PINARELLO SIGN RUSSELL DOWNING FOR 2008

Russel Downing has signed for the British Pinarello Racing Team for 2008. Downing joins the evergreen Malcolm Elliott on the squad making a formidable partnership.

Pinarello RT have written a letter of intent to British Cycling in order to register as a UCI Category three team, which will enable them to ride events such as the Tour of Britain.

Yorkshire man Downing had been signed to the US-based Healthnet-Maxxis squad, but suffered a severely disrupted season when he was refused entry to the States due to visa complications. He was questioned for seven hours by immigration officials in Philadelphia back in April when he tried to enter the country, and was subsequently put back on a plane to Britain.

During 2007, Downing took victories in rounds of both the Premier calendar and national circuit race series. He won the overall classification of the Bermuda Grand Prix last month.