By Shane Stokes in Nauders, Switzerland
Gerolsteiner's Stefan Schumacher will start his first Tour de France in less than three weeks time. The Amstel Gold winner is determined to have a good showing, and told Cyclingnews that the Tour de Suisse is primarily about building form.
"This will be my first Tour, so I am motivated for that," he confessed, prior to Monday's Stage 3 start. "This race is preparation for that race and as a result, I won't try to be in the front for the GC. Okay, if I fly today maybe I will try do to something overall, but we will see day by day."
As things turned out, he finished 5'21 back in 82nd place. He had seemed a little unsure of his form beforehand.
"I didn't feel really good yesterday [stage two - ed.]. I don't know why. Maybe it was an unusual kind of stage because we were riding it so slow and then there was a steep mountain. A lot of riders didn't feel good, and me also."
