Team CSC signed up two more experienced hands in Volodymir Gustov and Iñigo Cuesta to round out its 2006 roster with 30 riders. The top ProTour team penned deals with Gustov, 28, and Cuesta, 36, on the recommendations of current team members. Team captain Ivan Basso had good memories of Gustov during their stint together at Fassa Bortolo while Carlos Sastre put in the good word for compatriot Cuesta. “Obviously, I'll listen when our top guys make suggestions for new riders and that’s been the case with these two final additions to the team,” said Team CSC boss Bjarne Riis in a statement. “We’re talking about two strong riders who fit very well into our schedule for next season, where we have a lot of stage races and hilly classics on the menu. Both Gustov and Cuesta come from big teams and bring along a lot of experience. Cuesta was one of the main profiles on the Cofidis Tour team while Gustov is still quite young and could develop further on our team.” Gustov and Cuesta will join six other new faces for the Danish-American team for the 2006 season. Also set to join Bjarne’s Army for next year are Stuart O'Grady, Kasper Klostergaard, Karsten Kroon, Fabian Cancellara, Marcus Ljungqvist and Martin Pedersen. Riis expressed satisfaction with the new additions to his already motivated and experienced squad, which topped the ProTour team standings in 2005. “It’s a big and very diverse line-up, and following this seasons fantastic results, we have a lot to live up to,” Riis said. “We’ve never had such a strong team and next year we’ll allow ourselves to have great expectations in both the classics and the big stage races. We have eight new and exciting riders on our team and I’m really looking forward to integrating them. We want to put our mark on the season from the beginning until the very end and I believe we have a lot to look forward to.”

Petacchi eyes classics
Alessandro Petacchi, the Italian sprinter known for reeling off victories at will in cycling’s most important stage races, says his future lies in improving his palmares in the classics. Petacchi, 31, won this year’s Milan-San Remo, a victory that has only whetted his appetite for cycling’s “monuments.” “Milan-San-Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem, HEW Cyclassics and Paris-Tours come first for me next year,” Petacchi told La Gazzetta dello Sport. Petacchi said he’s not worried about the disappointment at the Madrid world championships, but instead remains setting new challenges for the future. A winner of 25 races in 2005, Petacchi was cycling’s biggest winner this season, but wants to point toward more quality over quantity in the coming seasons. Petacchi – nicknamed “AlaJet” by the excitable Italian press -- shrugged off gossip of friction between the Italian and German sprinter ace Erik Zabel at the new Milram team in 2006, pointing to the peaceful cohabitation at Quick Step between world champion Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini. Petacchi said it will be an “honor” to ride with four-time MSR winner Zabel at the spring classic and said the two will work in tandem to control the race. The Italian is already considering skipping the 2006 Tour to give Zabel the full support of the team in the hunt for stage wins and the green jersey. IOC agrees to WADA code on back samples
At its meeting last week in Lausanne, the International Olympic Committee agreed to bring its policies inline with the World Anti-Doping Agency concerning samples taken from athletes that could be later tested for the presence of banned substances. “Ownership of samples will be vested in the IOC for eight years, bringing us in line with the WADA code,” said Giselle Davies, IOC spokesperson. “The IOC has the right to re-analyze the samples. After the period of eight years, the ownership will be transferred to the lab (and then destroyed).” Euskaltel signs up more
Euskaltel-Euskadi penned deal to bring several new riders onto the Basque team for the 2006 season. Young riders Iban Iriondo and Unai Uribarri both signed up for two years while Iban Mayoz, Rubén Pérez and Beñat Albizuri also have contracts for the 2006 season.