11-09-2008 11:59:53

A total of four Tour de France starters will be at the start of the Bavarian race „Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt“ for the German ProTour team MILRAM.  The team will be led by Christian Knees, who won the Bayern Rundfahrt in May.  He will be joined by teammate Björn Schröder, who won the Rothaus Regio Tour.

„Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt is always a great race with lots of fans and guaranteed good mood,“ said Jochen Hahn, Team MILRAM's Directeur Sportif.  „Races like this are important for the young rider, since the young riders in Germany don't have a lot of chances to race against the big names in the scene.  We will be at the start with a strong team and clearly want ride for the win.“

Hahn, who is known for his work with the young riders, will be able to look to MILRAM veteran Ralf Grabsch and the Slovakian U-23 World Champion Peter Velits, both of whom also started in the Tour de France.  In addition, Markus Eichler and youngster Arne Hassink who is now a stagiaire with the team, will also be there.

The 18th running of the Nürnberg race goes over 140 kilometers with start and finish at the Nürnberg Opera House.  The field will ride seven laps of 13 km long circuit and 10 laps of 4.9 km circuit around the Altstadtring.