Cycling Beat

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

Jens Voigt successfully defended his title with an almost flawless 2007 Tour of Germany proving once again what raw power and a fierce self-belief can accomplish. Voigt's winnig margin ended up at 1' 57" over Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) with David Lopez (Caisse D'Epargne) in 3rd place at 2' 10".

Let's run through the classification winners. The Points Classification was won be Erik Zabel who added points in the final stage courtesy of his 2nd placing. He was also helped out by Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse d'Epargne) who started the day equal on points but chose not to start the final stage. Niki Terpstra (Team Milram) took out the Mountains Classification which was uncontested thanks to the flat course of the last stage. The Young Rider Classification went to Robert Gesink (Rabobank) and unless I'm a very bad judge, we're going to see his name at the head of this classification in quite a few races over the next few years. The Team Classification was taken out by Team CSC by a very healthy 6 minutes. 

Stage 9 Profile

The final stage was won by Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) who outsprinted Erik Zabel to take his 3rd stage win for the Tour. The final day consisted of a 143.3km course that took the field from Einbeck to Hannover over flat terrain.

A group of 4 escaped early over the only climb of the day, a Category 3 bump up Rote Fuchs, they were Grischa Niermann (Rabobank), Harald Totschnig (Elk Haus), Matthew Lloyd (Predictor-Lotto) and Pierre Drancourt (Bouygues Telecom). They really only got to around 2 and a half minutes clear of the peloton which was never going to be enough and by the time they hit Hannover the lead was back to 1' 35".

Once in Hannover 4 circuits were to be covered and the escapees did well to stay away for 3 of those laps. But in the final lap they finally succumbed and the sprinters had their final say. Ciolek emerged down the side of the road to power away to yet another impressive victory.

The reactions and the news...
Team CSC - another big day for the team with comparisons with the Tour of Denmark made.
T-Mobile - Gerald Ciolek is the new sprinter to watch.
Rabobank - Grischa Nierman returns to his home town.
Cyclingnews
VeloNews
Daily Peloton

Stage  Results (Top 10)

Final Overall GC (Top 10)

Points Classification

Mountains Classification

Young Rider

Teams 

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

Jens Voigt not only retained his yellow leader's jersey through the Individual Time Trial he won the stage powering over the 33km course in Fuerth to finish with a time of 39.42.4. His winning margin was just under 15 seconds from Laszlo Bodrogi (Crédit Agricole) with Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) only capable of finishing 3rd a further 10 seconds back.

Voigt's enormous effort has extended his lead out to to 1'57" and has assured himself a successful defense of his title. Levi Leipheimer has moved into second spot 13" ahead of David Lopez Garcia (Caisse d'Epargne).

Stage 8 Profile

Notable performances throughout the day, apart from Voigt's awesome effort, came from Jason McCartney (Discovery Channel) finishing in 4th place and Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) whose 5th placing helped move him up to 14th place overall and 5th place in the Young Rider Classification.

Of the younger brigade, Robert Gesink (Rabobank) finished his Time Trial in 29th place while Chris Anker Sørensen (Team CSC) finished in 39th. However, it was Maxime Monfort (Cofidis) who moved to 3rd on the Young Rider list with a 14th placing.

The reactions and the news...
Team CSC - not only has Jens Voigt increased his overall lead, but youngster Chris Anker Sørensen was able to maintain his place in the top ten.
T-Mobile - kudos to Jens while applauding Gerdemann and Marco Pinotti's rides.
Rabobank - the white jersey is theirs courtesy of Robert Gesink.
Cyclingnews
VeloNews
Bike Radar
Euro Sport

Stage  Results (Top 10)

Overall GC (Top 10)

Points Classification

Mountains Classification

Young Rider

Teams 

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

The Tour heads back across the border into Germany again for the trip north from Kufstein to Regensburg for a distance of 192.2km. It's a tremendously flat stage but somehow, don't ask me how, a Category 3 climb has been flagged along the way. A day to prepare for the Individual Time Trial, methinks.

For the second day in a row young German rider Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) won the day outsprinting Erik Zabel (Milram) and Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse d'Epargne) who also took 3rd place for the second straight day.

Stage 7 Profile

Stage Summary
A group of 5 riders got themselves into today's breakaway. They were Christian Leben (Team Wiesenhof Felt), Raivis Belohvosciks (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Erki Pütsep (Bouygues Telecom), Florian Stalder (Team Volksbank) and René Mandri (AG2r Prévoyance). The peloton let them go early on, allowing the lead to grow out to 6'30" before the chase began.

By the 12 kilometre to go mark the escape was over and the field settled down to cover the attacks from opportunists such as Marten Den Bakker (Skil-Shimano) and Niki Terpstra (Team Milram) but they were easily covered.

The main problem facing the peloton was the rain that had started falling making the run into the finish line a little slick and with a sharp corner inside the last kilometre all care was necessary to ensure everyone remained upright.

A strong lead out by André Greipel paved the way for Ciolek who catapaulted into the lead with 200m to go and won by 2 bike lengths in impressive fashion.

Erik Zabel's 2nd placing has moved him back to the top of the Sprint Classification although he is level in points with Jose Joaquin Rojas. 

The Overall GC remained unchanged with Voigt still holding a 33 second advantage over David Lopez Garcia.

The big question still remains, will Jens Voigt be able to hold his led through the Individual Time Trial which is coming up next. It would be a brave person who would bet against him given that he's got a heart as big as himself and will leave absolutely nothing behind on the road.

What they're talking about...
Team CSC - are looking forward to the ITT
T-Mobile - the team is naturally excited about a 20 year old who wins two stages at the Tour of Germany
Cyclingnews
VeloNews

Stage  Results (Top 10)

Overall GC (Top 10)

Points Classification

Mountains Classification

Young Rider

Teams 

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

A chance for the field to recover from yesterday's tough climb takes the field from Laengenfeld to Kufstein over 175km of relatively flat terrain.

It was a day for the sprinters with Gerald Ciolek (T-Mobile) taking the victory from Danilo Napolitano (Lampre-Fondital) with Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse d'Epargne) taking 3rd which also earned him the lead in the Sprint Classification.

Stage 6 Profile

Stage Summary
A breakaway of 2 saw Wolfgang Murer (Elk Haus-Simplon) and Paul Martens (Skil-Shimano) escape establishing a lead that rose to around 8 minutes before the big teams began to take an interest in dragging them back. From about the 95km mark they set about paving the way for their sprinters.

The field was all back together again with 9km to go and the race was set up for another sprint finish. We are all fairly aware that narrow roads and a hotly contested sprint finish don't go together very well and the tightness of the streets had an effect as the sprinters roared home with a number of sprinters getting checked on their runs, most notably Erik Zabel.

The Overall GC remained unchanged with Voigt still holding a 33 second advantage over David Lopez Garcia. Question for you all...how much a lead will he need heading into the Individual Time Trial, do you think?

Stage  Results (Top 10)

Overall GC (Top 10)

Points Classification

Mountains Classification

Young Rider

Teams 

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

The 5th stage of the Tour is the one we've all been waiting for with the stage culminating in the leg-deadening climb up Rettenbachferner to finish after 157km of riding.

Stage winner was a bit of a surprise in David López García (Caisse D'Epargne) but the rider who followed him were unexpected, namely GC leader Jens Voigt who was only 12 seconds behind. Robert Gesink (Rabobank) filled the 3rd placing at 20" to move him up to 3rd in the overall GC as well.

Casualties for the day included Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) who lost a minute to Voigt, Linus Gerdemann (T-Mobile) who cracked early on the final climb to finish more than 5 minutes behind and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) who lost 2 and a half minutes.

Stage 5 Profile

Stage Summary
The first real attack of the day started after 30 kilometre and was the first promising breakaway attempt that looked as though it had any chance at succeeding. Alan Pérez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Bingen Fernández (Cofidis), Carlos Da Cruz (Française Des Jeux), Vladimir Efimkin (Caisse d'Epargne), Matej Mugerli (Liquigas), Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r Prévoyance) and Christoph Meschenmoser (Skil-Shimano). This group would work well together taking their lead out to aas much as 4 minutes over the field that was being led by Discovery Channel.

With around 30km to go Efimkin (Caisse D'Epargne) made an attack taking Pérez with him but their lead by this time was reduced severely and the 1'50" they had over the chasers was never going to be enough. On the early slopes of the Rettenbachferner they were caught by a peloton that had disintegrated to only around 20 riders.

It was then down to the pre-rave favourites to battle out the final 10km of climbing. Continued accelerations whittled the field down to only López García, Leipheimer, Voigt, Gesink, Ten Dam, Bertagnolli Pfannberger and Sørensen and it was López García who made the decisive attack which no one could match.

Surprisingly Leipheimer then began having problems and this spurred Voigt into action setting off after López García. Damiano Cunego attempted to cover the German hard man but was unable to match his strength. As Voigt continued to attack the mountain Gesink also began to struggle and eventually left Voigt to continue the chase alone.

Stage 5 summaries can also be found at:

Team CSC site - Their heading says it all "Fantastic performance by Jens Voigt".
Caisse D'Epargne - David Lopez Garcia was understanably thrilled with his first ever victory as a professional rider. 
Cyclingnews
Daily Peloton
VeloNews

Stage 5 Results (Top 10)

1 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                            4.21.07 (36.028 km/h)
2 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                                            0.12
3 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                                                     0.20
4 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                                      0.33
5 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.com                                            0.46
6 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas                                              1.04
7 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel                                 1.10
8 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Elk Haus-Simplon                               
9 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                       1.29
10 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor-Lotto                                      1.43

     
Overall GC (Top 10)

1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                           18.54.44
2 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                       0.33
3 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                                           1.14
4 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                             1.24
5 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel                        1.31
6 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas                                     2.19
7 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.com                                   2.34
8 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                             2.48
9 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                       3.27
10 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis                                            3.45

Points Classification

1 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Caisse D'Espargne                   46 pts
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                         45
3 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                    31

Mountains Classification

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram                          23 pts
2 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne           15
3 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                      12

Young Rider

1 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank                                        18.55.58
2 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                 0.10
3 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis                                                  2.31
4 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis                                                    3.21
5 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                      3.55

Teams 

1 Team CSC                                         56.51.02
2 Caisse D'epargne                                      4.15
3 Rabobank                                                  6.05

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

The 4th stage of the Tour is a 183.8km ride from Singen to Sonthofen with a Category 2 climb whose summit lies 17 kilometres from the finish line. Apart from this obstacle it's a reasonably flat stage that should allow the peloton to stay together for the majority of the day.

Damiano Cunego (Lampre) took the stage from Davide Rebellin (Gerosteiner) with David López García (Caisse d'Epargne) picking up 3rd place after the 3 of them kicked clear during the final descent of the day. They were part of a 6 man lead group who had made their move ascending the Category 2 climb of Riedbergpass. Also in that group were Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel), Robert Gesink (Rabobank) and Rigoberto Uran (Unibet.com). Leipheimer and Gesink gradually lost time on the lead trio on the descent while Uran crashed out in spectacular fashion.

Stage 4 Profile

Stage Summary
A pair of ambitious riders tore off today to try to steal the stage victory. Mariusz Witeck (Team Volksbank) and Piet Rooijakkers (Skil-Shimano) opened up an advantage of in excess of 7 minutes by the time they started the Category 2 climb of Riedbergpass.

But their lead was slashed pretty quickly on an ascent that occasionally kicked up to 16% when Gerolsteiner's Bernhard Kohl launched his first attack. The rest of the peloton tried to respond with the result leaving a group of only 25 riders still together. Towards the top of the mountain pass the lead 6 made their move to draw away from those remaining with Uran taking the points as first man over the top.

Some daring descending from Cunego and Rebellin saw them draw away from Leipheimer and Gesink while Uran overshot a turn less than a kilometre down and was carted off to hospital. Despite working well together Cunego, Rebellin and Lopez Garcia were unable to draw more than 25 seconds in front of the chase group that had swelled to around 50 riders on the way down. However, they still had enough of a lead to fight out the finish taking the first 3 placings just 5 seconds ahead of the rest.

Jens Voigt did enough to keep hold of his yellow jersey for another day heading into the much anticipated Rettenbachferner stage.

A couple of big names have abandoned the Tour with Fabian Cancellara and Andy Schleck (Team CSC) both out, Schleck still feeling the effects of an allergic reaction that left him with vomiting attacks.

Stage 4 summaries can also be found at:

Team CSC site - happy again to defend Voigt's jersey and also pleased that Chris Anker Sørensen is now in the white jersey albeit at the expense of Andy Schleck.
Lampre-Fondital site - celebrates Cunego's stage victory.
Cyclingnews
Daily Peloton
VeloNews

Stage 4 Results

1 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                                 4.28.06 (41.134 km/h)
2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                         
3 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                                  
4 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                           0.05
5 Patrick Calcagni (Sui) Liquigas                                            
6 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Wiesenhof Felt                                     
7 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quickstep-Innergetic                                    
8 Florian Stalder (Sui) Team Volksbank                                       
9 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                                    
10 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team         
     
Overall GC (Top 10)

1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                           14.33.31
2 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                              0.01
3 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel                        0.27
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel                     
5 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel                       
6 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                       0.45
7 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                                
8 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                       0.49
9 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                  0.52
10 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                     0.55

Points Classification

1 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Caisse D'Espargne                   46 pts
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                         45
3 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   31

Mountains Classification

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram                          21 pts
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                              8
3 Jon Bru Pascal (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                   8

Young Rider

1 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                        14.33.32
2 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                    0.51
3 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                        0.54
4 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                        0.55
5 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epar                         0.57

Teams 

1 Team CSC                                         43.41.20
2 Discovery Channel                                  0.34
3 Gerolsteiner                                             1.56

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

My thoughts before reacing began.
A difficult day beckoned for the 3rd stage of the Tour with two Category 1 climbs to overcome, there could be a break in the peloton along the way. However, the final climb comes 50km before the finish which should be plenty of time for any lone breakaways to be tracked down and caught.

Stage Summary
An early breakaway was established by Niki Terpstra (Team Milram) and Christian Leben (Team Wiesenhof Felt) and together they managed to open up a gap of as much as 6'25 before the CSC team began to pull things back together.

The first of the stage's 2 category 1 climbs saw Leben fall off the pace and be swallowed by the field, but Terpstra pushed on alone and he was first over the top at Allerhelligen. He then began to be reeled in by a chasing group of 2 riders consisting of Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner) and Jon Bru Pascal (Euskaltel-Euskadi). He managed to go over the second Category 1 climb at Zuflucht before being joined by the 2 pursuers and a third chaser in the form of Amael Moinard (Cofidis). These 4 riders were 1 minute ahead of the main pack as they began their descent.

Stage 3 Profile

Although the lead 4 pushed hard over the final 25km, they were constantly being dragged back to the field and with a short but nasty little hill just 8km from the end their escape was over. Ever the aggressor, Jens Voigt then made an attack taking around 11 others with him but it was going to wind up as a day for the stronger sprinters and one of the strongest is still Erik Zabel who took the stage victory (his 13th in the Tour of Germany). He managed to outpace Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne) with Bardley McGee (Francaise des Jeux) in 3rd place.

Overall classification placings remain largely unchanged with most of the CSC and Discovery riders with any real designs on the title finishing with the lead group of 76 riders. The stage victory has catapaulted Zabel into the lead of the Points Classification with 41 points and an 8 point advantage over Jose Joaquin Rojas. Niki Terpstra has pulled out to a 12 point lead in the Mountains Classification after picking up first place points over both Category 1 climbs at Allerheiligen and Zuflucht. The Young Rider Classification is still headed by Andy Schleck and Chris Anker Sørensen (Team CSC).

Stage 3 summaries can also be found at:

Team Milram Website - with a stage win and their man Niki Terpstra in the Mountains jersey, the Milram website is packed with thoughts and impressions about the race so far.
Team CSC Website - CSC are pleased that they were able to successfully defend Voigt's hold on the leaders jersey.
Cyclingnews.com
Velonews.com
Daily Peloton

Stage 3 Results

1 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                        4.49.25 (37.69 km/h)
2 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                             
3 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française des Jeux                                    
4 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                                   
5 Patrick Calcagni (Sui) Liquigas                                           
6 René Weissinger (Ger) Team Volksbank                                      
7 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Predictor-Lotto                                     
8 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                         
9 René Mandri (Est) AG2r Prévoyance                                         
10 Martin Elmiger (Sui) AG2r Prévoyance                                      

Overall GC (Top 10)

1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                    10.05.20
2 Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Team CSC                                0.01
3 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                              
4 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC                                         
5 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                              
6 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC                                          
7 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                      
8 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel                0.27
9  Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel                
10 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel                

Points Classification

1 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                         41 pts
2 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Caisse D'Espargne                   33
3 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   29

Mountains Classification

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram                          20 pts
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                              8
3 Christian Leben (Ger) Team Wiesenhof Felt            8

Young Rider

1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                     10.05.21
2 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                                      
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                  0.51
4 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                       0.54
5 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                       0.55

Teams 

1 Team CSC                                         30.16.03
2 Discovery Channel                                  1.18
3 Gerolsteiner                                            2.45

The 2007 Tour of Germany is held from August 10 thru August 18.

Stage 2 is the first ever Team Time Trial for the Tour which was held over a technically demanding 42km course in Bretten. The teams of 8 set off at 4 minute intervals with the rule being that the clock would be stopped when the 5th rider crossed the line. The advantage would fall with the teams strong enough to keep their full complement of riders together the longest.

Team CSC proved that their team will be a force to be reckoned with, taking victory by a healthy 25 seconds over Descovery Channel with Gerolsteiner a further 30 seconds behind. The bad luck story of the day came in the form of the T-Mobile team whose performance suffered from not one but two punctures. The second puncture was to the bike of time trial specialist Marco Pinotti leaving the team missing a real driving force. They ended up doing well to finish the day in 5th place 59 seconds behind Team CSC.

Stage 2 Profile

Courtesy of his 1 second time bonus from the 1st stage, the yellow leaders jersey falls onto the shoulders of defending champion Jens Voigt who was delighted. Naturally after a Team Time Trial that comes so early in the Tour, the GC is dominated by the Team CSC riders with Discovery Channel with the imposing figure of Levi Leipheimer 27 seconds behind. 

What the various teams had to say about the day's racing...

Kim Andersen (Team CSC sports director) : The team functioned perfectly and we managed to time it really well, so that we had the resources to really turn it on at the end. So it's no exaggeration to say we are all completely satisfied

Jan Schaffrath (T-Mobile sports director) : We were forced to wait for Ciolek. That cost us a lot time, even when our young team really fought their way back in the race, But when Pinotti had his bad luck, we just couldn't wait. We really missed him on the last flat section.

Martin Muller (Team Milram) : It was very demanding. It was difficult to find the right rhythm, the terrain changed continuously and when it was easy we rode with 60, 70 kilometers per hour.

Frans Maassen (Rabobank team manager) : This was a homogenous team that managed to keep the time gap between them and the favorites very limited. I have not been able to discover any weaknesses. We finished with seven cyclists because Sébastian Langeveld did not bother about the final 200 meters after a tough effort. But he was also super, though.

Read how the first stage unfolded at cyclingnews.

Stage 2 Results

1 Team CSC                           51.40
2 Discovery Channel               0.25
3 Gerolsteiner                          0.55
4 Caisse d'Epargne                  0.56
5 T-Mobile                               0.59
6 Rabobank                              1.03
7 Liquigas                                 1.20
8 Cofidis                                    1.22
9 Milram                                   1.32
10 Ag2r Prévoyance               1.32
11 Francaise des Jeux             1.47
12 Quickstep-Innergetic        1.50
13 Unibet.com                         1.53
14 Team Wiesenhof Felt        2.19
15 Lampre-Fondital               2.35
16 Team Volksbank               2.50
17 Bouygues Telecom            2.50
18 Skil-Shimano                     2.51
19 Euskatel-Euskadi             2.53
20 Predictor Lotto                2.53
21 Saunier Duval-Prodir      2.56
22 Credit Agricole                 3.00
23 Elk Haus-Simplon            3.29 

Overall GC (Top 10)

1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                       5.15.55
2 Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Team CSC                                0.01
3 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC                                              
4 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC                                         
5 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                              
6 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC                                          
7 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                      
8 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel               0.27
9 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel                 
10 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel                

Points Classification

1 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                    25 pts
2 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                        20
3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                         16

Mountains Classification

Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas                             6 pts
Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Skil-Shimano      4
Phillipp Ludescher (Aut) Team Volksbank     2

Young Rider

1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC                                                       5.15.56
2 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team CSC                                                      
3 Trent Lowe (Aus) Discovery Channel                                                0.26
4 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner                                                      0.55
5 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                                      0.56

Teams 

1 Team CSC                                         15.47.48
2 Discovery Channel                                  1.18
3 Gerolsteiner                                            2.45

The 2007 Tour of Germany begins on August 10 thru August 18. Defending champion Jens Voigt (Team CSC) will be there hoping he can make it two in a row, but there are plenty of contenders out to challenge him.

The 1st stage is a flat one to start us off, a 183.7km race that begins in Saarbrueken that heads out of the city, climbs a couple of Category 3 hills at Lebach and Mettlach / Leukerkopf before returning to Saabrueken.

Stage 1 Profile

Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner) has wasted no time in providing a home win by taking out the first stage. Earlier it was a break away of 3 riders that threatened to upset the day of the sprinters with their lead growing to around 10 minutes after 67 kilometres. The 3 were Philipp Ludescher (Volksbank), Maarten Den Bakker (Skil-Shimano) and Matej Mugerli (Liquigas). But through some hard work by the T-Mobile, Team CSC and Gerolsteiner teams, the lead was constantly being whittled away until with 11km to go they were caught.

In the race to the line Robert Förster beat Danilo Napolitano (Lampre) with Erik Zabel (Team Milram) in 3rd place. The stage win puts Förster at the top of the GC as well as into the lead for the Sprinters Classification.

The effort in the breakaway was enough to earn Matej Mugerli the lead in the Mountains Classification after he led the other 2 escapees over both Category 3 summits at Lebach and Mettlach.

Read how the first stage unfolded at cyclingnews.

Stage 1 Results (Top 10)

1 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                            04:24:06
2 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram
4 José Joaquín Rojas (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
5 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Wiesenhof-Felt
6 Kenny Van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano
7 José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Discovery Channel
8 Aitor Galdos (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
9 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom
10 Loyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2r Prévoyance

Overall GC (Top 10)

1 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                            04:24:06
2 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned)  Skil-Shimano                       0.02
3 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre                                          0.04
4 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas                                               0.05
5 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                           0.06
6 Phillip Ludescher (Aut) Team Volksbank                         0.07
7 Andre Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile                                            0.09
8 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC                                                 0.09
9 Jose Rojas (Esp) Caisse D'Espargne                                   0.10
10 Steffen Radochla (Ger)                                                      0.10

Points Classification

1 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                    25 pts
2 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                        20
3 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                         16

Mountains Classification

Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas                             6pts
Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Skil-Shimano      4
Phillipp Ludescher (Aut) Team Volksbank     2

Young Rider

1 Philipp Ludescher (Aut) Team Volksbank                          4.24.13
2 André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                      0.02
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                      0.03
4 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Skil-Shimano                            
5 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance                                   

Teams 

1 Bouygues Telecom                     13.12.48
2 Quickstep-Innergetic                                                  
3 Caisse d'Epargne