The ProTour squad Team Milram received bad news last Thursday when they didn’t get on the list of the starting squads for the 2010 Paris-Nice. The Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) has offered a consolation prize to the team, however, by promising to include them in other ASO events.

The German ProTour team will be missing the Paris-Nice this season, so they will have to look forward instead to competing in upcoming events such as the Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogen-Liège, the Dauphiné Libéré, and of course, the Tour de France.

Milram team manager Gerry Van Gerwen admitted that the team is expectedly disappointed by the ASO’s decision to leave them out of the race. They will need to rearrange their riders’ schedules and look for other options to Paris-Nice.

Team Milram will still be very busy this season, starting with the Tour of Qatar from February 7-12 and the Tour of Oman from February…

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Team Milram’s Gerald Ciolek is aiming high this year, with hopes of winning a big race for his team. He also plans to win a stage at the Tour de France. The 23-year-old had only two wins last season; the Trofeo Calvia in the Mallorca Challenge in February, and the second stage of the Vuelta a España. His first Grand Tour win gave him the confidence he needs to start this season off with excitement. New additions to the team, Roger Kluge, Luke Roberts, and Roy Sentjens may prove to be just the support Ciolek needs to win big. The biggest challenge Ciolek will have to face is beating Mark Cavendish, but he remains confident….

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Team Milram’s sponsor, German dairy company Milram, has said that they are not likely to renew their mutual contract after it expires at the end of 2010. “As things currently stand, a renewal of the contract is not something we’re considering,” said Godja Soennichsen, Milram spokeswoman. One reason could be the doping controversy, which is leading to a decline in cycling interest in Germany. Or, it could be the economy. Or both. Gerry van Gerwen, the team’s chief, says that he will fight to try and find a German sponsor. “Germany is such a big country, and it’s bang in the middle of Europe,” he said. Team Milram will begin the 2010 season with a 24-man roster.

Via Velo News….

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Team Milram is now enjoying an escape from the cold European weather at their training camp in Mallorca, Spain. “We called together our complete new squad to prepare ourselves together for the important work in the coming season,” said Gerry van Gerwen, team manager. The team consists of 24 riders, with 16 of them being Germans. Their training days began with thirty minutes of walking along the beach, after which comes stabilization training with Milram’s physiotherapists. They would eat breakfast and then ride in the Mallorcan sun for six hours. They split up into groups which target training for specific events like the Tour Down Under or spring classics. They also fine-tuned their bikes and had the usual team meetings and talks. “We can look with confidence to the new year. The signs are there, starting with the meetings to the…

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During cycling races, riders throw their empty water bottles to the side of the road. Some of these bottles are picked up by fans, and some are not, leading to littering and pollution. Team Milram, however, will throw on their green hats and do something about the problem. The German cycling team will begin to use biodegradable water bottles, manufactured by its co-sponsor Tacx. “We are very excited about this new innovation from Tacx. This is a necessary step in protecting the environment. In the past few years, we have received emails from people who got upset about the drink bottles thrown away during races,” says team business manager Marlies van Gerwen. Tacx will be providing 25,000 bottles of water throughout the course of the season. The 100% biodegradable bottles are made out of polyethylene with a small amount of master batch….

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