Volksbank looking to improve in Frankfurt

By Susan Westemeyer

The 2008 season hasn't quite turned out the way Team Volksbank had hoped, but the team isn't giving up hope and is looking to do well in Rund um den Henninger Turm on Thursday.

"This hasn't been our season so far," Team Manager Thomas Kofler told Cyclingnews this morning. "We've had numerous crashes, injuries to Harald Morscher and Pascal Hungerbühler and too few podium places, but we are looking for an upswing.

"The guys are all top motivated," he continued. "They see Henninger Turm as a chance to stand out in one of the most important races in Germany. As a small team, we don't have any pressure on us – we don't have to dominate the race, we can just react, which is an advantage."

The team is sending its two top German sprinters, Olaf Pollack and André Korff to the race. "With them we have two fast men who can win sprints, but we also have riders at the start who could go with possible escape groups."

Kofler concluded, "We have a well-mixed group and are ready for any situation. The plans for Frankfurt are clear: we're there to bother the favourites!"

The Austrian Professional Continental team made its Frankfurt debut in 2007, with Swiss rider Florian Stalder finishing seventh.

Volksbank for Henninger Turm: Josef Benetseder, Gerrit Glomser, André Korff, Olaf Pollack, René Weissinger, Daniel Musiol, Florian Stalder, and Andreas Dietziker