07-01-2010 14:04:30
The German ProTour team Milram presented its squad for the 2010 season Thursday morning at the Signal Iduna Park football stadium in Dortmund. A total of 24 pro cyclists, including 16 German riders, will represent German cycling in the new racing season after a successful 2009. Led by the two German captains Linus Gerdemann and Gerald Ciolek, Team Milram is going into the 2010 with confidence and ambitious goals.
„We are shifting into a higher gear. After our successful year we are ready for the next step,“ said Gerry van Gerwen, General ManagerM, who was happy that his team improved not only its media value by 20 percent but also its own image through good riding. „With our new 'Back to Basics' scheme and some restructuring, we have continued to develop the team. The groundstone has been laid, now the successes must follow. With the quality of our riders, 25 wins in about 250 races are a must.“
Five newcomers strengthen the team in 2010. The most prominent German new signing is track specialist Roger Kluge. Kluge, who won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, changed over to road racing at the beginning of the year and wants to continue his successful career on the asphalt. In addition, talented young German U-23 champion Dominik Nerz from the Milram Continental team joins the team. With the Belgian Classics specialists Roy Sentjens and Wim de Vocht, the team has won two strong performers for the one-day races in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France. In addition, veteran Australian Luke Roberts increases the quality of the ProTour team squad.
Back to Basics: „Be health, have fun and work professionally“
The new guidelines for the 2010 cycling year were made clear last fall. Within the sporting managers, Ralf Grabsch will be responsible for race planning and the direct contact to the riders, while Christian Henn will take care of race analysis. The German ProTour team has worked as comprehensively and painstakingly as never before, in various training camps, to lay the basis of the successful coming season. In addition to the daily training rides on Mallorca, there were also team-building measures.
„Be healthy, have fun and work professionally. Our riders should concentrate on the basics,“ is how Gerry van Gerwen explained his „Back to Basics“ philosophy, and at the same time applied to the riders' sense of honor. „A winner has a plan, a loser an excuse. There are no more excuses.“
The 24 riders will have the opportunity to prove this in high-quality appearances on some 250 race days in the coming season. The first squad will be at the start of the ProTour opener Tour Down Under in Australian this month. In addition to the Tour de France and the ProTour races, the team will emphasize the German stage and one-day races in 2010.
24 Riders from six nations - 16 Germans, three Dutchmen, two Belgians, two Austrians and one Australian:
Gerald Ciolek (23/GER), Wim De Vocht (27/BEL), Markus Eichler (27/GER), Robert Förster (31/GER), Markus Fothen (28/GER), Thomas Fothen (25/GER), Johannes Fröhlinger (24/GER), Artur Gajek (24/GER), Linus Gerdemann (27/GER), Roger Kluge (23/GER), Servais Knaven (38/NED), Christian Knees (28/GER), Dominik Nerz (20/GER), Luke Roberts (32/AUS), Dominik Roels (22/GER), Thomas Rohregger (27/AUT), Matthias Ruß (26/GER), Björn Schröder (29/GER), Roy Sentjens (29/BEL), Wim Stroetinga (24/NED), Niki Terpstra (25/NED), Paul Voß (23/GER), Fabian Wegmann (29/GER), Peter Wrolich (35/AUT)
