Gilberto Simoni will ride the 2006 season with Spanish ProTour team Saunier Duval.

The two-time Giro d’Italia champion announced his decision at a press conference Friday morning in Italy. Simoni, 34, said the team will secure him a place in the season’s most important races.

Simoni was the focus of interest from several teams in the wake of the collapse of the Sony Ericsson team, which evaporated last week and left a dozen riders looking for a job.

Simoni drew offers from Unibet.com and Naturino-Sapore, two continental teams looking to break into the 20-team ProTour league. But Simoni said he didn’t want to take the risk of not riding in ProTour events at this point in his career.

Simoni will give Saunier Duval a legitimate captain for three-week stage races heading into the 2006 season. The Spanish team finished seventh in the ProTour team rankings.

Gerdemann switches to T-Mobile
Linus Gerdemann, the young rider who many are hyping as the next big thing in German racing, has opted out of his final season with Team CSC to pen a three-year deal with T-Mobile.

The 23-year-old had one year remaining on his two-year deal with Team CSC, but team boss Bjarne Riis decided to let the promising German go since Gerdemann had already reached an agreement with T-Mobile to join the team at the end of the 2006 season.

Gerdemann at this year's Tour of Switzerland

Photo: AFP (file photo)

“I think Linus would’ve liked to stay on with the team next year, but I don’t feel it would be feasible for us to invest a lot of time and effort in a young talent who’s already got one foot out the door,” Riis said in a team statement. “We gave him a contract offer for 2007 and 2008, but another team out-bid us. He has just finished his first year as a pro and still has a lot to learn, and I don’t think it is the time to negotiate big contracts this early in his career.”

Gerdemann made a big impression in his first year as a pro, holding the leader’s jersey and finishing fourth in his first pro race at Four Days of Dunkirk. He then finished third at the Bayern Rundfahrt and then improved on that by winning a stage at the Tour de Suisse.

T-Mobile team manager Olaf Ludwig said the team was eyeing Gerdemann last year, but Riis beat him to the punch. The young German is likely to be groomed to take over for Jan Ullrich, who is expected to retire in the next few years.

“I am delighted that we were able to finalize a long-term contract with Linus. Last season he proved himself to be one of the most promising riders in the German cycling scene,” Ludwig said. “Linus fits perfectly into our concept. We are approaching the 2006 season with a fresh mix of young riders with potential and experienced pros capable of carrying the can in the big races.”

The addition of Gerdemann brings T-Mobile’s lineup to 29 riders for 2006. Recently, T-Mobile Team has announced the recruitment of a number of riders, among them young pros like André Greipel (23) and Patrik Sinkewitz (24), three-time world time trial world champion Michael Rogers (25), as well as experienced stage race riders like Sergey Gontchar (35) and Eddy Mazzoleni (32).

Schleck extends with Team CSC
Just as Team CSC loses the services of Linus Gerdemann, the team announced a contract extension through 2008 with rising young pro Fränk Schleck.

The 25-year-old joined Team CSC in 2003 and stepped up nicely this season, with top-10 spots in Paris-Nice, Tour de Suisse, Tour de Méditerranéen and Etoile de Bessèges as well as podiums at the Championship of Zürich and the Giro di Lombardia.

“Fränk has grown tremendously while he has been with us and we are happy to be able to extend our deal with him. He is one of the big profiles of the future and as it’s turned out that he fits perfectly on our team,” said Team CSC manager Bjarne Riis on the team’s web page. “We have never doubted his potential and the results he’s brought home this year only go to show that he has class.”

Schleck and younger brother, Andy, ride and train together under the Team CSC colors. Sons of a former pro, the Schlecks are one of the few brother tandems in cycling.

“I’m extremely happy that we’re extending our contract. Bjarne was the one who initially gave me the opportunity to become a pro, and I have a lot to thank him for,” Schleck said. “I have continued to develop while being on the team, and I know I can go even further. I’m really happy to find myself here at Team CSC, where I’m also 100 percent comfortable with my teammates.”

Team CSC also recently announced the addition of 22-year-old Kasper Klostergaard, who will join the team for the 2006 season.

The Danish rider had been part of the team on a trial basis for the latter part of this season, and his performance convinced the sports directors that the young rider from Glud & Marstrand has the potential to begin a pro career next year, the team reported.