Waiting for the real race

Index to all entries

July 10, 2005

Another interesting day on the bike. Ullrich crashed on the first descent because it was really windy and he was riding deep rims. That sometimes happens but he went off the road and his team waited for him. He was bleeding but I don't think it was very serious. Dave Zabriskie dropped out today, probably because of his injuries but I have not spoken to him since. Last but not least the race got a new leader, Jens Voigt.

I felt really good today. I'm waiting for the real race to begin in two days from now so I'm riding on the conservative side. Today there were a few category three climbs and a category one climb but it wasn't really aggressive. Discovery was a lot stronger today but I think they will have their work cut out for them. It's probably a relief at this point in the race to let another team defend the jersey. I still think Discovery did too much work in the first week and maybe they're paying for it now.

Levi Leipheimer shot to prominence when he made the podium at the 2001 Vuelta while riding for US Postal. He spent three years at Rabobank before joining the German Gerolsteiner team for 2005, where he is one of the team's main men for stage race general classifications. Leipheimer has twice finished in the top ten at the Tour de France, and this year will aim higher if his form allows. "We'll have to wait and see," he says. Follow Levi's progress to the Tour and beyond on Cyclingnews.