German teams opt for youth in Italy

Young riders will lead the two German ProTour teams in the next ProTour race, Italy's Tirreno-Adriatico. Linus Gerdemann, 24, will be leading the T-Mobile Team, while Gerolsteiner will be spearheaded by 25 year-old Stefan Schumacher.

"Linus is in good shape and he has the potential to make his mark on the GC over the course of this week," said T-Mobile director sportif Valerio Piva.

T-Mobile will also have Bernhard Eisel and Gerald Ciolek onboard for the sprint stages.

"Tirreno-Adriatico was usually something for the sprinters in the last few years, but now all-round qualities are looked for - for example, like those that Stefan Schumacher has," read a Gerolsteiner press release. However, it is still bringing along top sprinter Robert Förster. SW

T-Mobile roster: Lorenzo Bernucci, Gerald Ciolek, Bernhard Eisel, Linus Gerdemann, Kim Kirchen, Andreas Klier, Servais Knaven and Marco Pinotti.

Gerolsteiner roster: Robert Förster, David Kopp, Sven Krauss, Sebastian Lang, Andrea Moletta, Stefan Schumacher, Fabian Wegmann, and Peter Wrolich.