German team releases initial selection with nine riders fighting for three remaining places
The Milram team has released the list of 15 riders, from which its final Tour de France roster of 9 will be drawn. Of those 15, the team has confirmed that six will definitely take the start in Rotterdam, Netherlands on July 3rd. The other three places will be decided in the coming weeks by performances at the Criterium du Dauphiné, the Tour of Switzerland and the national championships.
Linus Gerdemann, Gerald Ciolek, Johannes Fröhlinger, Christian Knees, Niki Terpstra and Thomas Rohregger are all assured their place in the Tour team. A seventh rider that will definitely make the team is Fabian Wegmann, provided he recovers from injury.
“Actually Fabian Wegmann belongs to the final team,” said Milram General Manager Gerry van Gerwen. “But now we must be sure, that he is really fit again after his injury from the Giro d'Italia. The decision on Fabian's start will be made after the Tour de Suisse.“
Although Gerdemann rode a strong Giro d’Italia, only fading in the really tough mountain stages and finishing 16th overall, the German team will not be aiming at the yellow jersey classification in the race. Instead they will be aiming for stage victories, particularly those that are suitable for sprinters.
“Our team will not ride for the general classification this year,” confirmed van Gerwen. “We will go with all nine riders for the stage win every day. Another goal is to fight for the green jersey of the best sprinter. All eight riders will work for Gerald Ciolek on the sprint stages."
This will put the young German in direct competition with former teammate Mark Cavendish of HTC-Columbia.
“At the same time,” van Gerwen continued, “we want to present ourselves aggressively and competitively and be present in escape groups. If we get the chance that way to take one of the special jerseys, then we will do all we can to get it.“
Milram team for the Tour de France:
Six riders already selected (subject to fitness):
Gerald Ciolek, Johannes Fröhlinger, Linus Gerdemann, Niki Terpstra, Thomas Rohregger, Christian Knees and Fabian Wegmann
Riders under consideration for final three places:
Markus Fothen, Roger Kluge, Dominik Roels, Björn Schröder, Roy Sentjens, Paul Voss, Peter Wrolich and Luke Roberts
Team Directors:
Ralf Grabsch, Christian Henn and Vittorio Algeri