Gerald Ciolek

Gerald Ciolek
Ciolek at the 2011 Tour de Romandie
Personal information
Full name Gerald Ciolek
Nickname Gerry
Born (1986-09-19) 19 September 1986
Cologne, West Germany
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 75 kg (165 lb)
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Road
Role Rider
Rider type Sprinter
Amateur team(s)
2003–2004 Pulheimer SC
Professional team(s)
2005–2006 Team AKUD Arnolds Sicherheit
2007–2008 T-Mobile Team
2009–2010 Team Milram
2011–2012 Quick-Step
2013–2015 MTN–Qhubeka
2016 Stölting Service Group
Major wins

Grand Tours

Vuelta a España
1 individual stage (2009)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (2005)
Milan–San Remo (2013)

Gerald Michael Ciolek (born 19 September 1986) is a German former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI Professional Continental team Stölting Service Group.[1] Ciolek retired after the 2016 season.[2]

Career

Ciolek started racing at senior events in May 2005,[3] with Team AKUD Arnolds Sicherheit, where he had a very successful season. He won the German National Road Race Championships aged 18, the youngest ever rider to do so.[4] Ciolek was able to overcome seasoned sprinters Erik Zabel and Robert Förster without help from any team mates, ending the twelve-year domination of T-Mobile.[5] Besides winning the national championship, he secured three stage victories and the points competition at the Tour de Hongrie,[6] and a stage victory at the Mainfranken Tour.[7]

In 2006, Ciolek completed his training at the Ford Motor Company and was able to turn professional and devote his career to cycling.[8] Through the season, he rode strongly and secured a number of high placings in important races to prove he could challenge, and beat, the strongest sprinters in UCI ProTour teams. Ciolek had an excellent second placing at the Rund um den Henninger Turm, where he once again beat Erik Zabel.[9] Since Ciolek’s AKUD Arnolds Sicherheit team merged with Team Wiesenhof at the beginning of the season[10] to be the strongest German team outside of the UCI ProTour, they were able to secure wild card entries to a number of ProTour events where Ciolek shone even more. At the Vattenfall Cyclassics, Ciolek secured fifth place.[11] A few weeks later, Ciolek won his first UCI ProTour event at the Tour of Germany, where he won stage three.[12] On 23 September he won U23 Road Race World Championship in Salzburg.[13]

For the 2007 season, Ciolek left Wiesenhof for the UCI ProTour with T-Mobile Team. After a relatively quiet early season, he came from behind to win the Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt in May. He then caught fire in August, when he took three stages of the Deutschland Tour and was a fast-charging third in the Vattenfall Cyclassics.

In the 2008 season, Ciolek raced for Team Columbia. During 2008, he was a stage winner in Sparkassencup Schwenningen, and won two stages in Bayern-Rundfahrt. In the 2008 Tour De France Ciolek was an instrumental figure in all four of Mark Cavendish's stage wins. On the final stage on the Champs-Élysées Ciolek managed to finish second to Gert Steegmans. He participated in the Olympic Games Road Race but had to abandon due to the effect the extreme conditions had on him. However, in September, he was able to bounce back and claim the fifth stage of the 2008 Deutschland Tour in an uphill sprint finish.

Ciolek parted ways with Omega Pharma–Quick-Step at the end of the 2012 season, and joined the MTN–Qhubeka squad for the 2013 season.[14]

Ciolek won the 2013 Milan–San Remo, with a time of 5h 37' 20", holding off favourites Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack–Leopard) in the sprint finish.[15]

Career achievements

Ciolek as champion of Germany at the 2006 Rund um den Henninger Turm

Major results

2004
1st Stage 1 Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt
2005
1st National Road Race Championships
Tour de Hongrie
1st Stages 3, 7 & 8
1st Points classification
1st Stage 3 Mainfranken Tour
2006
1st World Under-23 Road Race Championships
1st Stage 3 Deutschland Tour
1st Stage 3 Istrian Spring Trophy
1st Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt
1st Young rider classification Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt
2nd Rund um den Henninger Turm
5th Vattenfall Cyclassics
2007
1st Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
1st Sprint classification
1st Young rider classification
Deutschland Tour
1st Stages 6, 7 & 9
Tour of Austria
1st Stages 2 & 8
1st Stage 1 3-Länder-Tour
2nd Münsterland Giro
3rd Overall Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt
3rd Vattenfall Cyclassics
2008
Bayern-Rundfahrt
1st Stages 1 & 3
1st Stage 5 Deutschland Tour
2009
1st Stage 2 Vuelta a España
1st Trofeo Calvia
2nd Sparkassen Giro Bochum
3rd Vattenfall Cyclassics
2010
1st Stage 3 Bayern-Rundfahrt
2011
2nd Vattenfall Cyclassics
2012
1st Stage 4 Volta ao Algarve
1st Stage 2b (TTT) Tour de l'Ain
2013
1st Milan–San Remo
1st Stage 2 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
1st Stage 6 Tour of Austria
1st Stage 2 Tour of Britain
2nd National Road Race Championships
5th Trofeo Laigueglia
5th Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop
6th Brussels Cycling Classic
10th Overall Bayern-Rundfahrt
1st Stage 3
10th Schaal Sels-Merksem
2014
1st Stage 3 Vuelta a Andalucía
3rd Rund um Köln
5th Overall Tour of Norway
8th Le Samyn
9th Milan–San Remo
2016
6th Rund um Köln

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
A pink jersey Giro d'Italia — — — DNF — — — — —
A yellow jersey Tour de France 106 126 133 150 — — — — —
A red jersey Vuelta a España — DNF DNF — — — 139 — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

References

  1. ↑ "Cult Energy Pro Cycling". Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Gerald Ciolek and Linus Gerdemann announce retirements". Cyclingnews. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  3. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com – the world centre of cycling
  4. ↑ Tan, Anthony; Jones, Jeff (9 September 2005). "Ciolek to Univest Grand Prix". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  5. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com – the world centre of cycling
  6. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com – the world centre of cycling
  7. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com – the world centre of cycling
  8. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com – the world centre of cycling
  9. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com – the world centre of cycling
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2006-09-02.
  11. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com presents the Vattenfall Cyclassics
  12. ↑ Eurosport Splash
  13. ↑ www.cyclingnews.com presents the 2006 UCI Road World Championships, Salzburg, Austria
  14. ↑ Stokes, Shane (14 September 2012). "Ciolek adds firepower to MTN Qhubeka lineup for next season". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  15. ↑ Bull, Nick (17 March 2013). "Gerald Ciolek sprints to surprise Milan-San Remo win". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Limited. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
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