Berni Kohl is determined to hold on to his mountain jersey at the Tour of California. The young T-Mobile rider was able to stave off Levi Leipheimer during Thursday's big stage, but notes that since the American no longer has a chance for the overall win, he is going for the mountain points. "In the next few days I will have to fight for the mountain jersey," he wrote on his personal website. "Levi Leipheimer is a very tough opponent, who is surely not going to give up without a fight. But I will do everything I can to bring my jersey, of which I have grown quite fond, home to Austria."
Kohl also looked back at Wednesday's time trial, saying, "To my own astonishment I was able to show my good form there, too." His 17th place finish was "an extraordinarily good time trial for me," and he was able to work his way up to 12th in GC. "It's a great feeling to look at the results and see my name between all the great riders. The winner's ceremony is something very special every time, too. Today on the podium were Hincapie, Landis, Zabriskie and Julich, all big names - and Me: Bernhard Kohl."
