T-Mobile heads for the sun

By Susan Westemeyer

The first contingent of T-Mobile riders is getting ready for a short training camp on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, Spain, from November 25 to December 2. The team announced the camp after its team meeting in October, saying that 15 riders would take advantage of the opportunity "to make their first training rides and get to know each other in an informal atmosphere," on the team's website, www.t-mobile-team.de.

The 15 riders attending will be a mix of young and old, team newcomers and team veterans: Erik Baumann, Thomas Ziegler, Bernhard Eisel, Stefan Schreck, Marco Pinotti, Kim Kirchen, Linus Gerdemann, Lorenzo Bernucci, Frantisek Rabon, Giuseppe Guerini, Marcus Burghardt, Jakob Piil, Roger Hammond, Andre Greipel and Gerald Ciolek. Spokesman Stefan Wagner told Cyclingnews that "All the Sporting Directors will be there as well as support staff, of course."

In addition, the team will be helping Burghardt find temporary living quarters in the Aachen, Germany area, to train for the spring classics. The young rider nearly disappeared in his second pro year, but after knee surgery in the late summer, he was one of the last T-Mobile riders to receive a contract for the coming season. Burghardt also moved to Switzerland over the summer. Wagner told Cyclingnews that the team will be supporting him "to have an apartment in Belgium or in the Aachen region when he prepares for Classics and during the Classics."