Bert Grabsch: "This fresh start for the T-Mobile Team is something quite different."

Bert Grabsch will race for T-Mobile in 2007, after six years with Phonak the 31 year old German rider told t-mobile-team.com: “It’s a special feeling for me to ride with my older brother’s former team,” said Grabsch, who's brother Ralf (now at Milram)  did a stint with Team Telekom from 1999 to 2003 .

  
About the end of Phonak Grabsch said: "I’ve a lot to thank Phonak and Andy Rihs for. I was very happy there. But, after the Tour I reached an absolute low. We celebrated Floyd’s win for three days long and then in one blow everything was gone. It was a real shock to the system."
  
Grabsch was happy to sign with T-Mobile: “It was always my dream and my first choice to ride for this team. T-Mobile is, in my eyes, still the number 1 team in Germany,” Grabsch says. “Straight after the Phonak collapse, Rolf Aldag offered me a two year contract. I didn’t hesitate for long.” 
 
One of his goals for the 2007 season are the spring classics: “I think I can still learn a lot there, and with team colleagues such as Andreas Klier and Servais Knaven, I’ll be in very good company.”  Grabsch will not move to the heartland of the classics: “I’ve lived in Switzerland for two years. I feel at home here in Kreuzlingen, and the training conditions are excellent.”
 
Grasch was badly injured after a crash at the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg which forced him to end his season. Now Grabsch is already two months into full training for next year. “You have to begin early for the Classics, " Grabsch said. 

Grabsch already participated in the T-Mobile team gahthering in Lugano:  “A feeling of camaraderie emerged as we all got to know each other. By the end, I felt right at home.” 
  
With many new riders and a new team management Grabsch did meet a lot of new people: “This fresh start for the T-Mobile Team is something quite different. For me, it’s the beginning of a new chapter in my pro career. We have a good mix of young talent and experienced riders. We have a lot of potential.”
 
Right now though, Grabsch has his sights firmly set on his two favourite races. “I’d love to finish right up the field at the Tour of Flanders and the Henniger Turm. I’m 31 years old now and I just hope that I can still ride for another four years at the Pro Tour level and help my new team with its rebuilding. And if I manage to notch up a race win along the way, well that would be the icing on the cake.”

Krauss breaks foot

Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) broke a bone in his right foot while running in a gym. The accident happened on Thursdaynight, Krauss said: "It happened during a perfectly routine action. I ran, I stopped, and suddenly it cracked." Kraus will need surgery: " It has to be operated on, because the break is directly under a tendon," Kraus said. It's expected that doctors of the Stuttgart Sportklinik will put a screw in the broken bone today. "It is planned as in-and-out surgery, so I assume I will be home again this evening," Krauss said. If everything will develope normal, Kraus will be back on the bike in 10 - 14 days.

No Pro-Tour License for Astana?

French daily sports l'Equipe reported yesterday that the Swiss part of the Astana team has not been granted a Pro-Tour license for the 2007 season.  Because of a non-reglementary bank guarantee, the ProTour license commission has apparently rejected the team's candidacy. This could mean that riders like Andreas Klöden, Matthias Kessler, Eddy Mazzoleni and others will not race for a Pro-Tour team next year.The final decision will be made on December 7. Other team who applied for a Pro-Tour license are Barloworld and Unibet.com.