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7 July 2006

Voigt Talks Escapes

Jens Voigt (CSC) is a very talkative rider and it is always a pleasure to hear his insight. Only a few days ago, it was the Voigt that we all know and love in action, attacking from the gun. His stage 3 escape did not succeed but we are sure to see Voigt on another stage trying again.

"With all the stress going on in Spain there are a lot of riders who just want to spend the day and relax in the peloton, talking about the ongoing issues," Voigt said before the start of Tour de France stage five in Beauvais. "I was a good time to have a go with an escape."

The sprint teams shut down the fun of Voigt before he could make it to Valkenburg. All of the teams are going hard in these first few days to make sure their team sprinter is in position, leaving little chance for escapees.

"I don't think I will try again. OK, maybe after the Pyrenees, but we will see. I left on that stage to Valkenburg thinking maybe the win and also the yellow jersey, but it did not work. It is too hard with all the sprint teams and they are all so close to the yellow jersey so there is that extra motivation. A guy like Boonen is so strong and he wants to keep the yellow jersey."

Boonen may look to be weakening to some but the CSC German does not think so... "He did something really huge last year, with the Flanders and Roubaix double. Then to come back and win Flanders this year with the number one on his back... That is very impressive. It is hard for him to top all of his successes of last year and I think he is under a lot of pressure. I think we will see him win a stage and look, he already has the yellow jersey.

Our minds shifted back to the Giro d'Italia where Voigt gifted the San Pellegrino stage to Juan Manuel Gárate. The German was in the final two-man move with the Spanish Champion and did not respond to Gárate's final attack.

"I would do that over again," said Voigt. "I got a lot of support on the English websites but on the German websites they were just ripping me apart, it was horrible. I said to my wife, here come and look at what was said on the English sites, because the Germans were ripping me apart."

So can we expect you to try again for a stage? "Yes I will. It is too bad that O'Grady had his crash; he was going so well, so we have lost him as an option. We have Zabriskie for the time trial this weekend, he will go well. Hopefully these cooler temperatures will be good for us, it has been hot."

Be on the lookout for the German in escapes. He will surely try again and again. Dai Voigt!

Yellow Boonen

Caen, France was another missed opportunity for Tom Boonen of Quick-Step, but who cares? The Belgian is the reigning World Champion and is currently wearing the Maillot Jaune at the Tour de France. Sure he has been bettered in the sprints: first Casper, twice McEwen and yesterday's stage four, Freire.

Is the Belgian satisfied? "Well, I have had three days with the yellow jersey, I am happy with myself and the team," said Boonen after the stage finish in Caen. "Today I made a mistake with 300 meters to go, and it was my fault and not the team's."

But maybe the pressure of wearing the yellow jersey is slowing down Boonen's sprint? "It is heavy in the Tour to have the yellow jersey because I am not the kind of rider to wear yellow. I have to work hard to keep it but I am happy to have it. I am close to the green and wearing the yellow. They say that the last World Champion to wear the yellow jersey was Greg LeMond, 16 years ago, and before that it was Hinault. They are not unimportant, so I am happy to be in the yellow jersey."

Boonen controlled and dominated the sprints in March at Paris-Nice, even taking the leader's jersey for a spell. What was different between the Tour and Paris-Nice?

"The fact is very clear: We are not at the Paris-Nice, we are at the Tour. It is more or less the same riders but the pressure is so much higher and to win is that much harder. When you are cool and relaxed you have an easier time of winning. Today the fault was mine, I was tense and I made a mistake."

Hincapie has changed from a sprinter to a classification contender. Do you think you could do the same as him? Maybe I would like to try in the future. It is true I am improving a lot in my climbing. Maybe in the future I can try for small tours. Here, holding the yellow jersey, has already taken its toll on me. I will try to do a good time trial but the mountains it will be too tough for me. I am defiantly thinking about it, but even for Hincapie it is not that easy."

Freire Storms Caen

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) stormed into Caen to take the sprint in stage 5 of the Tour de France. The three-time World Champion marked his career second Tour de France win by gunning down sprinters like McEwen and Boonen.

"Of course it is really important to win a stage in the Tour," said Freire when we caught-up with him after the stage. "This year I felt so much better than last year. Last year I knew from stage three there would not be a chance for me. With my form at this year's Tour, I knew I had to take some risks and so that is why I went so hard in the finale, attacking."

Freire has been up in the sprint-mix ever since the Tour started but only came home with the goods in stage 5. What has changed to allow you to win? "Well, normally I take the wheels of others and today I did it different. I knew the other day I just missed something, a little wrong. Today, I decided to go earlier. But really it was like a mistake, I went too soon, but I still won."

The Spaniard has a strong teammate and compatriot at his side in this year's Tour: Juan Antonio Flecha. The two are Spain's best Classics riders and they form a strong alliance in the Rabobank squadra.

"Flecha is a great rider," said Freire on his Spanish teammate. "I knew him before he joined our team, and I knew he was a great rider. He has showed he is very capable of working well for others. I did not know that before he joined our team and he has proved his worth with Rabobank. He works so hard in the finale for me, it is great."

Freire is Spanish and with the large doping investigation ongoing in Spain he could not avoid a question about doping. Was he happy to hear the news about other non-cycling athletes involved?

"Of course, as I always say there are other athletes who dope, not just cyclists. What happens are that we are paid to win and race, and there are some riders who will cheat to try to win. During the Giro I watched and enjoyed the racing; The commentators only talked about cycling and not about doping. But let me tell you press people something, you have to treat us better than you do."

Freire, now with one win in this Tour, is our bet to win again in stage five. Stay tuned to BiciRace.com.

Pozzato for Italia

Pippo, Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step), is quickly becoming a favorite for BiciRace.com. We have had many opportunities to talk to the 24 year-old Vicentino since we started following the Tour de France last week. Over the last two years, since winning the Tour stage with Fassa Bortolo, Filippo Pozzato has grown into a rider who is respected for his strength.

"I think since two years ago, racing for Ferretti with Fassa Bortolo, I have developed into more of a team leader and stronger in the one-day races," said Pippo, who won the 2005 HEW-Cyclassics followed by the Milano-Sanremo this year. "But I am still the same person off the bike. The same person that you are talking to here."

Pippo is a great guy, spending his time here at the Tour working for Tom Boonen; keeping the Belgian well protected in his Maillot Jaune. "We are still trying to get him a stage win even though we have the yellow jersey," Pippo continued.

The search for a new team is ongoing... "It is still between Cofidis, T-Mobile and also Liquigas. I would really like to ride for an Italian team. Yes the Quick-Step team is like our old team of Mapei. We are so strong in the one-day races. It is too bad, I would like to stay in this team, but I think my options are limited with Boonen and Bettini in the same squadra."

Pozzato collects watches and we were admiring his nice timepiece during our conversation. Does he hope to win a stage and then buy a watch as a celebratory gift? "Yes. That would be a great gift."

Who will win the ninth? "Ninth? What stage is the ninth? Oh, the World Cup football game... Let's hope Italia."

93rd Tour de France - presented by , 1 - 23 July
Main, Startlist, Classifications, Tour Favorites, Team CSC versus T-Mobile
Stages and Maps, Key Stages, Overall Map
Photos, The Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Simoni and Saunier Duval-Prodir Updates
2005 Results

6 July News ...