Education
In 2006, Ciolek completed his training at the Ford Motor Company and was able to turn professional and devote his career to cycling.
In 2006, Ciolek completed his training at the Ford Motor Company and was able to turn professional and devote his career to cycling.
Ciolek started racing at senior events in May 2005, with Team AKUD Arnolds Sicherheit, where he had a very successful season. 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. 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.
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. Foreign the 2007 season, Ciolek left Wiesenhof for the UCI ProTour with T-Mobile Team.
In the 2008 season, Ciolek raced for Team Columbia.
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.