Schleck almost made the podium

In the end, Team CSC's Fränk Schleck came just five seconds short of making the final podium in Tour de Suisse. Schleck finished second in Sunday's ninth and final stage, which was won by Aitor González (Euskaltel), not only taking the stage but also the overall victory.

"Bjarne Riis and Kim Andersen gave me the chance as captain in this big race, and we aimed for a place in the top five. So I lived up to the expectations, but of course it's kind of bad luck to be mere seconds from a podium spot, especially when the team has worked so hard for me throughout the race," Schleck said.

"It would be hard to think of a more exciting race than the one we saw today," said a satisfied sports director Kim Andersen after the 100 tough kilometres. "Fränk was perfect, and Jens Voigt was the direct cause to the Ullrich-group loosing it's momentum, just as they were about to re-establish contact." Voigt, who was in one of the early breakaways, was told to wait for the Schleck-group on the last climb, and after that the strong German gave everything he had for Schleck.