Gerdemann in form

By Shane Stokes in La Chaux-de-Fonds

As was the case on Monday, Linus Gerdemann was very impressive on the hills of the Tour de Suisse on stage four. The talented young T-Mobile rider had finished second to Nick Nuyens on Sunday's third stage and did what he could to move into yellow one day later, racing clear with Jose Angel Gomez Marchante (Saunier Duval) with 26 kilometres to go. The quick-climbing duo overhauled leaders Rik Verbrugghe (Cofidis), Sylvain Calzati (AG2R Prévoyance) and Marco Fertonani (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) and then continued ahead, opening up a 20 second lead. However they were finally brought back with 16 kilometres remaining.

Speaking to Cyclingnews after the finish of stage 4, Gerdemann seemed happy with his performance and his form. "I tried to take the jersey but Nick Nuyens was able to come back to us. But I think my legs are okay. I feel I am stronger on the climbs than last year, so I am happy."

T-Mobile appear to have a couple of good riders once the race moves into the mountains on Wednesday. When asked if he would be one of the team's GC riders, he suggested everything would be 100 percent behind Jan Ullrich. "I think Jan was very strong today… we will see," he said.