CANNONDALE AND BARLOWORLD SPLIT

Geraint Thomas, Steve Cummings and the rest of the Barloworld team will not be riding Cannondale bicycles in 2008.

The American manufacturer's two-year contract to supply the British-registered, Italian-based squad has ended and will not be renewed.

Barloworld has given Cannondale a superb return on its investment - this year delivering Tour de France stage wins from Robert Hunter and Mauricio Soler, as well as the king of the mountains jersey for the Colombian climber.

And Barloworld can thank Cannondale for helping to hire Italian directeur sportif Claudio Corti as their manager.

"We are very proud of the success achieved by Barloworld in the past two years," said Matt Mannelly, president of Cannondale. "Claudio has built a great team spirit. We certainly wish the team the best of luck in the coming seasons and look forward to seeing them on the road at the races."

This season Barloworld rode the System Six and Super Six bikes and realised the dream to ride the Tour in July.

Now British riders Thomas and Cummings - who is due to join the team from Discovery Channel this winter - will have to wait to see what they will be riding next season. Barloworld is currently in negotiations with several bicycle manufacturers seeking a new deal.

PICTURE: Geraint Thomas of Barloworld. What will he be riding in 2008?