Gerolsteiner's Ronny Scholz was very happy with the Criterium International, where he finished fifth overall (see above), but you might not believe it when you read his website, www.ronnyscholz.de. He describes how the breakaway group, of which he was a part in the first stage, rode through "the bad weather and especially strong wind," struggling to stay ahead of the peloton. After the penultimate climb, "those of us left in the group kept on going, to try and keep as much of our advantage as possible," although the group no longer worked together. "In such a situation, the only thing to do is go all out as long as possible, because usually the group breaks up and you can only stay with the first group if you really work."
On the last climb, the race was decided. "On the last descent, Erik Dekker really took the full risk and just flew down the mountain. I was a little more scared of it and took something out. That's probably why I couldn't stay with the leaders. I'm still satisfied to have finished within the top ten, but I'm still a little irritated with myself that I didn't take more risks in the descent."
