ProTour team goes with confidence into opening weekend of the Belgian Spring races after its good season start

Dortmund, 23. February 2010. With new riders and a lot of momentum from its first races in Australia and the Arabian peninsula, the German ProTour team MILRAM is going into the opening weekend of the Belgian Classics season. A total of four newcomers, all of whom were signed for the Spring races, will be in the squad under the direction of Ralf Grabsch at the half-Classics Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (February 27 / UCI 1.HC) and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (February 28 / UCI 1.1). The two Belgian Classics specialists Roy Sentjens and Wim De Vocht will join Australian Luke Roberts and Beijing Olympics silver medal winner Roger Kluge in the Spring races in East Flanders.

„Our goal is a place in the top six in both races. Servais Knaven will lead us with his experience. He was third in 2000 and knows every cobblestone passage along the way,“ said Ralf Grabsch. The former pro rider and specialist for Belgian cobblestone races, who lead the Classics squad at the races in Qatar and Oman, noted the new team spirit. „We are going to the start with confidence. Except for Gerald Ciolek, all of our Classics riders are healthy and fit. Our guys have brought in three Top Ten finishes so far. I am convinced of the quality of our riders.“

The Classics riders will be led by Dutch veteran Servais Knaven, who won Paris-Roubaix in 2001 and has ridden the race more times than anyone else. The squad also features Knaven’s countryman Niki Terpstra, who was ninth last year, as well as the two Germans Markus Eichler and Björn Schröder. The German ProTour team will have to do without the services of Gerald Ciolek. The strong sprinter, who was supposed to help Team MILRAM bring in top placings in the spring races, crashed in Qater. He is now working on his comeback in his hometown of Cologne after a shoulder operation.

The end of last week, Niki Terpstra ended the Tour of Oman as sixth overall. Earlier, MILRAM’s Roger Kluge finished fourth in the Tour of Qatar and Luke Roberts fifth in the Tour Down Under, bringing the team high placings in the overall rankings.

„We were the first ProTour team to train on the Het Nieuwsblad course as a team. And we will be there again as early as Thursday,“ said Ralf Grabsch, proud of his MILRAM rider’s eagerness to ride well and win. „You can see that we are serious going into the opening weekend of the Spring Classics. We will bring in good results.“

On Saturday morning, the traditional half-Classic Het Nieuwsblad starts in Gent. A total of 12 steep climbs, called „hellinge“ in Belgium, and seven cobblestone sections (kasseien) will face the riders as they take on the 204 kilometers through East Flanders before returning to Gent for the finish. Last year Norwegian Thor Hushovd won the prestigious race. The only German to have won the „Omloop“ is Andreas Kappes in 1991.

The next day, Team MILRAM starts in the half-Classic Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. This race features eight „hellinge“ before the winner is crowned after 194 kilometers. Belgian cycling start Tom Boonen won the race in 2009.

Team MILRAM at Het Nieuwsblad / Kuurne – Brussel – Kuurne:
Wim de Vocht (BEL/Turnhout), Roger Kluge (GER/Eisenhüttenstadt), Servais Knaven (NED/Meerle,BEL), Roy Sentjens (BEL/Nerpeelt), Björn Schröder (GER/Berlin), Niki Terpstra (NED/Haarlem), Markus Eichler (GER / Jülich), Luke Roberts (AUS/Kerpen,GER)
Directeur Sportif: Ralf Grabsch (GER)