Milram holds true, too

Following T-Mobile's announcement that it would continue its sponsorship of its pro cycling teams, Nordmilch AG said that it would follow suit and continue on with Team Milram. Company director Martin Mischel told the Thüringer Allgemeinen that it would continue its sponsorship through the 2009 season.

Milram was rocked this season by Erik Zabel's admission that he used EPO in 1996 and Alessandro Petacchi's 'non-negative' test for an asthma medication during the Giro d'Italia. In addition, team manager Gianluigi Stanga was named by Jörg Jaksche in his doping confession. Despite the negative press, Nordmilch AG decided to continue supporting the cycling team.

Milram's team will go into its next events with renewed motivation at the news, and will be seeking stage wins at the Deutschland Tour. On Sunday, the team will send two stagiaires to the Trofeo Matteotti. The youngsters Salvi Efrem and Luca Barla will join experienced pro's Mirko Celestino, Sergio Ghisalberti, Matej Jurco, Mirco Lorenzetto and Marco Velo in the 188.5 km race, which consists of a demanding 14.5 km circuit which is to be covered 13 times.