01.08.2013 @ 11:12 Posted by Jesper Ralbjerg

Under UCI rules, teams can confirm new signing for the 2014 season starting on August 1.

Astana has wasted little time and has been the first major team to set the cycling transfer season in motion, announcing it has signed Lieuwe Westra and Franco Pellizotti for 2014.

Both signings are designed to add some needed depth in strength of the Astana team for stage races and thus boost Vincenzo Nibali’s quest for the 2014 Tour de France.

Franco Pellizotti brings plenty of experience to the Astana team and will be looking to aim for undulating stage races and Classics wins. Previously he raced with Nibali at Liquigas before being suspended for two years after being caught by the UCI's biological passport. He finished 11th overall in the Giro d’Italia in May.

"Franco is a veteran rider with more than 10 years of experience as a professional, and we are very happy to welcome him back among his friends and family. He rode at Liquigas-Cannondale with Vincenzo and they know each other well. He will be a valuable asset in our preparations for the Tour de France next year," team manager Alexandre Vinokurov said on the Astana team website.

Lieuwe Westra is the reigning Dutch national time trial champion, and he conquered the Tour of Denmark last year and finished as runner-up to Bradley Wiggins at Paris-Nice and was second in the Tour of Belgium. His best result in the 2013 season prior to taking the Dutch TT championship came when he claimed a stage in the Tour of California.

"Lieuwe is a very strong time trialist and climber, and joins Astana as a rider who could help Vincenzo Nibali next year at the Tour de France," Vinokurov added.