Dortmund, 5. May 2010. MILRAM captain Gerald Ciolek has made an impressive return to the international cycling scene at the opener of the 56th edition of the French stage race 4 Jours de Dunkerque (May 5-9 / UCI 2.HC). The 23-year-old took advantage of the long and hard preparation work by his teammates and sprinted to second place in the first stage of the race in northern France. The winner after 143.8 kilometers from Dunkerque to Bray-Dunes was Dane Alex Rasmussen (Saxo Bank). Third went to Kevin Ista of Team Cofidis.

” had to go for it a bit earlier than planned, since there was another attack near the finish. So it wasn’t quite enough at the end for the victory,“ summarized MILRAM captain Gerald Ciolek. “I am in good form, have absolutely no physical problems, and am looking forward to the next days.“

“The race organizer named us as most active team of the day. We earned that with a lot of hard work,“ said Jochen Hahn, who is serving as Team MILRAM’s Directeur Sportif in northern France. “We took over responsibility early in the race and were the first team to organize the chase. Basically, we had it all under control the whole time. In the finale we set things up well and brought Gerald Ciolek into position. We can be satisfied with his second place.“

The stage 2010:
5.5. Stage 1: Dunkerque – Bray-Dunes (143,8 km)
6.5. Stage 2: Coulogne – Auby (196,4 km)
7.5. Stage 3: Menin – Ypres (189,0 km)
8.5. Stage 4: Merville – Cassel (181,3 km)
9.5. Stage 5: Ardres – Dunkerque (179,5 km)
Total distance: 890 km

Team MILRAM at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque:
Gerald Ciolek (GER/Köln), Wim de Vocht (BEL/Turnhout), Markus Eichler (GER/Mönchengladbach), Thomas Fothen (GER/Neuss), Artur Gajek (GER/Bergisch Gladbach), Roger Kluge (GER/Eisenhüttenstadt), Servais Knaven (NED/ Herwen en Aerdt), Björn Schröder (GER/Berlin)
Directeur Sportif: Jochen Hahn (GER)