Linus Gerdermann trailed in 3:55 down on the leaders in today’s 159km stage from Martigny to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, but says he will come back stronger and better prepared for next year’s race.
After winning a stage in the 2007 Tour and wearing the yellow jersey, big expectations have been placed on Gerdemann's shoulders. This year’s race hasn’t gone to plan for the young Milram rider, who has been distanced by the leaders in both the Pyrenees and the Alps.
"It’s not going great," Gerdermann said at the end of the stage.
The German broke is leg in last year’s Tirenno-Adriatico but rallied to take his home Tour. A subsequent move from Columbia to Milram followed at the end of 2009 and, with Gerolsteiner folding, Gerdemann found himself a part of the only German ProTour team within the peloton.
"I think I’m getting a little bit stronger as the race goes on but if you’re not strong from the start it’s makes a big difference. It was a tough day and there are still some tough days."
However Gerdermann brushed off the claims that he’s under too much pressure to perform from his team - who’ve not won a stage in year’s race - or a nation that hasn’t had a Tour winner since Jan Ulrich in 1997. "I put pressure on myself but there’s none coming from the team as they understand. I know I made some mistakes in the Tour and my training, but I’ve learnt a lot from it and I’ll be better next year."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
