TNT Sports
Simoni turns yellow
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Published 21/10/2005 at 16:53 GMT+1
Two-time Giro d'Italia champion, Gilberto Simoni, announced Friday that he will ride for Pro Tour team Saunier Duval - Prodir in 2006. The 34-year-old was part of the group of highly coveted riders left jobless in the wake of last week's Sony Ericsson fal
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"I went into this not for the money, but to help the group of young riders," said Simoni, "Basso proposed me to come to CSC to help with the Tour de France, but the project was not well defined."
Unibet.com and Naturino-Sapore, teams aspiring to enter the 20-team Pro Tour league, had made proposals to the Trento native, but he preferred the yellow colours of the Spanish squad, sure to be in the Pro Tour next season and present at the biggest rendez-vous.
Saunier Duval - Prodir finished seventh in the Pro Tour team standings with a strong presence throughout the season, but without wins on the major races. Simoni could become a genuine leader for them during three-week events such as the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.
This season, Simoni won the legendary Mont-Faron stage of Paris-Nice, the Giro dell'Appennino in May and the Giro dell'Emilia, followed by a second-place finish behind Paolo Bettini at the Giro di Lombardia on October 15.
"I thank my ex-team, Lampre-Caffita, despite the fact that I suffered a lot last year. Martinelli and Cunego will become big opponents for me, but as far as I am concerned the change was necessary," he said. Lampre-Caffita finished 16th in the Pro Tour standings this season.
Friday is the cut-off date for finalising Pro Tour teams and some riders who had signed for Sony-Ericsson like Stuart O'Grady are still without a team, while Christian Moreni and Chris Sutton have signed with Cofidis.
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