Germany's sole remaining ProTour team, Milram, has high hopes leading into May's Giro d'Italia. The team will be headlined by former Maillot Jaune at the Tour de France, Linus Gerdemann, and hopes to continue a great start to the season for the previously perennially underachieving squad.
Gerdemann, who enjoys the precarious position of Milram and Germany's big hope, is responsible for much of the up turn in fortunes. He already has two wins in 2010 - first in early February at the Trofeo Inca as part of the Vuelta Mallorca, then the second coming on the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico a month later.
After that, the trend hasn't been quite so positive. First, a stomach virus laid him flat, then he followed it with a bout of bronchitis.
Gerdemann is healthy and ready to go though and not in the least perturbed by the recent hiccup in health.
"I've worked a lot this spring, and for my head, it was actually quite good to have a week of a little less work. Now, I'm fully back."
As for the Giro, this will be Gerdemann's first ever assault on Italy's Grand Tour. He recognizes the uncharted nature of the race for him and admits that, "It's an experiment. The Giro is the most difficult stage race of the year, but my goal is absolutely a stage win." Gerdemann has conceded that he has no chances for the overall, but a stage win is more than reasonable for one of Germany's top talents.
The multi-faceted Giro route builds to a climax in the final week of dastardly difficult stages. Gerdemann takes special care to point out the almost farcically difficult finale to the 2010 Giro. "Above all, the third week is wickedly difficult. The Italians are so crazy, in a positive way, as far as the mountains go - they've built in some serious difficulties."
Team Manager Gerry van Gerwen sees the Giro as a chance for his aggressive, young team to show itself and hopefully garner some attention for the squad as they continue their search for a sponsor for 2011.
"The race is an excellent platform for us to show ourselves. Our goal is to work for some surprises and to help shape the race. We are a team to be watched."
Milram is sending a competent roster with a lot of possibilities. Gerdemann is certainly the headlining name, but Fabian Wegmann should have some chances in the stage win sweepstakes as well. The former German Road Champion and perennial hilly classic contender has had a rocky start to the season. He suffered a collarbone break in March, but has bounced back quickly to race in his beloved Ardennes Classics. Paul Voss was responsible for one of the bigger surprises of the season with an outstanding race at the Volta Catalunya, which included a Prologue victory, two days in the leader's jersey, and a number of top placings.
The Milram Roster
Linus Gerdemann, Fabian Wegmann, Markus Fothen, Robert Foerster, Thomas Rohregger, Luke Roberts, Matthias Russ, Paul Voss, Dominik Roels.