THOMAS CONFIRMED IN BARLOWORLD'S TOUR TEAM

Britain?s Geraint Thomas has been confirmed in Team Barloworld?s Tour de France squad.

The British registered Italian-based squad was announced as a Tour wildcard last week and Thomas was drafted amongst 12 others on their preliminary start list. The 21-year-old Welshman, still in his first season as a professional, has now been officially confirmed as part of the Tour squad along with five others.

The other five definite members of the team are South Africa?s Robert Hunter, Russia?s Alex Efimkin, Colombia?s Felix Cardenas and Mauricio Soler and Italian Fabrizio Guidi.

The remaining three places will be filled next week, when team directors see how riders perform in races in Spain, Switzerland and Germany.

Thomas will travel with sprinters Hunter and Guidi to the GP Triberg and GP Canton Aargau in Switzerland this weekend. He will also ride the Sparkassen Cup in Germany on Monday June 11.