07-01-2009 11:50:59
Under the motto „Everything new – Everything different“, Team MILRAM presented its totally new squad for the 2009 season at the Pullman Hotel in Dortmund on Wednesday morning.
„I am happy to present a German Team MILRAM, in which we have riders for every discipline. From Spring Classics specialists to sprinters, GC riders and climbers, as well as allrounders – the team is much more versatile than in the past years,“ said Gerry van Gerwen, team manager of Team MILRAM.
A total of 25 riders, including 17 Germans, will represent the only German ProTour team and embodiment of German cycling in the 2009 season. The team will be led by two captains, Linus Gerdemann and Gerald Ciolek. The team also has newcomers to other key positions. Ralf Grabsch, who was a rider for the team in 2008, and Christian Henn are new Directeurs Sportif, joining Vittorio Algeri.
Athletic focus: „We will ride every race to win!“
„We have won a lot of quality with our new riders. In the foreground are our two captains, Linus Gerdemann and Gerald Ciolek. But with personalities like Fabian Wegmann, Christian Knees and Markus Fothen, we have additional strong riders. And behind them, which is also important, is a strong team. The mixture of young riders and experienced pros is a good one and the combination of team unity and individual class will enable us to perform at the highest level,“ van Gerwen explained. Through the new composure of the team, a strong team for every challenge has been formed, which will ride every race to win it. A total of 25 wins should be achievable.
In addition to the ProTour races, the German stage races and the one-day races, the Tour de France will be a major goal for Team MILRAM again in 2009. Van Gerwen said, „Maybe this time we can have the yellow and green jerseys for a day and can win a stage. The team will absolutely do its very best to prepare for that.“ Christian Henn, Directeur Sportif at Team MILRAM, said, „We are very happy that in the coming season we can ride for the win in “Rund um Köln” and “Rund um den Henninger Turm”. Germany is our sporting home and it is our duty as well as our pleasure to show ourselves from our best side as a German team at home. So we are happy about every opportunity that we have to present ourselves to the German cycling fans.
Team MILRAM information offensive
Team MILRAM is also going a new way in its press work. It plans to regularly hold small press conferences – as are usual in football – before important races and whenever there is something new with Team MILRAM. The previous races will be analyzed and upcoming races discussed. It will be completed with the news from inside the team and the presentation of interview partners.
Team MILRAM for the year 2009:
Luca Barla (ITA), Gerald Ciolek (GER), Markus Eichler (GER), Artur Gajek (GER), Linus Gerdemann (GER), Christian Knees (GER), Christian Kux (GER), Martin Müller (GER), Dominik Roels (GER), Björn Schröder (GER), Niki Terpstra (NED), Martin Velits (SVK), Peter Velits (SVK), Fabian Wegmann (GER), Peter Wrolich (AUT), Matthias Russ (GER), Markus Fothen (GER), Thomas Fothen (GER), Johannes Fröhlinger (GER), Servais Knaven (NED), Robert Förster (GER), Ronny Scholz (GER), Thomas Rohregger (AUT), Wim Stroetinga (NED), Paul Voß (GER).
