Fabian Wegmann (Milram) took his second consecutive win at the race(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Jakob Fuglsang won the climbers' competition(Image credit: Tour of Japan)
Linus Gerdemann, Fabian Wegmann and Jakob Fuglsang will ride for the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project this coming year, the team has announced. The two Germans rode for Team Milram this season, while Dane Fuglsang was with Team Saxo Bank.
Gerdemann, 28, rode earlier for Teams CSC, T-Mobile and Columbia. “I have already worked with Linus earlier in his career and I always wanted to work with him again, so I am pleased to have the chance to get him on this team,” team manager Kim Andersen said.
“I know a lot of the people who will be riding and working for the team, so it was not that hard of a decision to make,” Gerdemann said. “Frankly, I am very excited to be racing with so many familiar faces once again.”
Gerdemann had two victories this year, winning stages in the Mallorca Challenge and Tirreno-Adriatico. In 2007 he won stage seven of the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey for one day. He has also won the overall title in the Deutschland Tour, the Tour de l'Ain, and the Bayern Rundfahrt.
Wegmann, 30, is known for his “winning attitude and indefatigable ability,” his new team said. “Fabian is a rider I have always wanted on my team,” Andersen said. “I have always liked him; he is a winner - pure and simple. Though he is not a pure climber or a pure sprinter, you can always count on him for several wins a year.”
Among others, Wegmann has twice won both the German road championship and the GP Miguel Indurain, as well as Rund um den Henninger Turm/Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt. In 2004 he won the mountain jersey at the Giro d'Italia.
“I searched out this team because I want to be a member of what I believe will be the most exciting team in cycling for the coming season,” said Wegmann, who turned pro with Gerolsteiner. “I want to give my best to the team and be in top form for the Wallonian Classics, the Tour, Worlds and races like the Tour of Lombardy.” Fuglsang, 25, only turned pro with Team Saxo Bank in 2009, but had an extensive background as a mountain bike racer. He has won the Tour of Denmark the last three years and is the reigning Danish time trial champion.
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“Obviously we have big expectations for Jakob. For me, he is one of the biggest talents in the sport,” Andersen said.
“I wanted to join this team because I knew it would be a good fit for me and my personal goals,” Fuglsang said. “It is also exciting to start something new and help build it up along with my friends.”
“Jakob had a fantastic first year racing at the ProTour level in 2009, and this year he gave the Schlecks good support in the Tour,” Andersen explained. “He is a very complete rider and we now know how to tweak his off-season preparation so that he can arrive in the best possible shape for the coming season.”
He will continue to be a top lieutenant for the Schlecks, but will also have his own chances, in both the immediate and more distant future. “I will aim for higher personal goals like going for the general classification at the Giro o Vuelta, while taking great care to help Andy and Frank at the Tour. They are such great athletes, why shouldn’t we try to win it?”
The team, managed by Brian Nygaard and built around Andy and Fränk Schleck, most recently announced the signings of Maxime Monfort, Wouter Weylandt and Dominic Klemme. World time trial champion Fabian Cancellara is also speculated to be joining the team.
