Marcus Burghardt
Germany
Born – June 30, 1983 (24 years old)
Marcus is one of the rising talents in the cobbled classics. He is big and strong and has the strength to pound the pedals over a long day on the pavers.

Program
Marcus’ primary focus is riding support for George Hincapie in the spring classics. After a punishing spring of classic races, Burghardt will take the summer off and then peak his fitness once again in September for the Deutschland Tour. Team Columbia’s strong cast of German riders should make for a dominating presence in the late season Pro Tour event.

Gerald Ciolek
Germany
Born – September 19, 1986 (21 years old)
Gerald is quickly adding his name to the ranks of world class sprinters. With some more training and experience he is sure to become a dominant force within the peleton.

Program
Ciolek is looking to make a huge impact at the Deutschland Tour this year. He will be a our primary hope for stage wins on the flat run-ins. His preperation will require him to make a trip over the pond early in the season. Team Columbia will look for Gerald to take the points crown at the Tour of Georgia in late April.

Bernhard Eisel
Austria
Born - February 17, 1981 (26 years old)
Bernhard is a fantastic rider. He has very good top speed and acceleration which make him a real threat when the race comes down to the strong men. He also has very good strength, stamina, and handling on cobbled sections. Making races like Gent-Wevelgem perfect for his strengths.

Program
Eisel, basically, will be riding two different seasons. In the spring he will be a key support rider for George Hincapie and may even look to podium at Gent-Wevelgem. But after the grueling spring, Bernhard will keep cool in the summer. In August he will be bringing his fitness back up for the Vuelta a Espana. Eisel will be one of a few Columbia riders looking for stage wins on the flats in Spain.

Linus Gerdemann
Germany
Born – September 16, 1982 (25 years old)
Linus is an up and coming talent in stage races. Still lacking the recovery of the world’s best, Linus has yet to make a huge impact at a Grand Tour. However, his mixture of climbing ability and time trialing skill allow him to throw his hat in there with the best in the world on any given day.

Program
Linus will not be seen much in the spring. In fact, his fitness won’t begin to increase until late May. He’ll quickly ramp up the intensity level in order to be a support rider for Kim Kirchen in the Tour. But Linus will be kept on a short leash in the Tour, because his primary goal this season is the Deutschland Tour. Still lacking the elite recovery needed to win one of the three big ones, Linus will, instead, focus his talents to his country’s major stage race. With a strong squad supporting him, Linus will settle for no less than first place at this years Deutschland Tour.

Andre Greipel
Germany
Born – July 16, 1982 (25 years old)
Andre is one of many strong sprinters on the Columbia squad. In fact, he is second to only Mark Cavendish in ability on the sprints. A natural sprinter, Andre is always willing to make a push for the line.

Program
Andre will be stepping outside of his comfort zone this year. For the sake of the team he has accepted the task of sprinting in the Giro. As the second best sprinter on the squad, Greipel was asked to gather at least one stage victory at this years Giro. Because the Giro isn’t a primary goal for the team, he will be riding without ideal support. Before the Giro, he’ll be looking to make some noise at the Paris-Nice, one of his favorite races. Because he is sacrificing (riding a Grand Tour) for the team, we want to give him a chance to pull down a sprinters victory at the Paris-Nice. Andre will bring good form through the month of September, lending his services wherever they may be needed.

Roger Hammond
United Kingdom
Born – January 30, 1974 (33 years old)
One of the older riders on a young squad, Roger is looked to for leadership more than anything. Fortunately the leadership we gain from such a rider doesn’t come with a lack of ability. Roger is an amazing cobbled rider and a fantastic lead out man in the sprints. His strength and determination are great examples for the younger riders on the team.

Program
Roger’s program is built around being a support rider. He will be an invaluable asset to George when the road is paved. Roger will then ride the rest of the year as a lead out man for the deep stable of sprinters that Columbia is bringing into the fall.

Andreas Klier
Germany
Born – January 15, 1976 (31 years old)
Klier is a warrior on the cobblestones. He has the determination and stamina to turn a grueling day on terrible pavement into a result. Klier won the Gent-Wevelgem in 2003 and has several strong showings to bolster his resume.

Program
Andreas will try to make his presence known early in the year. He will ride support in the cobbled classics and look to set up the sprinters in some other spring stage races. He’ll then take the summer off for the most part and then look to ride support once again in the fall.

Michael Rogers
Australia
Born – December 20, 1979 (28 years old)
Michael is a fantastic stage race rider. He can get over the mountains and hills, but his greatest asset is ability to race against the clock. He is one of the greatest time trialers in the world. His recovery ability is good enough to keep him in contention even after a week of racing.

Program
Rogers program is identical to Linus Gerdemann’s. Like Linus, Michael will be non-existent in the spring. He will then gear up to ride support for Kim Kirchen in the Tour. Rogers will be our number 2 GC threat if something were to derail Kirchen. Michael will then turn his attention to the Vuelta. He will be our GC threat in that race and will look for a top 10 finish. With the surprising emphasis on Time Trials, Michael will look to open up gaps against the clock and then defend in the mountains.