Team line-ups for Deutschland Tour

Both German ProTour teams are looking to go on the offense in the upcoming Deutschland Tour. "For us, the Deutschland Tour means attack, attack and attack again," said Milram General Manager Gerry van Gerwen, while Gerolsteiner promises to ride in its "usual aggressive fashion."

Milram will be led by Christian Knees, who finished 29th in the Tour de France and won the Bayern Rundfahrt. He will be supported by, among others, Björn Schröder, fresh off the Regio Tour win. "Basically, we are going to the start with a well-balanced team, and everyone who feels good will get his chance," Knees said. "That makes us unpredictable and will be our strength at the D-Tour."

Gerolsteiner will look for stage wins, with Tour de France third-place finisher and mountain classification winner Bernhard Kohl leading the way. If Kohl has lost his good form, the team will look to Markus Fothen, who finished a close second overall in the Regio Tour. Another possibility is sprinter Robert Förster, who won the first stage in the Deutschland Tour last year.

The Austrian Professional Continental Team Volksbank is ready to take on the race for the third time. It will be particularly looking to Gerrit Glomser and Andreas Dietziker for both the mountain stages and the overall title, while sprinter Olaf Pollack will represent the team on the flat stages.

Milram for Deutschland Tour: Ralf Grabsch, Christian Knees, Brett Lancaster, Martin Müller, Alberto Ongarato, Dominik Roels, Björn Schröder and Peter Velits.

Gerolsteiner for Deutschland Tour: Robert Förster, Markus Fothen, Thomas Fothen, Johannes Fröhlinger, Bernhard Kohl, Matthias Russ, Ronny Scholz and Marcus Zberg.

Volksbank for Deutschland Tour: Philipp Ludescher, Gerrit Glomser, Andras Dietziker, Pascal Hungerbühler, Olaf Pollack, André Korff, René Weissinger and Daniel Musiol. (SW)