The Rabobank team has announced the signing of 26-year-old Colombian climbing specialist Mauricio Ardila to a two-year contract for 2006 and 2007. The 1.65m, 58kg Ardila impressed the team with his performances in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana in 2005, and especially his ninth overall in the Vuelta.
Ardila's palmares includes stage wins in the 2002 Tour of Sweden and Tour de l'Avenir, two stages and the overall ranking in the 2004 Tour of Britain and a stage plus the King of the Mountains classification in the 2005 Niedersachsen Rundfahrt.
