Can Bobby do it again?

Over in Spain, another of Team CSC's riders, Giovanni Lombardi, was just a few centimetres shy from taking on Wednesday's third stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, eventually finishing second behind Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears), but according to his directeur-sportif Kim Andersen, he launched his sprint about 10 metres too early.

"Lombardi came incredibly close. He was in a perfect position behind Danilo Di Luca, but he got afraid of being boxed in, so he launched his sprint about 10 metres too early," Andersen said on team CSC's website, www.team-csc.com. "Kurt [-Asle Arvesen] really paved the way for Lombardi, and it would of course have been great with a win."

Speaking about today's fourth stage from Gasteizy to Altsasu, Andersen said the team will be looking for a stage victory, but with Bobby Julich on song after his recent wins in Paris-Nice and the Critérium International, Team CSC is hoping the American can do it again.

"Just like today we aim for a stage win, but otherwise it's all about keeping Bobby up front before the decisive time trial The summit finish in Friday morning's stage should suit him better than the steep finish yesterday, which is not exactly his cup of tea," he said.