CSC delighted

Team CSC has had an excellent showing thus far in the Tour de France, with Fabian Cancellara taking two stage wins and holding the yellow jersey since day one. The riders were understandably happy at the finish on Tuesday. "That is really nice, hey?" said team leader Carlos Sastre. "The stage was long, boring, it was a headwind, but in the end it was very good for us."

Jens Voigt was also impressed with how things turned out. "Between five and two kilometres to go I said 'ah, it's too late, they are gone'. But then we had Fabian, he was our Joker. It was an incredible effort."

"We didn't have to work too much today," added Voigt. "The speed was easy and calm. I actually did enjoy it. It was a little boring, but as I say, better boring than painful."

Team owner Bjarne Riis normally guides the squad but is missing from this year's Tour after his doping confession at the end of May. Kim Andersen is the chief of command, and things have worked out very well. "It is good, yes," he told Cyclingnews. "When you have a team like this it is nice. The mood is good." SS