Team Sky has announced three new signings today on the Sky Sports News Channel. Canadian Michael Barry (Columbia-HTC), Belgian Serge Pauwels (Cervélo TestTeam), and Australian Chris Sutton (Garmin-Slipstream) have all come on board the new British squad.

Team Principal Dave Brailsford said:  “These new signings will strengthen our profile even further with regards to both the classics and the big stage races.  In Michael, we have a real ambassador of the sport, a great mentor for the younger riders and the kind of rider that will make a superb captain on the road.”

Team Sky’s official roster is now up to 19 riders, and it is expected that number 20 will be Frenchman Sylvain Calzati. He raced for the Agritubel team this year, but since the team’s last race was Paris-Tours he’s looking for a new home. Calzati won a stage of Tour de France in 2006

Barry, 33, is the most experienced of the trio of riders signed, having begun his racing career a decade ago with the American Saturn team. He was brought on board the US Postal team by Johan Bruyneel in 2002, and rode for the Belgian’s team until 2006. For 2007 Barry rode with the T-Mobile team, an organization which Bob Stapleton brought out of the ashes and evolved it into the ProTour’s powerhouse Columbia-HTC squad. Barry’s best performances were 7th in the 2003 World Championships on home soil, and a stage win in the Tour of Austria. He is best known for his selfless work as a domestique, and will complement Sky’s already strong lineup with his experience and consistency.

Pauwels, 25, was brought up through the ranks on Rabobank’s development team, turning professional with Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen in 2006. He rode for the Cervélo TestTeam this year, and could bring with him some valuable insight on how the team came to their winning ways so quickly. Pauwels finished second in a stage of the Giro d’Italia earlier this year.

Sutton, 25, turned pro with the French Cofidis team in 2005. He joined Jonathan Vaughter’s Garmin-Chipotle team and rode there through this season. Sutton is solid sprinter, and with his 11th place finish in Gent-Wevelgem this year, he’s certainly shown some Classics potential. He placed fifth in the under-23 road race at the 2005 World Championships before moving up to the pro ranks. This year won the opening stage of the Tour of Britain, finishing the race in second overall. Earlier this month he won three stages in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, but he lost out on the overall, falling short in the time trial to teammate Bradley Wiggins.

Assuming Calzati hooks up with Team Sky, they must still hire three more riders to meet the ProTour guidelines. Even so, if they plan to race a full schedule in 2010, they’ll likely need more than that to keep from burning out their riders, and with it their chances for success.

Confirmed riders for Team Sky:
1. Kurt Asle Arvesen (Norway – Team Saxo Bank)
2. John-Lee Augustyn (South Africa – Barloworld)
3. Michael Barry (Canada – Team Columbia HTC)
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway – Team Columbia)
5. Kjell Carlström (Finland – Liquigas)
6. Stephen Cummings (Great Britain – Barloworld)
7. Russel Downing (Great Britain – Candi TV)
8. Juan Antonio Flecha (Spain – Rabobank)
9. Chris Froome (Great Britain- Barloworld)
10. Simon Gerrans (Australia – Cervelo)
11. Greg Henderson (New-Zealand – Team Columbia)
12. Peter Kennaugh (Great Britain – Elite-2)
13. Thomas Lövkvist (Sweden – Team Columbia)
14. Lars Petter Nord Haug (Norway – Joker Bianchi)
15. Serge Pauwels (Belgium – Cervelo)
16. Morris Possoni (Italy – Team Columbia)
17. Ian Stannard (Great Britain – ISD)
18. Christopher Sutton (Australia – Garmin-Slipstream)
19. Geraint Thomas (Great Britain – Barloworld)