German Premier in the Giro d'Italia

Publiceret af: danny 2008-05-08

The German ProTour Team MILRAM will be at the start of the 91st Giro d'Italia this coming Saturday.  The traditional race runs this year from Palermo over 3,430 kilometers to the finish in Milano.  The 22 teams will face a hard program along the way from Sicily to northern Italy.  Four of the 21 stages are time trials, while five stages feature the mountains.
Team MILRAM will be led by Erik Zabel, who agreed to start at short notice and take over the captain's role when  Alessandro Petacchi had to cancel his appearance.  Next to the sprinter, two other Germans will be there, making their debut in the Giro – 38 year-old Enrico Poitschke and 26 year-old Markus Eichler.
„The Giro is a further big highlight for me, after I rode the Tour de France last year,“ Poitschke said.  „I take this challenge very seriously and will support our captain Erik Zabel, in the sprints as best I can.  If I have the chance to get into an escape group, I will try to get a good result for myself.“
Markus Eichler is also looking forward to his first Giro.  „I have a hard spring with many Classics behind me.  So I have to see that I survive the three weeks.   But if  in addition to my role as a helper, I see the chance to do something for myself, I will take that chance.“
The 91st Giro d'Italia starts this coming Saturday with a 23,6 km team time trial in Palermo.  The second stage on Sunday runs over 207 km on the island of Sicily between Cefalu and Agrigento.
The MILRAM line-up for the Giro d‘Italia: Erik Zabel (GER / Unna), Markus Eichler (GER / Mönchengladbach), Enrico Poitschke (GER / Gera); Alberto Ongarato (ITA / Padua), Marco Velo (ITA / Brescia), Fabio Sabatini (ITA / Monsummano Terme), Sergio Ghisalberti (ITA / Bergamo), Igor Astarloa (ESP / Monte Carlo), Matej Jurco (SVK / Liptovsky Hradok)
Directeturs Sportif:  Antonio Bevilacqua, Oscar Pellicioli (both ITA)
The Stages:
10 May 2008, 1. Stage: Palermo - Palermo 23,6 km (MZF)
11 May 2008, 2. Stage: Cefalù - Agrigento 207 km
12 May 2008, 3. Stage: Catania - Milazzo 221 km
13 May 2008, 4. Stage: Pizzo Calabro - Catanzaro-Lungomare 183 km
14 May 2008, 5. Stage: Belvedere Marittimo - Contursi Terme 203 km
15. May 2008, 6. Stage: Potenza - Peschici 265 km
16. May 2008, 7. Stage: Vasto - Pescocostanzo 180 km
17. May 2008, 8. Stage: Rivisondoli - Tivoli 208 km
18. May 2008, 9. Stage: Civitavecchia - San Vincenzo 218 km
19. May 2008: Rest day
20. May 2008, 10. Stage: Pesaro - Urbino 39,4 km (EZF)
21. May 2008, 11. Stage: Urbania - Cesena 199 km
22. May 2008, 12. Stage: Forlì - Carpi 172 km
23. May 2008, 13. Stage: Modena - Cittadella 177 km
24. May 2008, 14. Stage: Verona - Val di Fiemme 195 km
25. May 2008, 15. Stage: Arabba - Passo Fedaia/Marmolada 153 km
26. May 2008, 16. Stage: S.Vigilio di Marebbe - Kronplatz 12,9 km (EZF)
27. May 2008: Rest day
28. May 2008, 17. Stage: Sondrio - Locarno 146 km
29. May 2008, 18. Stage: Mendrisio - Varese 147 km
30. May 2008, 19. Stage: Legnano - Presolana-Monte Pora 228 km
31. May 2008, 20. Stage: Rovetta - Tirano 224 km
1. June 2008, 21. Stage : Cesano Maderno - Mailand 28,5 km (EZF)
Total distance:  3.430,4 km