T-Mobile directeur sportif Mario Kummer has played down suggestions that the team made a mess of their tactics yesterday. When asked why Klöden and Ullrich chased Vinokourov down when he attacked, he explained what was behind the reasoning. "The situation was that nobody reacted behind so we decided to put on the tempo. That's how this situation came about."
Viewers and commentators were perplexed by the sight of his own team bringing Vino back on both the Port-de-Pailhères and the final climb of Ax 3 Domaines. Kummer justified it by saying he was on an off day. "Vino's performances were excellent before, but he didn't have the legs like, say, at the Galibier, where he had a super day. As the others didn't react, we had to. Alexandre was out to tickle the others a bit, but unfortunately it didn't work."
