"Expectations more than met" at Gerolsteiner

German team Gerolsteiner can be satisfied with the outcome of the Deutschland Tour. Certainly, last year's winner Levi Leipheimer could not repeat his feat this year as an almighty Jens Voigt (CSC) stood in the way, but the American finished second. His teammate Sebastian Lang conquered the mountains jersey, and also the team classification went to the German squad.

"We have achieved more than we had hoped for," said team manager Hans-Michael Holczer in Karlsruhe after the ultimate stage. "This was maybe the best Deutschland Tour that we have ever raced." In 2005, both Leipheimer and Georg Totschnig were on the final podium, but "this year also everything was in place. We have made a great performance."

The Gerolsteiner director was especially pleased with Lang securing the mountains jersey. "That's really a great story," he continued. "Sebastian has shown that he can do more than just being a very fast time triallist."

The topping the team's classification certainly felt good to Holczer as well. "Right after the Tour de France, we have made an excellent team performance," he added. "Jens Voigt certainly was the dominant rider here, but we were the strongest team."