Gerolsteiner was happier with its results at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, as one might expect. The reason: it collected enough team points to push it up to second place in the Pro Tour team rankings. "Because of the strong wind and rain, it was a super difficult race," said directeur sportif Christian Henn, "and everyone is happy that we are now in second place." Another reason for happiness was that none of the Gerolsteiner riders were involved in any of the crashes.
"Actually, my legs were good. But I didn't pay attention one time - on Koppenberg. Then it was all over," said David Kopp, who finished 16th. Teammate Stefan Schumacher (19th) said, "Too bad that I had to get off the bike" and walk up Koppenberg. One who had especially hoped to do well didn't even make it to the finish, but youngster Heinrich Haussler refused to let it get him down. "The ride today gave me a lot of experience. You really have to pay attention every single second. But at any rate I have learned a lot for the future."
