CCC Polsat has considerably strengthened its team for the 2014 season by announcing the renewal of the contract with the team's main star Davide Rebellin and the signings of experienced WorldTour professionals Branislau Samoilau and Maciej Paterski. While Samoilau will join the team after a one-year absence from the professional peloton, Paterski will leave Cannondale after 4 years in the Italian team.

After a moderately successful season that brought in 10 wins in smaller races, the Polish CCC Polsat professional continental team is trying to strengthen its roster for the coming season. Having mostly been made up of Polish riders who have ridden in support of the team's star rider Davide Rebellin, the team has added experience to its roster by signing two riders with plenty of WorldTour racing in their legs as well as renewing Rebellin's contract.

Despite turning 43 years in August 2014, Rebellin has no intentions of ending his career and he has decided to keep riding at the top level for another season. Having become the first rider to win all three Ardennes classics in one season, the Italian's reputation was tainted when he tested positive for CERA after taking the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.

He returned to competition in 2011 and has repeatedly shown that he is still one of the best Italian bike riders. Riding for smaller continental teams before joining CCC Polsat prior to the 2013 season, he hasn't been allowed to return the sport's biggest races but he is perennial top 10 finisher in the hardest Italian one-day race. In 2011, he won the Tre Valli Varesine and this year he finished 3rd at the Italian championships and won 4 smaller races.

In a recent interview with L'Arena, he talked about his season and revealed that he had agreed to renew his contract with CCC. Yesterday he put pen to paper and revealed the news on his Facebook page.

"Even if it has been reported that I had already signed with CCC, I want to tell you that I have signed my contract today (yesterday, ed.) and I want you to be the first to know. I look forward to the coming season and is more determined than ever," he wrote.

At the same time, the team has announced the signings of Branislau Samoilau and Maciej Paterski. The former is a strong Belarusian who was seen as one of cycling's major talents but he never fulfilled his potential. He rode for the Acqua e Sapone team in 2007 and 2008 and took his only pro win on a stage of the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda during that time.

After a short stint on the Amica Chips team, he signed with the QuickStep team where he stayed for 2 years, finishing 3rd in the Tour of Austria and 12th in the Criterium du Dauphiné. Afterwards, he had two unsuccessful years at Movistar but obtained no personal results of notice

He was unable to find a new team for the 2013 season but rode select events with his national team, winning a stage in the Tour of Malopolska. Those results have now allowed him to return to the professional peloton.

Like Samoilau, Paterski was brought up through the ranks by riding on smaller Italian teams and turned professional with Liquigas in 2010. He has stayed with the Italian team now known as Cannondale for the past four years but has mostly worked as a domestique.

However, he has shown his versatile talents and solid climbing legs on a number of occasions and got close to a major win in the queen stage of this year's Eneco Tour where he finished 3rd. With three Vueltas a Espana and one Tour de France in his legs, he has plenty of experience at the highest level and is now ready to seek more personal opportunities in his new team.

Paterski and Samoilau are the first new riders to be confirmed for the Polish team's 2014 roster.