Linus Gerdemann wins impressively on stage 7 |
Vinokourov is still in the race |
Riders strung out on the Col de la Colombière |
On the first stage to enter the Alps, the young German Linus Gerdemann pulled away from an early breakaway on the ascent to the top of the Col de la Colombière. The climb, coming right at the end of the stage, was the first real mountain challenge for the racers.
Impressively, the T-Mobile rider managed to wring every ounce of energy out of his body to make his slim advantage stick to the summit and, descending to the finish in Le Grand-Bornand, he opened up a safe margin over his closest rival, the Spanish rider Inigo Landaluze Intxaurraga.
“Today was my day, but tomorrow I’ll work for my team leader, Michael Rogers,” said an exhausted Gerdemann. “I am delighted with my performance and to win the first mountain stage of this year’s Tour feels incredible. I hope this is the start of many stage wins for T-Mobile this year.”
Behind these two, and a few fragments of the early breakaway, all the likely contenders for the overall victory paced themselves together over the Colombière, finishing together just over three minutes down.
