New continental team planned in Germany

By Susan Westemeyer

Plans are afoot to create a new Continental team in Germany, Team Rheinland-Pfalz. Rheinland-Pfalz is a state in western Germany, on the Belgian and French borders, and among its native sons can boast of former pro Udo Bölts, among others. But of 75 Germans who now hold professional licenses, not a single one of them comes from the region. As of 2007, though, that should change: Lars Diemer, a former cyclist and currently a trainer for young pros such as Wiesenhof's Tim Klinger, and attorney Siegfried Fröhlich are joining forces to create the new team. Diemer will serve as Directeur Sportif and Fröhlich as business manager.

They plan a team of 14 riders, with as many as possible out of Rheinland-Pfalz, and most of them should be U23. "Our goal is to challenge and develop young, talented and ambitious young riders and to bring them to world class," said Diemer. The team plans to stay small and young. "We don't plan to one day move up another class, but rather we want to limit ourselves to the professional development of young riders," according to Fröhlich." The team's homepage is www.team-rlp.com