Milram's injury woes continue

Team Milram's unceasing streak of injuries continued at the Ster Elektrotoer, where the team started with only five riders and finished just three. Before the race even started, Artur Gajek withdrew from the start list with muscle problems while the Ukranian Volodymyr Dyudya could not start due to a foot injury.

The squad's woes were compounded when Italian Luca Barla left the race on Thursday because of a shoulder injury. On Friday, Dennis Haueisen crashed in the feed zone and had to be taken to the hospital.

"Fortunately Dennis had only brusies and scrapes on his hips and back from the crash," said directeur sportif Raoul Liebregts, "We started the race with only five riders. In the last two days we have lost two of them."

Alberto Ongaroto made up for the bad luck by netting a solid fifth on the final stage behind winner Mark Cavendish (High Road).