15 German MILRAM riders start in Sangerhausen – seven more in Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands

Dortmund, 23. June 2010. This coming weekend the riders from Team MILRAM will start in their national championships across Europe. The two MILRAM captains Linus Gerdemann and Gerald Ciolek will lead a large team at the German road race in Sangerhausen, and the German ProTour team will also send seven riders to their homeland races in Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands.

Fifteen German MILRAM riders will be at the start of the road race on Sunday. In addition to Linus Gerdemann and Gerald Ciolek, four other Tour de France starters will be at the start: Johannes Fröhlinger, Fabian Wegmann, Roger Kluge and Christian Knees.

The 2010 German championships take place on a 9.74 kilometer long circuit course in Sangerhausen. In all, the riders must cover the difficult course 21 times for a total of 204.5 kilometers, before the 2010 national champion is crown. The start is at 11 a.m., on the Alten Promenade.

„The course is Sangerhausen should be good for our team,“ said Ralf Grabsch, MILRAM’s directeur sportif. „Our riders are amongst the favorites, but we can’t discount the competition. Our goal is quite clearly the championship title. Otherwise we wouldn’t bother to be there.“

Roger Kluge, who on Monday was nominated for the Tour de France, will be the only MILRAM rider in the individual time trial on Friday. The race against the clock starts at 15:30 and runs over 34.5 flat kilometers.

The national championships begin on Wednesday evening in the Netherlands, with the individual time trial. The fight against the clock in Oudenbosch wil be ridden by Tour de France starter Niki Terpstra and 37-year-old veteran Servais Knaven, who is riding his last championship. At the road race on Sunday in Stein, Beek and Meerssen in Limburg, the Dutch duo will be strengthened by sprinter Wim Stroetinga. For Niki Terpstra, it will be the last test before his third Tour de France. „It will surely not be easy on Sunday,“ said the young father who comes from Haarlem. „Especially since there are only three of us, we have to fight from the very start and keep on attacking in the finale.“

In Austria, the championships will be ridden in Ennstal. For Thomas Rohregger, the races in his homeland will be the last test before his premiere in the Tour de France. Together with his MILRAM teammate Peter „Paco“ Wrolich, the former winner of the Österreich Rundfahrt will take on the fight against his fellow Austrians. In light of the 2400 climbing meters over the 190 kilometers, a hard race is expected.

Belgian Classics riders Roy Sentjens and Wim De Vocht will both ride the road race in their national championship. The MILRAM duo will face some 40 other ProTour riders from the cycling nation at the race in Leuven.

Team MILRAM at the German Championships:
Gerald Ciolek (GER / Kreuzlingen, SUI), Markus Eichler (GER / Jülich), Robert Förster (GER / Markkleeberg), Markus Fothen (GER / Kaarst), Thomas Fothen (GER / Kaarst), Johannes Fröhlinger (GER / Freiburg im Breisgau), Artur Gajek (GER / Bergisch Gladbach), Linus Gerdemann (GER, Kreuzlingen, SUI), Christian Knees (GER / Euskirchen), Dominik Nerz (GER / Wangen), Dominik Roels (GER / Köln), Matthias Ruß (GER, Bad Cannstadt), Björn Schröder (GER / Berlin), Paul Voß (GER / Bielefeld), Fabian Wegmann (GER / Freiburg im Breisgau)
Directeur Sportif: Ralf Grabsch (GER)