# Gerald Ciolek

Gerald Michael Ciolek (born 19 September 1986) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2016. He currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team Dauner–Akkon.

## Career

Ciolek started racing at senior events in May 2005, with Team Wiesenhof, where he had a very successful season. He won the German National Road Race Championships aged 18, the youngest ever rider to do so. Ciolek was able to overcome seasoned sprinters Erik Zabel and Robert Förster without help from any teammates, ending the twelve-year domination of T-Mobile. Besides winning the national championship, he secured three stage victories and the points competition at the Tour de Hongrie, and a stage victory at the Mainfranken Tour.
In 2006, Ciolek completed his training at the Ford Motor Company and was able to turn professional and devote his career to cycling. 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. Since Ciolek's AKUD Arnolds Sicherheit team merged with Team Wiesenhof at the beginning of the season 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. A few weeks later, Ciolek won his first UCI ProTour event at the Tour of Germany, where he won stage three. On 23 September he won U23 Road Race World Championship in Salzburg.
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 High Road. During 2008, he was a stage winner in Sparkassencup Schwenningen, and won two stages in the Bayern Rundfahrt. In the 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 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. In his first year with the team, Ciolek won Milan–San Remo, in a time of 5 hours, 37 minutes and 20 seconds, holding off favourites Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack–Leopard) in the sprint finish.

## Major results
### 2004

    Trofeo Karlsberg
       1st Stages 2 & 4
    9th Overall Niedersachsen Rundfahrt Juniors
       1st Stage 1

### 2005

    1st Road race, National Road Championships
    Tour de Hongrie
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 3, 7 & 8
    1st Stage 3 Mainfranken-Tour
    8th Grand Prix de Waregem

### 2006

    1st Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
    1st Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt
    1st Stage 3 Deutschland Tour
    2nd Rund um den Henninger Turm
    5th Vattenfall Cyclassics
    6th Overall Istrian Spring Trophy
       1st Stage 3
    8th Overall Niedersachsen Rundfahrt
       1st Young rider classification
    8th Neuseen Classics

### 2007

    1st Overall Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
       1st Sprints classification
       1st Young rider classification
    Deutschland Tour
       1st Stages 6, 7 & 9
    Tour of Austria
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 2 & 8
    1st Stage 1 3-Länder-Tour
    2nd Münsterland Giro
    3rd Overall Niedersachsen Rundfahrt
       1st Stage 3
    3rd Vattenfall Cyclassics
    8th Overall Ster Elektrotoer

### 2008

    1st Stage 5 Deutschland Tour
    3rd Road race, National Road Championships
    5th Overall Bayern Rundfahrt
       1st Stages 1 & 3

### 2009

    Vuelta a Mallorca
       1st Trofeo Calvià
       5th Trofeo Pollença
    1st Stage 2 Vuelta a España
    2nd Sparkassen Giro Bochum
    3rd Vattenfall Cyclassics
    9th Neuseen Classics

### 2010

    1st Stage 3 Bayern Rundfahrt
    5th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
    5th Binche–Tournai–Binche
    6th Overall Circuit Franco-Belge

### 2011

    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    2nd Vattenfall Cyclassics
    9th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

### 2012

    1st Stage 4 Volta ao Algarve
    1st Stage 2b (TTT) Tour de l'Ain
    9th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
    10th Trofeo Deià

### 2013

    1st Milan–San Remo
    1st Stage 2 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
    1st Stage 2 Tour of Britain
    1st Stage 6 Tour of Austria
    2nd Road race, National Road Championships
    5th Trofeo Laigueglia
    5th Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop
    6th Brussels Cycling Classic
    10th Overall Bayern Rundfahrt
       1st Stage 3
    10th Schaal Sels

### 2014

    1st Stage 3 Vuelta a Andalucía
    3rd Rund um Köln
    5th Overall Tour of Norway
    8th Le Samyn
    9th Milan–San Remo

### 2015

    6th Velothon Berlin

### 2016

    5th Road race, National Road Championships
    6th Rund um Köln

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — |
| Tour de France | 106 | 126 | 133 | 150 | — | — | — |
| Vuelta a España | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | 139 |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |