Chris Froome and several of his teammates have finished a successful year off by extending their contracts with Sky. The team has also confirmed the signing of Sebastian Henao, cousin of the team's current rider Sergio who is one of the riders to renew his association with the team.

2013 was a magical year for Chris Froome who not only won his first Tour de France but dominated stage racing throughout most of the year. In addition to his win in France, he triumphed in the Tour of Oman, Criterium International, Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphiné and was 2nd behind Vincenzo Nibali in the Tirreno-Adriatico.

That kind of dominance has turned him into one of the most valuable riders on the market - just 2 years after fearing that his career had come to an end. However, there will be no change of teams for the Brit as he has extended his contract with Sky.

“This has been an incredible year for me and I’m delighted to finish it off by signing a new contract with Team Sky," he said. "I’ve been with this team since the start and I know this is the right place for me to continue to grow as a rider.
 

“It’s impossible to win races without the right team beside you so I’d like to thank everyone at the team for their continued support. It’s an honour to be a Team Sky rider and I hope to play a big part of its success for years to come.”
 

In 2014 Froome will again target the Tour de France and he will do so with much of his current team at his disposal. In addition to the team captain, the team has announced that another 9 riders have extended their contracts.

From the Tour de France team, classics specialist Ian Stannard and climbers Peter Kennaugh and David Lopez will continue on the team. The news follows from the contract extensions for fellow Tour riders Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte which was announced earlier this year.

The other major name to extend his contract is future grand tour star Sergio Henao. The talented Colombian finished in the top 10 in the Giro d'Italia when he rode his first grand tour last year, and rode very strongly in both the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the Ardennes classics this year, finishing 3rd in the stage race and 2nd in the Fleche Wallonne.

Young talents Luke Rowe and Salvatore Puccio turned pro with the team two years ago and have earned extensions of their contracts. Finally, grand tour veterans Xabier Zandio and Danny Pate and sprinter Chris Sutton have committed themselves to staying with the British team.

A new signing has also been announced as the team has finally confirmed what has long been known. In 2014 Sergio Henao's cousin Sebastian will get his chance at the highest level, joining previous signings Nathan Earle, Philip Deignan and Mikel Nieve as new recruits for the coming season.

“Everyone is excited to kick things off again in 2014 and we do so with what we believe is the most talented team in the world," performance manage Rod Ellignworth said. “We’ve consolidated what is an incredibly strong group of guys over the winter. The team’s core remains intact and that’s important going forward.

“Everyone is committed to keep improving and we always look to provide the best environment for riders to do that.”

Team Sky will kick off their season in the Tour Down Under in January.