Gerald Ciolek, winner of Milan-San Remo, will lead South African team MTN-Qhubeka in the Bayern Rundfahrt in May. The German race announced six wildcard invitations for Professional Continental teams on Wednesday.
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In addition to MTN-Qhubeka, the wildcards went to IAM Cycling, Novo Nordisk, NetApp-Endura, Sojasun and Europcar.
“Sometimes a team's status doesn't say a lot. To speak of these teams as 'second league' is hardly right even when it is that way on paper,” said Ewald Strohmeier, head of the race. “But most recently Gerald Ciolek's success in San Remo showed that one of the best riders in the world is underway with this team.”
The six Professional Continental teams join nine WorldTour teams in the race: Sky, Sky, Euskaltel-Euskadi, FDJ, Garmin Sharp, Orica-GreenEdge, Blanco, Lampre-Merida, Ag2r la Mondiale und Argos-Shimano. An additional four Continental teams will also be invited.
The Bayern Rundfahrt runs from May 21 to 25. It starts in Mühldorf am Inn and ends 5 stages and 775 kilometers later with a circuit course in old-town Nürnberg.