English
Dortmund: 16/01/2009
The German ProTour team MILRAM is starting the 2009 season in Australia with a seven-man squad. Strong competition is waiting for them in the Tour Down Under (January 18-25) in southern Australia. Just like last year, the Tour is part of the ProTour series, bringing many prominent cyclists to the Australian summer.
“It will be a difficult race,” said MILRAM’s Christian Knees. “The profile is challenging, there are a lot of highly-motivated riders and let’s not forget Lance Armstrong’s comeback. We have prepared ourselves well and will have a strong team at the start.”
Especially sprinters and allrounders use the first stage race of the year as a test. At the head of the MILRAM squad is Christian Knees, who is accompanied and supported by a mixture of Classics riders and sprinters from the newly-reformed German team.
The main opponent of the MILRAM riders will be the high Australian temperatures. The course is sprinter-friendly, as it has been in the past. It starts out on Sunday, January 18, with the Cancer Council Classic, a criterium over 51 km, which does not count towards the Tour Down Under race results. As of January 20 there are six stages over mostly hilly terrain, which will encourage breakaways, but also give the sprinters good chances for their first successes. The final stage is a circuit course in Adelaide of 90 km, after which the first ProTour leader will stand fast.
Team MILRAM at the Tour Down Under:
Christian Knees (GER/Euskirchen), Luca Barla (ITA/Bordighera), Martin Müller (GER/Berlin), Markus Eichler (GER/Mönchengladbach), Wim Stroetinga (NED/Drachten), Thomas Rohregger (AUT/Innsbruck), Ronny Scholz (GER/Forst)
Directeur Sportif:
Vittorio Algeri (ITA)
The stages:
18. January, Prologue: Cancer Council Classic 51 km
20. January, 1st stage: Norwood – Mawson Lakes 140 km
21. January, 2nd stage: Hahndorf – Stirling 145 km
22. January, 3rd stage: Unley – Victor Harbor 136 km
23. January, 4th stage: Burnside Village – Angaston 143 km
24. January, 5th stage: Snapper Point – Willunga 148 km
25. January, 6th stage: Adelaide City Council Circuit 90 km