Team Milram

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Team Milram
Team information
UCI code	MRM
Based	Germany
Founded	2006
Discipline(s)	Road
Status	ProTour
Key personnel
General manager	Gerry van Gerwen
Team name history
2006–	Team Milram
Current season

Rund um den Henninger-Turm (2006) 4. left: Alessandro Petacchi, right: Erik Zabel

Team car Team Milram Deutschlandtour 2006

Team Milram (UCI team code:MRM) is a German (formerly Italian) pro cycling team, participating at the UCI ProTour.

The pro cycling team was founded in the beginning of 2006, taking over the UCI-ProTour-license of Team Domina Vacanze. The main sponsor is the Milram brand of the Bremen based Nordmilch company. Some smaller sponsors include Motorex, an oil company based in Switzerland. Sprinters Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel initially were the top riders and captains. The squad is completed by 25 mainly German and Italian riders.

Among Team Milram’s most important successes in 2006 and 2007 Christian Knees’s win at the German classic race „Rund um Köln“, Alessandro Petacchi winning the Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt in2006 and 2007, Erik Zabel’s title as vice World Champion 2006, his win of the best sprinter’s jersey at the Deutschland-Tour 2006 and 2007 his three stage wins at the Vuelta a España. Further important ranks are Alessandro Petacchi’s five stage wins at the Giro d’Italia 2007, his win at the classic race Paris-Tours and Niki Terpstra's win of the best climber’s jersay at the Deutschland-Tour 2007.

Since 2008, Team Milram is a German team. New General Manager is Gerry van Gerwen. His operating company VeloCity GmbH, which was founded in 2007, took over the previous Italian operating company Ciclosport with all components including the ProTour license for the beginning of the 2008 season. The new team basis is Dortmund’s Club Olympia. With a new organisation structure, a much younger squad, clear objectives and an enhanced anti-doping-programme the team has changed extensively.

The special focus in 2008 is on the promotion of young talents. With Martin and Peter Velits, Dominik Roels, Christian Kux, Artur Gajek, Markus Eichler and Luca Barla, seven promising young riders have joined the team. For their support, Jochen Hahn comes as a trainer and sport director. He already has long-term experience in the work with young riders. A new scouting system is to continue bringing young talents into the team. With an extended co-operation with the Continental Team Milram, more riders are to follow the way of Christian Kux, who was the first rider who made it from the Continental Team Milram to the ProTour team.

Furthermore, the already existing anti-doping-programme was enhanced. Now it is based on five pillars: official rules, additional voluntary agreements, increased prevention, increased transparency and clear consequences.

In 2008, Team Milram will concentrate on the Tour de France, German races and all ProTour races. The goal is to be established as a German team. The combination of experienced riders like Erik Zabel on the one hand and young talents on the other hand was the basis for the season. Zabel retired at the end of the year. Young Gerald Ciolek was signed to be a top sprinter of the team. Also, a total of eight riders from disbanded Team Gerolsteiner joined the team, including Markus Fothen and Fabian Wegmann.

Petacchi 's doping case

At 23 May 2007, during the 2007 Giro d'Italia, Alessandro Petacchi was found guilty of using salbutamol after a doping control. Petacchi had a certificate to use salbutamol in the treatment of asthma, but his level of salbutamol was extremely high. Petacchi was placed on non-active status and missed the 2007 Tour de France.^[1] In July 2007, Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) ruled that Petacchi gave good reasons for this high level. Petacchi was then absolved by the FCI when they deemed any overuse of Salbutamol as simple human error.^[2] The Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) argued that Petacchi should be suspended for the high level of salbutamol, and send the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, the sporting world's highest court.

On May 6, 2008, the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Petacchi until the end of August, applied retroactively from last November. CAS also announced that all competitive results obtained during the 2007 Giro d'Italia shall be disqualified with all of the resulting consequences including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes. Results obtained after 31 October 2007 and during the period of ineligibility will be disqualified.^[3][4]

As a result of this, on May 16, 2008, Petacchi was fired by Team Milram.^[5]

Results

2008 Results

^[6]

Date	Race	Rider
27 February	Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, 2nd Stage	Erik Zabel
1 June	Bayern-Rundfahrt, General Classification	Christian Knees

Successes in the 2007 ProTour

Date	Race	Rider
14 May	3rd stage Giro d'Italia	Alessandro Petacchi1
19 May	7th stage Giro d'Italia	Alessandro Petacchi1
23 May	11th stage Giro d'Italia	Alessandro Petacchi1
31 May	18th stage Giro d'Italia	Alessandro Petacchi1
3 June	21st stage Giro d'Italia	Alessandro Petacchi1
17 June	1st stage Tour de Suisse	Erik Zabel
12 August	3rd stage Deutschland Tour	Erik Zabel
7 September	7th stage Vuelta a España	Erik Zabel
12 September	11th stage Vuelta a España	Alessandro Petacchi
13 September	12th stage Vuelta a España	Alessandro Petacchi
14 October	Paris-Tours	Alessandro Petacchi

Notes

1. All competitive results obtained for Allessandro Petacchi during the 2007 Giro d'Italia or between 31 October 2007 and September 1 2008 are disqualified.^[3]

Victories in the 2007 Continental Tour

Date	Race	Rider
10 February	Grand Prix Costa degli Etruschi	Alessandro Petacchi
18 February	6th stage Tour Méditerranéen	Mirco Lorenzetto
23 February	3rd stage Volta ao Algarve	Alessandro Petacchi
24 February	4th stage Volta ao Algarve	Alessandro Petacchi
25 February	5th stage Volta ao Algarve	Alessandro Petacchi
21-25 February	General Classification Volta ao Algarve	Alessandro Petacchi
28 February	2nd stage Volta Valenciana	Alessandro Petacchi
25 April	1st stage Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt	Alessandro Petacchi
26 April	2nd stage Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt	Alessandro Petacchi
28 April	4th stage Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt	Alessandro Petacchi
25-29 April	General Classification Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt	Alessandro Petacchi
31 May	2nd stage Bayern-Rundfahrt	Erik Zabel
1 Juny	3rd stage Bayern-Rundfahrt	Erik Zabel
3 Juny	5th stage Bayern-Rundfahrt	Sebastian Siedler
29 Juny	Ukrainian Championships ITT	Volodymyr Dyudya
22 August	1st stage Rothaus Regio-Tour	Alessandro Petacchi

Team roster

As of 1 January 2010.

Rider Date of Birth  Gerald Ciolek (GER) September 19, 1986 (1986-09-19) (age 23)  Wim De Vocht (BEL) April 29, 1982 (1982-04-29) (age 27)  Markus Eichler (GER) February 18, 1982 (1982-02-18) (age 27)  Robert Förster (GER) January 27, 1978 (1978-01-27) (age 31)  Markus Fothen (GER) September 9, 1981 (1981-09-09) (age 28)  Thomas Fothen (GER) April 16, 1983 (1983-04-16) (age 26)  Johannes Fröhlinger (GER) June 9, 1985 (1985-06-09) (age 24)  Artur Gajek (GER) April 18, 1985 (1985-04-18) (age 24)  Linus Gerdemann (GER) September 16, 1982 (1982-09-16) (age 27)  Roger Kluge (GER) February 5, 1986 (1986-02-05) (age 23)  Servais Knaven (NED) March 6, 1971 (1971-03-06) (age 38)  Christian Knees (GER) March 5, 1981 (1981-03-05) (age 28)

Rider Date of Birth  Dominik Nerz (GER) August 25, 1989 (1989-08-25) (age 20)  Luke Roberts (AUS) January 25, 1977 (1977-01-25) (age 32)  Dominik Roels (GER) January 21, 1987 (1987-01-21) (age 22)  Thomas Rohregger (AUT) December 23, 1982 (1982-12-23) (age 27)  Matthias Russ (GER) November 14, 1983 (1983-11-14) (age 26)  Björn Schröder (GER) October 27, 1980 (1980-10-27) (age 29)  Roy Sentjens (BEL) December 15, 1980 (1980-12-15) (age 29)  Wim Stroetinga (NED) May 23, 1985 (1985-05-23) (age 24)  Niki Terpstra (NED) May 18, 1984 (1984-05-18) (age 25)  Paul Voss (GER) March 26, 1986 (1986-03-26) (age 23)  Fabian Wegmann (GER) June 20, 1980 (1980-06-20) (age 29)  Peter Wrolich (AUT) May 20, 1974 (1974-05-20) (age 35)

See also

• List of teams and cyclists in the 2008 Tour de France
• 2008 Tour de France
• Tour de France

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Team Milram

External links

• Official page
• Team presentation 2009