Björn Schröder (Milram) (Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Björn Schröder has extended his contract with Team Milram for an additional year, the team announced Friday. Martin Müller announced his retirement from the German ProTour team.
Schröder is one of only two riders, along with Christian Knees, to have been with the team since its inception in 2006. The 28-year-old said, "I am looking forward to another year with Team Milram and will pay back the trust they have shown in me with a good performance.“
Schröder's 2009 season came to an abrupt end during the Vuelta a España. He went down in the mass crash in the finale of the fourth stage in Lüttich. He continued to ride with pain until he was forced out in the 13th stage. An MRI in his hometown of Berlin last week showed a cracked bone and torn rotator cuff, ending his season.
The German has ridden the Tour de France twice with Milram, in 2006 and 2008. His biggest career win came last season when he won the Rothaus Regio-Tour.
Milram has already announced the signing of Luke Roberts for the coming year, and contract extensions with Dominik Roels, Servais Knaven and Robert Förster.
The team is losing four riders for the next season. Martin and Peter Velits are leaving for Columbia-HTC, and Ronny Scholz announced his retirement last week. Today, Martin Müller also announced his retirement.
Müller, 35, has been with the team since 2006. He said that he had not been offered a contact extension, and will now look for work unrelated to cycling. “It is almost impossible to transfer at age 35, especially since I have the wrong nationality," he said.
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