Roger Kluge defends white jersey at the Tour of Qatar

Dortmund, 9. February 2010. Gerald Ciolek crashed heavily during the mass sprint finish of the third stage of the Tour of Qatar (February 7-12 / UCI 2.1). The 23-year-old went down in the closing sprint after 136 kilometers from Dukhan to Mesaieed and broke his collarbone. The stage win after the crash-filled finale went to Tom Boonen (Quick Step). The Belgian beat Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) and Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank). MILRAM veteran Peter Wrolich finished sixth to bring the German ProTour team another Top Ten placing. MILRAM newcomer Roger Kluge defended the white jersey of the best young rider, while Wouter Mol (Vacansoliel) remained overall leader.

„Gerald will be flown to Germany as quickly as possible,“ explained Ralf Grabsh, Team MILRAM’s Directeur Sportif, after the third stage. „The collarbone fracture was diagnosed here by two doctors. The doctors in Germany will determine how complicated the fracture is and whether surgery is necessary.“

The third stage of the Tour of Qatar was marked by the breakaway win of the previous day. The sprinter teams controlled the whole stage and didn’t let a single escape get away. As on the previous day, MILRAM newcomer Roger Kluge took advantage of the situation. At the only intermediate sprint of the day, with 25 km to go, the 24-year-old jumped out of the peloton to win the sprint, thus gaining important bonus seconds in the fight for the white jersey of the best young rider. He was subsequently caught again by the field and the mass sprint was set up.