World Championships starter Niki Terpstra leads German ProTour team in Spain
Dortmund, 26. August 2010. Team MILRAM will be at the start of the Vuelta a Espana (August 28 – September 19 / UCI HIS) as of this coming weekend. The German ProTour team will be led in the 65th edition of the Spanish race as of Saturday by MILRAM’s Niki Terpstra, who has been nominated for the World Championships the end of September in Australia by his national federation. The Dutch champion will lead the MILRAM squad together with German allrounder Markus Fothen. Both riders have experience with the Grand Tours, having ridden the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, and will lead a strong team which has prepared especially for this race, starting with the team time trial Saturday in Sevilla.
„Our riders have trained specificially for the Vuelta. There were training camps on Mallorca before and after the Tour of Poland. The guys used that to get used to the heat,“ said Manager Gerry van Gerwen. „Our goal is a stage win. In addition we want to be at the front in a number of stages. Last year we did that quite well. Our riders are highly motivated and we hope to do well.“
The Vuelta a Espana begins late Saturday night with a team time trial in Sevilla. There are many highlights along the 2,424.9 kilometer long ride across the Iberian peninsula. In the second week, the Vuelta takes the riders into the high mountains. The third and final race week opens with a probably decisive individual time trial in Enafiel, before the winner will be crowned in Madrid. Last year the German ProTour team showed itself to be aggressive in the Spanish race. Right at the beginning, MILRAM sprinter Gerald Ciolek brought in a stage win in Emmen, Netherlands. His young teammate Dominik Roels surprised many with his appearance in many escape groups and used his good performance to secure a contract extension.
Team MILRAM line-up at the Vuelta a Espana:
Markus Eichler (GER/Jülich), Robert Förster (GER/Leipzig), Markus Fothen (GER/Kaarst), Dominik Roels (GER/Köln), Johannes Fröhlinger (GER/Freiburg im Breisgau), Björn Schröder (GER/Berlin), Roy Sentjens (BEL/Nerpeelt), Niki Terpstra (NED/Haarlem), Paul Voß (GER/Bielefeld)
Directeurs Sportif: Vittorio Algeri (ITA), Servais Knaven (NED)
The stages 2010:
28.08. Stage 1 (TTT): Sevilla – Sevilla (13,0 km)
29.08. Stage 2: Alcalá de Guadaíra – Marbella (173,7 km)
30.08. Stage 3: Marbella – Málaga (157,3 km)
31.08. Stage 4: Málaga – Valdepeñas de Jaén (183,8 km)
01.09. Stage 5: Guadix – Lorca (198,8 km)
02.09. Stage 6: Caravaca de Cruz – Murcia (151,0 km)
03.09. Stage 7: Murcia – Orihuela (187,1 km)
04.09. Stage 8: Villena – Xorret del Catí (190,0 km)
05.09. Stage 9: Calpe – Alcoy (187,7 km)
06.09. Rest Day
07.09. Stage 10: Tarragona – Vilanova i la Geltrú (175,7 km)
08.09. Stage 11: Vilanova i la Geltrú – Andorra (Pal) (208,4 km)
09.09. Stage 12: Andorra la Vella – Lleida (172,5 km)
10.09. Stage 13: Rincón de Soto – Burgos (196,0 km)
11.09. Stage 14: Burgos – Peña Cabarga (178,0 km)
12.09. Stage 15: Solares – Lagos de Covadonga (187,3 km)
13.09. Stage 16: Gijón – Cotobello (181,4 km)
14.09. Rest Day
15.09. Stage 17 (ITT): Peñafiel – Peñafiel (46,0 km)
16.09. Stage 18: Valladolid – Salamanca (148,9 km)
17.09. Stage 19: Piedrahita – Toledo (231,2 km)
18.09. Stage 20: S.Martín de Valdeiglesias – Bola del Mundo (172,1 km)
19.09. Stage 21: San Sebastián de los Reyes – Madrid (85,0 km)
Total distance: 3424,9 Kilometer