With just one ProTour team present - Gerolsteiner - the 40th edition of the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt will kick off on Wednesday, May 11 in Koblenz, Germany. The five day race will travel 800 km in six stages around the Rhein and the Mosel, finishing back in Koblenz on Sunday. The 25 km time trial in Landau on May 14 will be an important stage for the GC riders, while the longest stage will be the second between Trier and Mainz, over 197 km.
Gerolsteiner will have the pressure on them as favourites, as this race is also on its home territory. But with Fabian Wegmann, Sebastian Lang, Heinrich Haussler, Michael Rich and Uwe Peschel as part of the line-up, Gerolsteiner has the firepower to realise its chances. There will be another 14 teams, with Ag2r, Barloworld-Valsir, Landbouwkrediet, Lamonta, Chocolade Jacques and Wiesenhof also favourites.
