Igor Astarloa's joining the British-registered Barloworld team appears to be all but completed, even though he has yet to sign his two year contract on the dotted line. After his manager Paolo Zanni confirmed the move late last week, Astarloa himself told Marca, "There will be no problems in reaching an agreement with the Italian team [Astarloa's current squad Lampre-Caffita] and we will speak with them next week."
Lampre-Caffita's director sportif Giuseppe Saronni did not foresee any problems for Astarloa either. "With him, there is nothing to rescind. He can join whoever he wants."
