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Deutschland Tour, Germany

Stage 6, Seefeld - St. Anton (Austria), 196K

7 August

Voigt Knocks 'em Dead

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German Jens Voigt (Team CSC) added to his godlike status in Deutschland Tour stage 6 by resisting the Levi-Kash barrage. Voigt, after defending himself against the constant fires of Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) and Andrey Kashechkin (Astaná) on the Arlberg Pass, retaliated with a gritty sprint; producing a stage win and the right to stay in the yellow leader's jersey. Ho, ho, ho... Tomorrow, Leipheimer, second overall at 24", will have to pour out all he has in the 38.2K crono to stop a fiery Voigt.

Rain started the 196 kilometer day from Seefeld to St. Anton (Austria). Though the weather conditions eased up the racing did not; Zabel and Lang were at the front end of the race for the first for most of the day. Germans Erik Zabel (Milram), in the red sprinter's jersey, and Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) went clear of the peloton after 13 kilometers and, after the hors catégorie Hahntennjoch pass, at -65K they had 8'00" advantage.

The race was approaching the last classified climb of the D-Tour, the Arlberg Pass. This was to be the mountain to settle the classification before tomorrow's 38.2K crono. Any contender for the general classification had to be present today or they could forget about the overall victory.

CSC and Astaná were doing the work behind; the Danish squadra had Voigt in yellow and also Iñigo Cuesta to look after, while Astaná, with the help of Vinokourov, were pulling for Kash. The work was affective. Zabel and Lang only had 3'00" with -30K, which fell to near nothing through the village of Pettneua, at -13K.

Arlberg Pass, the final climb of the D-Tour, averaged a fairly hefty 12% average gradient and rises up to 1762 meters. Once started, the riders one by one were being shelled off the back of the gruppo. With Lang and Zabel out of the picture, the GC stars had their men up front pushing the pace; Totschnig was helping Leipheimer for Gerolsteiner and Kazakh Vino was helping his Astaná teammate Kash.

Pop, pop, pop: Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre-Fondital) and Eddy Mazzoleni (T-Mobile) went out the back door, effectively leaving us with only Evgeni Petrov (Lampre-Fondital), Kash, Levi and Voigt. Yes Voigt! That crazy German was fighting tooth and nail to stay in contact with the American.

Unbelievable Voigt. In the final two kilometers the German appeared to be weakening; Levi, sensing the frailty of Voigt, launched several missiles. Voigt was distanced and then Kash turned on Levi. The Astaná rider tried to distance Levi, thinking of a stage win and the overall, but the American was able to come back and, perhaps because of this fight, Voigt was able to edge out a return.

By one kilometer to go, Voigt was still in the picture and looked ripe to attack. The climb leveled-off a bit, and when seeing the line Voigt found an extra gear. The German demoralized Kash and Levi; winning the stage and staying in the overall lead. Prior to today's stage nobody, including BiciRace.com, was giving Voigt much of a chance to keep the overall lead.

Tomorrow, Voigt, with two stage wins in the D-Tour, could possibly limit his losses to Levi in the 38.2K crono. If the American is unable to pull back the 24" then we are going to see one happy German winning in his home tour. It seems impossible but Voigt has that ability to win in improbable situations.

Results: 5:11'48", 37.83 K/h
1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 0.02
3 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astaná 0.08
4 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Lampre-Fondital 0.10
5 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.36
6 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak 0.41
7 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile
8 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
9 Anton Luengo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
10 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC
11 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel 0.47
12 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.51
13 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel 0.55
14 Josep Jufré (Spa) Davitamon-Lotto
15 Gerben Löwik (Ned) Rabobank
16 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner
17 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
18 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 1.00
19 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1.05
20 Trent Lowe (Aus) Discovery Channel
21 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 1.29
22 Joseba Albizu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
23 Dario Cioni (Ita) Liquigas 1.56
24 Jurgen Van de Walle (Bel) Quick-Step
25 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
26 Guido Trentin (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
27 Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance 2.12
28 Andrea Noè (Ita) Liquigas 2.23
29 Florian Stalder (Swi) Phonak 2.28
30 Gerhard Trampusch (Aut) Wiesenhof-Akud 2.32
31 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis
32 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Fondital
33 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Vorarlberg 3.00
34 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel
35 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) T-Mobile
36 Francesco Failli (Ita) Liquigas
37 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3.04
38 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3.09
39 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astaná 3.15
40 Aitor Pérez Arrieta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 4.08
41 Joseba Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
42 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas
43 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Discovery Channel
44 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Fondital
45 Jason McCartney (USA) Discovery Channel
46 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick-Step
47 Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) T-Mobile 4.37
48 Pascal Hungerbühler (Swi) Vorarlberg
49 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak 5.10
50 Pieter Mertens (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 6.11
51 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile 6.28
52 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 6.58
53 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Astaná 7.31
54 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 7.34
55 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 8.29
56 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 9.01
57 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 9.15
58 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Rabobank 21.31
59 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC
60 Kai Reus (Ned) Rabobank
61 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française Des Jeux
62 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2R Prévoyance
63 Tyler Farrar (USA) Cofidis
64 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
65 Alexandre Usov (Blr) Ag2R Prévoyance
66 Erki Pütsep (Est) Ag2R Prévoyance
67 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française Des Jeux
68 Wim De Vocht (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
69 Loyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
70 Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile
71 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
72 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Milram
73 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Française Des Jeux
74 Andreas Matzbacher (Aut) Vorarlberg
75 Harald Morscher (Aut) Vorarlberg
76 Luis Fernández (Spa) Phonak
77 Ian McLeod (RSA) Française Des Jeux
78 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astaná
79 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile
80 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile
81 Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Cofidis
82 Claudio Corioni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
83 Daniel Becke (Ger) Milram
84 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Milram
85 Christian Knees (Ger) Milram
86 Iban Iriondo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
87 Christoph Girschweiler (Swi) Vorarlberg
88 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
89 Koldo Fernández (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
90 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Astaná
91 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank
92 José Antonio Redondo (Spa) Astaná
93 Mikel Pradera (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
94 Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Crédit Agricole
95 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel
96 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
97 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
98 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC
99 Patrick McCarty (USA) Phonak
100 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Quick-Step
101 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Crédit Agricole
102 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Astaná
103 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Milram
104 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole
105 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux
106 Björn Schröder (Ger) Milram
107 Enrico Poitschke (Ger) Milram
108 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner
109 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Crédit Agricole
110 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Astaná
111 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
112 Alan Pérez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
113 Iker Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
114 David Vitoria (Swi) Phonak
115 Robert Retschke (Ger) Wiesenhof-Akud
116 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Cofidis
117 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis
118 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
119 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis
120 Hubert Schwab (Swi) Quick-Step
121 Markel Irizar (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
122 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Crédit Agricole
123 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
124 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Liquigas
125 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
126 Tim Klinger (Ger) Wiesenhof-Akud
127 Piotr Mazur (Pol) Saunier Duval-Prodir
128 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Crédit Agricole
129 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Liquigas
130 Torsten Schmidt (Ger) Wiesenhof-Akud
131 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole
132 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick-Step
133 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Wiesenhof-Akud 21.45
134 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team CSC
135 Nick Gates (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto
136 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quick-Step
137 Marcus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
138 Frédéric Finot (Fra) Française Des Jeux
139 Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) Ag2R Prévoyance
140 Mark Scanlon (Irl) Ag2R Prévoyance
141 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
142 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick-Step
143 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Cofidis
144 Sven Teutenberg (Ger) Vorarlberg
145 Christophe Kern (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 21.51
146 Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas 24.07
147 André Greipel (Ger) T-Mobile 24.14
148 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
149 Luciano Pagliarini (Bra) Saunier Duval-Prodir
150 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Crédit Agricole 24.18
151 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
152 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
153 Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) Vorarlberg
154 Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears
155 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Wiesenhof-Akud 24.21
156 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Wiesenhof-Akud
157 Lubor Tesar (Cze) Wiesenhof-Akud 24.24
158 Remmert Wielinga (Ned) Quick-Step
159 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
160 Christian Müller (Ger) Team CSC
161 Bart Dockx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 24.37
162 Patrick Riedesser (Aut) Vorarlberg 25.27
163 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 25.48
164 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Française Des Jeux
165 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 28.12
DNF Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Ag2R Prévoyance

Mountains
Ettal - Cat. 2, K 51
1 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 6
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 4
3 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 3
4 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick-Step 2
5 Pascal Hungerbühler (Swi) Vorarlberg 1

Hahntennjoch - HC, K 128,7
1 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner 15
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram 12
3 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick-Step 10
4 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 8
5 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 6

St. Christoph am Arlberg - Cat. 1, K 196,6
1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 10
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 8
3 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astaná 6
4 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Lampre-Fondital 4
5 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2

GC:
1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 27:39'29"
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 0.24
3 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Lampre-Fondital 0.56
4 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel 1.00
5 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astaná 1.03
6 Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC 1.16
7 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1.18
8 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) T-Mobile 1.34
9 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 2.02
10 Gerben Löwik (Ned) Rabobank 2.28
11 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak 2.32
12 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 2.36
13 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel 2.48
14 Josep Jufré (Spa) Davitamon-Lotto 2.52
15 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 2.54
16 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3.10
17 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 3.33
18 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3.57
19 Jurgen Van de Walle (Bel) Quick-Step 4.07
20 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 4.11
21 Andrea Noè (Ita) Liquigas
22 Dario Cioni (Ita) Liquigas 4.26
23 Joseba Albizu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4.39
24 Gerhard Trampusch (Aut) Wiesenhof-Akud 4.43
25 Francesco Failli (Ita) Liquigas 5.04
26 Guido Trentin (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 5.05
27 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 5.21
28 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 5.22
29 Gerrit Glomser (Aut) Vorarlberg 5.57
30 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 6.25