"The worst German"

Unlike the first rest day, Gerolsteiner's Robert Förster got to sleep as long as he wanted yesterday, until 10.30, when he had to get up for the team's press conference. There he ran into a reporter who could use some lessons, not only in cycling, but in tact. "There were lots of nice journalists there," he wrote in his diary on www.radsport-news.com. "It's always comfortable to work with the guys from the press, for example the German tv and radio. They ask the right questions and it's clear that they know something about cycling.

"An hour and a half later, as I was going to go change clothes for training, some guy with his notebook in hand came after me. He wanted to ask me a few more questions. Sure, no problem. He had to write something about "the worst German," he said. Me: What?? Well, Becke is the second-worst German and I am the worst. Wasn't it "degrading" to be so far down in the rankings, and wasn't it my goal, to overtake Becke..... I tried to explain to him that I wasn't being paid to do well in the GC. For what then, he asked? That was enough for me - they also don't pay me to explain the ground rules of cycling to a journalist during the Tour. Besides, the "worst German" had to go train..."