Team Milram facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Team Milram

Team information
UCI code	MRM
Registered	Germany
Founded	2006 (2006)
Disbanded	2010
Discipline(s)	Road
Status	ProTour
Bicycles	Focus Bikes
Key personnel
General manager	Gerry van Gerwen
Team name history
2006–2010	Team Milram
Jersey

Cyclists from Team Milram at the Rund um den Henninger-Turm race in 2006. On the left is Alessandro Petacchi, and on the right is Erik Zabel.

A team car for Team Milram during the Deutschland Tour in 2006.

Team Milram was a professional cycling team. They were known for racing in big events like the UCI ProTour. The team started in Germany, but it used to be based in Italy.

Team Milram's Journey in Cycling

The Team Milram professional cycling team began in early 2006. They took over the racing license from another team called Team Domina Vacanze. They also joined forces with Team Wiesenhof.

The main sponsor for the team was Milram. This is a brand of dairy products from a company called Nordmilch in Bremen, Germany. Other smaller companies, like Motorex from Switzerland, also helped sponsor the team.

Two of their top riders at the start were Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel. These riders were known for being very fast sprinters. The team had about 25 riders, and most of them were from Germany.

Big Wins and Achievements

Team Milram had many important wins in 2006 and 2007. Christian Knees won a German race called "Rund um Köln". Alessandro Petacchi won the Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt race in both 2006 and 2007.

Erik Zabel finished second in the World Championship in 2006. He also won the best sprinter's jersey at the Deutschland Tour in 2006 and 2007. He won three stages at the Vuelta Ciclista a España.

Alessandro Petacchi won five stages at the Giro d'Italia in 2007. He also won the famous Paris–Tours race. Another rider, Niki Terpstra, won the best climber's jersey at the Deutschland Tour in 2007.

Changes for the Team in 2008

In 2008, Team Milram officially became a German team. Gerry van Gerwen became the general manager. His company, VeloCity GmbH, took over the team's operations.

The team's new home base was Club Olympia in Dortmund. They changed how the team was set up. They also had a younger group of riders. The team also started a stronger program to prevent the use of banned substances.

Sponsorship and Team's End

From 2009 to 2010, the team was sponsored by Focus Bikes. After 2010, the main sponsor, Nordmilch, decided to stop. The team tried hard to find a new main sponsor, but they could not.

Because they could not find a new sponsor, Team Milram had to close down at the end of the 2010 season. Gerry van Gerwen hoped to start a new team in 2012.

A Rider's Rule Violation

In May 2007, during the 2007 Giro d'Italia race, a rider named Alessandro Petacchi had a test for banned substances. The test showed that he had too much of a medicine called salbutamol.

Petacchi had a doctor's note to use salbutamol for his asthma. However, the amount found in his test was very high. Because of this, Petacchi was not allowed to race for a while. He missed the 2007 Tour de France.

In July 2007, the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) said that Petacchi had good reasons for the high level. They decided that any overuse of the medicine was just a simple mistake. So, they cleared him of any wrongdoing.

However, the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) thought Petacchi should still be suspended. They sent the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This court is the highest sports court in the world.

On May 6, 2008, the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided to ban Petacchi until the end of August. This ban started from November of the previous year. The court also said that all of Petacchi's results from the 2007 Giro d'Italia would not count. This meant he lost any medals, points, and prizes from that race. Any results after October 31, 2007, and during his ban, were also removed.

Because of this decision, Team Milram ended their contract with Alessandro Petacchi on May 16, 2008.

Team Milram's Major Race Wins

National and World Champions from Team Milram

Team Milram Roster (2010)

Here are the riders who were part of Team Milram as of January 1, 2010.

Rider Date of birth  Gerald Ciolek (GER) (1986-09-19) September 19, 1986 (age 38)  Wim De Vocht (BEL) (1982-04-29) April 29, 1982 (age 43)  Markus Eichler (GER) (1982-02-18) February 18, 1982 (age 43)  Robert Förster (GER) (1978-01-27) January 27, 1978 (age 47)  Markus Fothen (GER) (1981-09-09) September 9, 1981 (age 43)  Thomas Fothen (GER) (1983-04-16) April 16, 1983 (age 42)  Johannes Fröhlinger (GER) (1985-06-09) June 9, 1985 (age 40)  Artur Gajek (GER) (1985-04-18) April 18, 1985 (age 40)  Linus Gerdemann (GER) (1982-09-16) September 16, 1982 (age 42)  Roger Kluge (GER) (1986-02-05) February 5, 1986 (age 39)  Servais Knaven (NED) (1971-03-06) March 6, 1971 (age 54)  Christian Knees (GER) (1981-03-05) March 5, 1981 (age 44)

Rider Date of birth  Dominik Nerz (GER) (1989-08-25) August 25, 1989 (age 35)  Luke Roberts (AUS) (1977-01-25) January 25, 1977 (age 48)  Dominik Roels (GER) (1987-01-21) January 21, 1987 (age 38)  Thomas Rohregger (AUT) (1982-12-23) December 23, 1982 (age 42)  Matthias Russ (GER) (1983-11-14) November 14, 1983 (age 41)  Björn Schröder (GER) (1980-10-27) October 27, 1980 (age 44)  Roy Sentjens (BEL) (1980-12-15) December 15, 1980 (age 44)  Wim Stroetinga (NED) (1985-05-23) May 23, 1985 (age 40)  Niki Terpstra (NED) (1984-05-18) May 18, 1984 (age 41)  Paul Voss (GER) (1986-03-26) March 26, 1986 (age 39)  Fabian Wegmann (GER) (1980-06-20) June 20, 1980 (age 45)  Peter Wrolich (AUT) (1974-05-20) May 20, 1974 (age 51)

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