PARIS, Oct 13, 2011 (AFP) – Team Sky trio Juan Antonio Flecha, Christian
Knees and Michael Barry have signed new contracts with the British cycling
outfit ahead of the 2012 season, Sky announced Thursday.

Flecha and Knees both penned two-year deals while Barry has extended his
current agreement by a further 12 months.

Spaniard Flecha is an experienced Grand Tour rider who is also an
ever-present threat on the tough cobbled classics.

“I am really happy to be riding for the team again next season. The
improvements we have made over the last year have been testament to the amount
of work we have put in and I am really excited about what 2012 will bring,”
said Flecha.

“The cobbled classics will be my main focus, as always, but I am also
looking forward to helping the team throughout the rest of the season.”

Dave Brailsford, Team Sky Principal, said: “At Team Sky we are always
striving to improve as a team and retaining our key riders is a vital
component of that strategy.

“We are delighted that three world-class talents in Michael, Christian and
Juan Antonio have seen Team Sky as the best place to continue their careers.

“As athletes, their records at the very highest level of our sport speak
for themselves. All three have contributed hugely to our success as a
professional team and we all look forward to continuing that momentum into
2012 and beyond.”

Team Sky signed British world champion Mark Cavendish earlier this week,
virtually guaranteeing stage success at next year’s Tour de France.

Cavendish has won 20 stages in five years on the race while racing with
HTC-Highroad.