By Susan Westemeyer
Linus Gerdemann will be leading T-Mobile in the Ruta del Sol, as the team intensifies its preparations for the upcoming Spring Classics. Director Sportif Valerio Piva is looking to the youngster to do well in the mid-range hills, but is not counting out Bert Grabsch or Marcus Burghardt, who is currently doing well in the Volta a Mallorca.
The race is hilly but not really mountainous, as the two previous Telekom/T-Mobile overall winners prove: sprinters Rolf Gölz (198, 1987) and Erik Zabel (1997).
Although the season has just started, the Ruta del Sol is the third of the year for Burghardt, Grabsch and Eric Baumann. Frantisek Rabon, sprinter Roger Hammond and time trial specialist Marco Pinotti round out the team.
T-Mobile for Ruta del Sol: Eric Baumann, Marcus Burghardt, Linus Gerdemann, Bert Grabsch, Roger Hammond, Marco Pinotti and Frantisek Rabon.
