Milram names first six riders for Tour line-up

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Linus Gerdemann and Gerald Ciolek will lead Team Milram in the Tour de France this year, concentrating on stage wins rather than the overall rankings. The German ProTour team announced on Wednesday the first six riders for the Tour squad.

Gerdemann and Ciolek will be joined by Christian Knees, Niki Terpstra, Johannes Fröhlinger, and Thomas Rohregger at the start of the race July 3 in Rotterdam.

The remaining places will go to three of the following riders: Fabian Wegmann, Markus Fothen, Roger Kluge, Dominik Roels, Björn Schröder, Paul Voss, Roy Sentjens, Peter Wrolich and Luke Roberts.

The final three riders will be decided based upon their performances in the Criterium du Dauphine, Tour de Suisse and the national championship races at the end of June.

“Actually, Fabian Wegmann belongs to the final team. But now we must be sure, that he is really fit again after his injury from the Giro d'Italia,“ said the team's general manager, Gerry van Gerwen. “The decision on Fabian's start will be made after the Tour de Suisse.

 “Our team will not ride for the general classification this year. 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.”