Just a few days after Andreas Klöden, another German professional, Bert Grabsch, announced the end of his career. The time trial specialist, who became world champion in this discipline in 2008, is stepping out of the saddle after 15 years as a professional. This year, the 38-year-old was not considered for the Tour de France by his team Omega Pharma-QuickStep and was not given another contract. He described the search for a new team opposite Cycling-News.com as "difficult". However, he also made it clear that he would only have continued in a WorldTour team.
During his career, Grabsch drove for the Agro-Adler Brandenburg and Cologne teams before moving to Phonak in 2001. After the dissolution of the Swiss formation in 2006, his path finally led to Omega Pharma-Quick Step via HTC-Highroad.