Tour de France 2008: Gerolsteiner With Schumacher and Fothen

24.06.2008/The German Gerolsteiner team has selected its roster for the upcoming Tour de France. Markus Fothen and Bernhard Kohl are the men for the overall, while Robert Förster is Gerolsteiner's man for the bunch sprints. Heinrich Haussler will not start at this years 'Grand Boucle'. It looks like Haussler was caught by surprise that he is not selected for the Tour. Haussler told German based website radsportnews.com: "I will need a few days to digest this."

(© Heinz Zwicky)

Markus Fothen won the 5th stage of the Tour de Suisse. (© Heinz Zwicky)

Markus Fothen will be captain for the Gerrman Gerolsteiner team, the German rider won last weeks 5th stage of the Tour de Suisse and finished 8 overall in the Swiss stage race. Austrian rider Bernhard Kohl will be a man for the overall as well.

Stefan Schumacher was selected as well. It remains to be seen how Tour de France organiser ASO will react on his selection. Schumacher was caught by Geran police with traces of amphetamine in his blood and drunk driving after the number 3 of last years World Championships in Stuttgart caused a minor car accident. Earlier AFP reported that ASO would not allow Tom Boonen to start at this years edition of the French stage race after he was tested positive for coacaine.

Sprinter Robert Förster will also start. Förster will be the main man for the bunch sprints.

Gerolsteiner's sports director Christian Henn said: "We tried to keep in mind that we will probably have to keep an eye on Markus Fothen and Bernhard Kohl in the overall ranking, and that there are some difficult stages in the final week. But we still want to take a sprinter along in Robert Förster, because we want to be involved in the sprints, too."

Heinrich Haussler was not selected for the Tour. Haussler told German based website radsportnews.com: "I will need a few days to digest this." A dissapointed Haussler said: "Last year I made a mistake. I was in a top form at the Dauphiné and I had nothing left to top it at the Tour."

Haussler continued: "I learned from that and I changed my preparation this year. I am sure that I would have been in a top form at the Tour." Haussler assumes that his team only wanted one sprinter at the Tour (Robert Förster). "But I don't see myself as a sprinter. I am more a rider for breakaway groups."

Haussler want to win "as many races as possible" in the second part of the season. Haussler had put everything on the Tour but the 24 year old will keep his head up high. "I will be top motivated for the next races. I want to show them it was mistake not to select me for the Tour."

Team Gerolsteiner for 2008 Tour de France

Markus Fothen (Ger), Bernhard Kohl(A), Sven Krauss (Ger), Sebastian Lange (Ger), Ronny Scholz (Ger), Stefan Schumacher(Ger), Fabian Wegmann(Ger) and Oliver Zaugg(Swi)

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