10-04-2009 13:15:21

This coming Sunday, April 12, Team MILRAM starts in the Tour of Turkey (April 12-19/UCI category 2.1). In the over 1,000km-long tour from Istanbul to Alanya - the 45th edition of the Turkish stage race - the German ProTour Team will be led by allrounder Markus Fothen and sprinter Robert Förster. Besides the two captains, Team MILRAM sports director Vittorio Algeri counts on Germans Artur Gajek, Christian Kux, Matthias Russ and Paul Voss, as well as on the Italian Luca Barla and the Dutchman Wim Stroetinga.

„This is my first participation in the Tour of Turkey and I’m really very excited over the coming racing days,“ said MILRAM pro Markus Fothen. „The tour is sort of outside of the usual racing calendar, so I’m hoping for a nice climate, a lot of new impressions and of course some good results of our team. For me personally, the race is important to build up my form towards the summer and a good opportunity to test my current shape.”

The Tour of Turkey begins with a 142km-long criterium within the Turkish city of Istanbul. After a transfer from the only metropolis that lies on two continents (Europe and Asia) to harbour town Izmir, demanding and sometimes very mountainous stages follow, leading the riders from the West of the country to the Turkish Riviera in the South. The race ends on Sunday, April 19, with a flat stage over 166 kilometres Antalya to Alanya.

The 2009 stages:
April 12 - stage 1: Istanbul 142 km
April 13 - stage 2: Izmir - Kusadasi 132,5 km
April 14 - stage 3: Kusadasi - Bodrum 166,1 km
April 15 - stage 4: Bodrum – Marmaris 166,9 km
April 16 - stage 5: Marmaris - Fethiye 130 km
April 17 - stage 6: Fethiye - Finike 194 km
April 18 - stage 7: Finike - Antalya 114,5 km
April 19 - stage 8: Antalya - Alanya (166 km)
Total distance: 1212 kilometres


The MILRAM roster: Luca Barla (ITA/Sanremo-Imperia), Robert Förster (GER/Leipzig), Markus Fothen (BEL/Kaarst), Artur Gajek (GER/Bergisch Gladbach), Christian Kux (GER/Chemnitz), Matthias Russ (GER/Oberried), Wim Stroetinga (NED/Oldeberkoop), Paul Voss (GER/Bielefeld)

Sports director: Vittorio Algeri (ITA)