Team MILRAM was at the front of the 13th stage of the Giro d’Italia. Björn Schröder was at the head of the stage for 158 kilometers, and at the finish in Florence, Robert Förster sprinted to seventh place. The day’s win after 176 km from Lido di Camaiore to Florence went, for the third time, to Briton Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia-Highroad ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (LPR Brakes) and Alan Davis (Quick Step).

Björn Schröder - Photo: Roth

“That was a good day for us. Björn was directly in the escape group and when it fell apart, he kept on going,”

said Ralf Grabsch after the race. The Directeur Sportif was satisfied with the day’s performance.

“It was unfortunate that at the end, the road was so big and broad. That took away Björn’s chances in the finale. But he held up well, and it was a super performance by him. After a dry spell in the last few days, this escape and Robert’s seventh place were good. Especially since it will be hard again in the next few days. But we have some riders who can set some accents there, too,”

Grabsch continued.

After only 12 km, the three-man group around MILRAM’s Björn Schröder formed and dominated the race as it went towards Tuscany. Together with Leonardo Scarselli (ISD) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), Schröder built up the lead to over five minutes. As the gap got smaller and smaller near the end of the stage, the Berliner went off on his own. With 31 km to go, he attacked and rode on as a soloist. He defended his lead bravely, but six km before the finish, it was over for the MILRAM rider, who is now second in the unofficial ranking for the rider with the most escape kilometers. From there on, the sprinters’ teams took over the race and set up the mass sprint.

The 13th stage brought no changes in the overall rankings. Going into the challenging 14th stage to Bologna, Russian Denis Menchov of Rabobank leads ahead of Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes) and Levi Leipheimer (Astana).

Result:
1 Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team Columbia-Highroad 3:48:36
2 Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) LPR Brakes – Farnese Vini
3 Allan Davis (AUS) Quick Step
4 Robert Hunter (RSA) Barloworld
5 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
6 Juan José Haedo (ARG) Team Saxo Bank
7 Robert Förster (GER) Team MILRAM
8 Ben Swift (GBR) Team Katusha
9 Davide Vigano (ITA) Fuji-Servetto
10 Sébastien Hinault (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale
…
75 Thomas Rohregger (AUT) Team MILRAM
86 Luca Barla (ITA) Team MILRAM
110 Martin Müller (GER) Team MILRAM
138 Markus Fothen (GER) Team MILRAM + 40
146 Thomas Fothen (GER) Team MILRAM + 57
172 Björn Schröder (GER) Team MILRAM + 3:59

The MILRAM-line up:
Luca Barla (ITA/ San Remo), Robert Förster (GER/Leipzig), Markus Fothen (GER/Kaarst), Thomas Fothen (GER/Kaarst), Martin Müller (GER/Berlin), Thomas Rohregger (AUT/Kramsach), Matthias Ruß (GER/Oberried), Ronny Scholz (GER/Herrenberg), Björn Schröder (GER/Berlin)

Directeurs Sportif:
Vittorio Algeri (ITA), Ralf Grabsch (GER)

The stages 2009:
9. May, 1. Stage: Venice – Venice (TTT) 20,5 km
10. May, 2. Stage: Jesolo – Triest 156 km
11. May, 3. Stage: Grado – Valdobbiadene 198 km
12. May, 4. Stage: Padua – San Martino di Castrozza 162 km
13. May, 5. Stage: San Martino di Castrozza – Alpe Di Siusi 125 km
14. May, 6. Stage: Bressanone/Brixen – Mayrhofen (AUT) 248 km
15. May, 7. Stage: Innsbruck (AUT) – Chiavenna 244 km
16. May, 8. Stage: Morbegno – Bergamo 209 km
17. May, 9. Stage: Milan – Milan 163 km
19. May, 10. Stage: Cuneo – Pinerolo 262 km
20. May, 11. Stage: Torino – Arenzano (Genua) 214 km
21. May, 12. Stage: Sestri Levante – Riomayre (ITT) 60,6 km
22. May, 13. Stage: Lido Di Camaiore – Firenze 176 km
23. May, 14. Stage: Campi Bisenzio – Bologna (San Luca) 172 km
24. May, 15. Stage: Forli’ – Faenza 161 km
25. May, 16. Stage: Pergola – Monte Petrano 237 km
27. May, 17. Stage: Chieti – Blockhaus 83 km
28. May, 18. Stage: Sulmona – Benevento 182 km
29. May, 19. Stage: Avellino – Vesuvius 164 km
30. May, 20. Stage: Naples – Anagni 203 km
31. May, 21. Stage: Rome – Rome (ITT) 14,4 km
Total distance: 3.454,5 Kilometer