of the Mountains, and taking victory on stage nine. Robbie Hunter also made his mark, winning the 11th stage and finishing second in the battle for the green jersey, which goes to the top sprinter in the race.
With both Soler and Hunter still on board, Barloworld will look to them to once again carry the team's challenge in cycling's biggest events. The team's management hasn't been idol since Barloworld's excellent 2007 season and has significantly improved the depth of the line-up for the current season to give extra support to the leading climber and leading sprinter.
Newcomers
Some of the newcomers have made notable impacts. Austrian Christian Pfannberger has scored two wins and recorded a further five top-five finishes, while Enrico Gasparotto leads the Union Cycliste Internationale Continental Europe Tour standings; he'll next be in action in the Giro d'Italia, a race in which he wore the leader's pink jersey - the maglia rosa - last year.
Together with Hunter and former Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke, Gasparotto has given Team Barloworld enviable sprinting strength.
Young South African John-Lee Augustyn, in his second season with the team, has impressed, while South African-based Kenyan star Christopher Froome has been making a good impression too; they're future stars in the making.
With invitations to cycling's two biggest races – the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia – as well as invitations to Europe's major classics - Liege-Bastogne- Liege, Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem, and the Amstel Gold Race – Team Barloworld has been recognised by the cycling world as a legitimate rising power in the sport.
The UCI Pro Tour
The culmination of the continuing success of the team would likely be a coveted place on the Pro Tour; despite Team Barloworld's outstanding achievements, it has not yet made the jump from UCI Continental Team status to the top of the pile Pro Tour. However, the numerous invitations to take part in major events is a sure sign that the South African-sponsored outfit, through its strong performances, is making a good case for its move up to the 18-team Pro Tour.
Barloworld has shown it can compete with, and beat, the world's top outfits and the team's highly-respected manager Claudio Corti says he is happy with the way it has performed so far in 2008.
On the Team Barloworld website, he said: "This year we've ridden virtually every major race on the calendar, both the classics and stage races, and we've always done well. Now it's time for the Giro d'Italia and then the Tour de France after we've been invited to both races.
"It means the team is proving we deserve a place up there with the best teams in the sport and proves that we improve even more if we keep working hard and stay focused."
Giro d'Italia
Straight ahead on Barloworld's calendar is the Giro d'Italia, which starts on 10 May. Corti has previously guided four riders to victory in the Giro: Damiano Cunego, Gilberto Simoni, Ivan Gotti and Gianni Bugno.
Because of this year's mountainous route, Mauricio Soler is seen as Team Barloworld's best threat in the Giro. Corti, however, is under no illusions that the challenge the Columbian ace faces is massive.
"Soler's debut at the Giro will be very interesting to follow," said Corti, "but we're not going to make any wild claims about what he can do. Mauricio faces riders who know the Giro inside out and who have really strong teams. We hope to get some results with Soler and the other riders.
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