The German Milram team will be setting their sites on the Tour of Murcia this week with Luke Roberts and Thomas Rohregger set to lead their Spanish campaign. Both riders had a successful Tour Down Under in January, with Rohregger winning the mountains classification and Roberts finishing second behind Caisse d'Epargne's Luis León Sánchez in the race's most difficult stage.
Since the Australian Tour Rohregger has ridden the Mallorca Challenge and fared well in the Trofeo Inca stage with a top ten finish. After his trip to Spain he came down with an ear infection that set him back, but the Austrian hopes he's in good enough condition to put in a strong performance.
"Right after the Mallorca Challenge, I was unfortunately thrown back by an inner ear infection,“ explained Rohregger. "But I have been able to train well again and look forward to this challenging race."
The team is tasked with finding a sponsor to replace Milram at the end of the season and, while results will be an important part of that, the team doesn't want to put too much pressure on their climber. Milram's sports director Ralf Grabsch is confident they'll have other cards to play: "We don't want to put Thomas under any extra pressure after his illness. Luke Roberts is an experienced pro, who can take on the responsibilities. With those two as our leaders, we are well prepared for the coming work."
Roberts' ticket back to the ProTour was as a leadout man for the team's sprinter Gerald Ciolek. The Australian rode for Bjarne Riis Team CSC for three years, but was forced to downgrade to the Team Kuota Continental team in 2008 when he wasn't offered a new contract. He had a tough season in 2009, breaking his hip in February, and along with it, his chances of having a successful year on the road. Milram however recognized the value of having a fast track rider in their leadout train for Ciolek, and look to him as the key to challenge rival HTC-Columbia and their sprinter Mark Cavendish.
Circumstances have changed on Milram team after Ciolek's season got off to a bad start. The German broke his collarbone in a crash during the final sprint of the third stage of the Tour of Qatar. Now Roberts will be given the opportunity to ride for himself in Spain and will have the full support of his new team.
Team MILRAM for the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia:
Roger Kluge (GER/Eisenhüttenstadt), Dominik Nerz (GER/Wangen), Luke Roberts (AUS/Kerpen), Dominik Roels (GER/Köln), Thomas Rohregger (AUT/Innsbruck), Björn Schröder (GER/Berlin), Peter Wrolich (AUT/Klagenfurt)
Directeur Sportif: Ralf Grabsch (GER)