German breakaway star Jens Voigt (Team CSC) was part of the six-rider front group in stage five of the Deutschland Tour today, which led over 219 kilometres from Austrian Sölden to German Friedrichshafen. Cristian Moreni (Quick.Step), Alessandro Bertolini (Domina Vacanze), Carlos Barredo (Liberty), Dario Cioni (Liquigas) and Johann Tschopp (Phonak) as well as Voigt had jumped after 30 kilometres of racing, and held on to their lead for a total of 185 kilometres. Finally, they got caught by the raging bee-swarm bunch under the red flag indicating the last 1000 metres.
After crossing the line, the tall German was unhappy with that tight a finish, which could have had another outcome according to him. "If the athlete from Liberty had participated, we would have made it maybe," Voigt fumed to reporters, meaning the 24 year-old Barredo. "But he wanted to be smart and win in the end, but that's exactly that last little bit that we missed in order to get through."
Nevertheless, the 33 year-old living in Berlin also admitted that the break's chances weren't great in the first place. "It was clear from the very beginning that several teams wanted a sprint finish. They never gave us more than five minutes, and on a stage like that, you need eight or ten minutes to be sure to make it. So I was skeptical the whole time, and when some guys didn't take their turns completely any more...especially the guy from Liberty. In the finish we all paid for his 'smartness'," Voigt continued, still annoyed.
But Voigt's morale got better within seconds, and gave the Spaniard a little credit. "Surely, he was given instructions from the team car, like either go for the win or nothing. Well, we got nothing out of that!" he said, laughing. Asked if he hadn't thought about going on an attack himself too, Voigt admitted, "If this would have happened one month or two months ago, yes, but my gas tank is almost empty now... Otherwise I would have gone with Moreni and we would have finished it off together. [Moreni attacked the breakaway with 15 km to go - ed.] But I'm not doing as well as wished for, and I'm glad that the season's over soon."
