Ciolek diary from Tour Down Under
Omega Pharma – Quick-Step | January 18, 2012
I'm now into my second year with Belgian team OmegaPharma-Quick Step. The team changed a lot since I joined last year, bringing in riders like Tony Martin and new Specialized bikes.
I raced for many years at Milram and T-Mobile, basically my home teams in Germany. It was easy to find my place in this team after Milram, Quick Step is well organised and has been around for years. It's a good team for me.
The differences were really small coming from Milram to Quick Step last year. Some things you like more, some less, but that's the way it is. Quick Step, this year OmegaPharma-Quick Step, is geared for the classics. Our boss, Patrick Lefevere guided Tom Boonen to three wins in Paris-Roubaix, so that tells you something.
This year he brought in Specialized bikes again. I was excited to get my new bikes, I have my training bike at home and I'm racing on a Tarmac SL4 here at the Tour Down Under. We have a few we can select from for the races, it's a great setup. There are small differences with the SL4, all of which are good for me.
Tour Down Under is an important race for all the teams, it's becoming more and more important because it's a WorldTour-ranked event. As a result, all the best riders are competing here. You saw it last year with Mark Cavendish and Lance Armstrong, and this year André Greipel and Alessandro Petacchi. If you come here, you want to do well; you want to get a victory, that's what OmegaPharma is here for.
A crash took down many riders yesterday, but luckily, our team came away with their jerseys clean. In the next days, Gert Steegmans and I will try to win or gain points. They are also important days for us, and our young team-mates like Andy Fenn, to practice together ahead of our big goals in the spring.
My goals this year are in the spring classics, like Milano-Sanremo and all the Belgian Classics. I want to do well in all those races, not one in particular. I hesitate to create certain goals, the main thing is to do well through the year. Then, at the end, I will look back and judge if it's been successful. Clearly, 2009, with my Vuelta stage win, was a vintage year for me and I'm looking to have another one in 2012.