agence France-Presse
LONDON // Chris Froome has signed a new contract with Team Sky for 2014 and will have the nucleus of the team that helped him win the Tour de France at his side again.
Froome heads a list of 10 riders who have signed on again, including Peter Kennaugh, David Lopez and Ian Stannard, who were part of the line-up that helped him succeed Sir Bradley Wiggins as Britain’s second winner of the Tour.
They have also put pen to paper, along with Luke Rowe, Salvatore Puccio, Sergio Henao, Chris Sutton, Danny Pate and Xabier Zandio.
Wiggins, on the other hand, is heading into the final year of his contract with the team.
Two of Froome’s key support riders, Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas, extended their deals mid-season.
Froome said on teamsky.com on Monday: “This has been an incredible year for me and I’m delighted to finish it off by signing a new contract with Team Sky. I’ve been with this team since the start and I know this is the right place for me to continue to grow as a rider.
“It’s impossible to win races without the right team beside you so I’d like to thank everyone at the team for their continued support. It’s an honour to be a Team Sky rider and I hope to play a big part of its success for years to come.”
Rod Ellingworth, the performance manager, hailed his group of riders as “the most talented team in the world”.
He said: “Everyone is excited to kick things off again in 2014. We’ve consolidated what is an incredibly strong group of guys over the winter. The team’s core remains intact and that’s important going forward.
“Everyone is committed to keep improving and we always look to provide the best environment for riders to do that.”
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