Milan-San Remo winner Gerald Ciolek and Spanish climber Sergio Pardilla will lead Team MTN-Qhubeka in the eight-day Tour of Austria, which starts this coming Sunday.
Ciolek won two stages and the points ranking at the 2007 race, while wearing the U23 world champion’s jersey.
Pardilla climbed to tenth overall last year, and finished in the runner-up spot in 2010. After his good results the last few weeks, the Spaniard looks set to challenge for stage wins this year.
“The Tour of Austria is one of our absolute highlights this year,” said sport director Jens Zemke.
“We have a good line-up, and the right riders for every race situation,” said Ciolek, who finished second behind Andre Griepel in the German championships last weekend.
“There are first-class teams at the start every year and we expect an exciting race, with the teams fighting it out on the flat as well as in the mountains.”
Zemke, who knows the race through the Alpine republic from his days as a pro rider, will look to a strong line-up that includes newly-crowned Lithuanian time-trial champion Ignatas Konovalovas and former German champion Martin Reimer.
The team includes four South Africans: Johann van Zyl, Martin Wesemann, Louis Meintjes and Dennis van Niekerk.
“Gerald is our man for the flat stages, and in the mountains we have Sergio, Dennis and Louis as strong climbers. Our goal is a stage win.”
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