Dutchman to assist directeur sportif Ralf Grabsch in the Eneco Tour as his debut

Dortmund – Only two days after his official farewell race, MILRAM veteran Servais Knaven changes his job position. The Dutchman, who has been a constant in professional cycling for 17 years, is hanging his FOCUS racing bike on the proverbial golden nail, picking up his job as a directeur sportif for the German ProTour team.

Already in the Eneco-Tour (17-24 August, UCI ProTour) starting this Tuesday, Servais Knaven will meet his former team-mates in his new role: during the ProTour stage race through the Netherlands and Belgium, the Paris-Roubaix record holder will be sitting in the SKODA follow-up car for the first time, assisting directeur sportif Ralf Grabsch.

“Servais Knaven was and remains a great personality in international cycling. Even after his retirement from active racing, he moves at the center of the peloton. Servais speaks the riders’ language, and his opinion matters,“ says manager Gerry van Gerwen, pleased with the fact that the model professional is changing into the sporting management. “Of, course this is a new phase in his life. But we’re sure he’ll adapt quickly to his new role.“

Knaven meets with a powerful squad in the Eneco-Tour. The MILRAM team will be lead by Linus Gerdemann as the captain, and German national champion Christian Knees. The German duo will get support from Dominik Nerz, Thomas Fothen, Artur Gajek and Markus Eichler, as well as Belgian Wim De Vocht and Austrian Peter Wrolich.

The former Tour of Benelux starts with a prologue in Steewijk on Tuesday, and ends with another, crucial time trial in Genk, after seven stages and a total of 1,214.4 kilometers.

Team MILRAM in the Eneco-Tour: Markus Eichler (GER/Jülich), Thomas Fothen (GER/Kaarst), Artur Gajek (GER/Bergisch Gladbach), Linus Gerdemann (GER/Kreuzlingen,SUI), Christian Knees (GER/Euskirchen), Dominik Nerz (GER/Wangen), Wim De Vocht (BEL/Turnhout), Peter Wrolich (AUT/Klagenfurt)
Directeur sportif: Ralf Grabsch (GER), Servais Knaven (NED)