By Shane Stokes in Olten
Former world champion Michael Rogers had an unusual carrot in front of him in the prologue of the Tour de Suisse; current rainbow jersey Fabian Cancellara, who took the title from him last September. On the day, it was the current gold medallist who fared best as Rogers finished 17 seconds back in 38th place.
He wasn't however phased by the result. "It wasn't too bad, I was pretty happy," he said afterwards. "I think I rode quite well. I can sometimes go well at these prologues but am normally not right up there with the leaders. I was not too far off, so I am happy enough."
He performed well in the 2006 Tour de France and like others on the T-Mobile squad here, would like to show good legs in the Swiss race.
"We have got a heap of guys here who are strong. Kirchen's going [well], Sinke is going, Gerdemann is going well. I think we have a competitive team. I don't know if we can win it but I think we can come away with at least a stage win or two."
The question is, with the Tour de Suisse finishing a week closer to the Tour de France than the Dauphiné, is he happy to go flat out here rather than holding back somewhat?
"It depends on what is on offer," he answered. "If I am leading this and have a chance to win overall, I am not going to give that up to take it easy for the Tour. This is still an important race."
