Quick Step hires Belarus pair

The Belgian ProTour team Quick Step has announced that a pair of riders from Belarus, Branislau Samoilau and Andrei Kunitski, have been hired by the team.

"These are two riders with good qualities and we've decided to invest in them," said Patrick Lefevere, Quick Step team manager. "Both athletes are now on the team roster and have a contract through the end of 2010. Samoilau will ride the first race for us at the Tour de Suisse in a few days, while Kunitski will participate in the next Ster ElektroToer. We've chosen these two athletes because we believe they can be important elements in completing the group of riders skilled in stage races that is showing promise and growth from one competition to the next."

The 24-year old Samoilau has two professional wins in his palmares: the Belarus national road championship in 2007 and stage five of the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda in 2008. The 25-year-old Kunitski is the 2007 and 2008 Belarus national time trial champion and has also won a stage in the 2008 Vuelta a Burgos.