Van Gerwen says sponsor search looks promising

Gerry van Gerwen is confident that his team will still be a part of the peloton again in 2011 with a name other than Team Milram. At a pre-Giro d'Italia press conference Thursday, he indicated that he was in serious discussion with a potential new sponsor.

“I'm not giving a status report. But we are having discussions with a well-known new sponsor,” Van Gerwen said, according to the dpa news agency. ”It deals with a long-term contract of at least two years."

He hopes to have a definite announcement no later than the second rest day of the Tour de France.

Milram is currently sponsored by Nordmilch AG, which announced it would end its sponsorship this year after four seasons. Despite the uncertainty, the team's star riders have expressed the desire to remain with the German outift.

“I would like to continue working together with Gerry and I am confident that it will work out,” said Linus Gerdemann. “I didn't come back to a German team just to transfer again.” Gerdemann broke his contract with the US-based Team Columbia in October, 2008 in order to join Milram.

All of the team's riders' contracts expire this year. “Of course I am listening around, and I have also had some concrete offers, but of course it would be best if somehow Milram could continue,” said two time German national champion Fabian Wegmann, who on May 1 won the Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt.