Linus Gerdemann tried and failed on stage 13 of the Tour de France from Vittel to Colmar with a solo move that was eventually nullified by the peloton on the Col du Platzerwasel.
Gerdemann, who is Milram’s best hope for the overall was lying in 24th place at the start of the day, 4:20 behind the yellow jersey. A wearer of the yellow jersey himself in 2007, Gerdemann lost time in this year's stage four team time trial and suffered through the Pyrenees.
However, on Friday Gerdeman attacked on the descent of the Col de la Schlucht in a bid to claw back time and catch the breakaway riders who had given up time on the ascent of the category two climb. The move proved unsuccessful, with the peloton catching and then distancing the German on the first category Col du Platzerwasel.
Gerdermann was able to claw back to the leaders on the run in to the finish, meaning he kept his 24th overall. "It was really hard out there in the rain but I had to try. Sometimes you just have to risk something, but if you don’t try then you’ll never win," a tired Gerdemann told Cyclingnews at the finish in Colmar.
"It was tough when I was caught but I’m not finished yet. We’ll see what happens in the next few days."
Gerdermann started his professional career with CSC in 2005. He moved to T-Mobile in 2006, riding subsequently for Columbia-Highroad last season. The move to Team Milram came after enduring a mixed 2008, as he suffered a broken leg in Tirreno-Adriatico before returning to win his home race, the Deutschland Tour.
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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.
