CSC ready for Deutschland

Team CSC is sending defending champion Jens Voigt to the Deutschland Tour, but in case he should show any weaknesses, his teammates will be ready to take up the slack and climb on the podium in his place.

Voigt won the race last year with three stage wins, but has said this year it will be more difficult, mainly because of the mountaintop finish on the dreaded Rettenbachferner. "They've included this gigantic mountain - the toughest climb in the entire ProTour calendar – so unfortunately I've gotta say that my chances are somewhat limited," he said on the team's website, team-csc.com.

But, the team noted optimistically, the German rider is always modest and is coming off the Tour de France with outstanding form, "so it is not entirely unthinkable that we will be able to find him among the main contenders for the yellow jersey again."

Ready and willing to hold the CSC colours high are Bobby Julich and Andy Schleck, who both "might be able to mingle in the battle for a podium spot." Volodymir Gustov and Chris Anker Sørensen showed in the Dauphiné Libéré what they are capable of, and Alexandr Kolobnev finished fifth overall in last month's Tour de la Région Wallonne.

And to complete the rundown of potential winners, there's Fabian Cancellara. "Well, what can you say about this guy -- he is capable of anything and you never quite know what he will come up with," raved the team.

The team considers itself the favourite for the team time trial, which could be one of the the keys for the whole race. "We have a very strong line-up and we've got high expectations for the team time trial. We're hoping it will give Jens a good set-off for the rest of the race. And then we'll have to wait and see in the fifth stage, when we reach that dreaded mountain, but Jens has come out of the Tour in fantastic shape and he did well in many of the mountains during the Tour so maybe he'll be able to make a repeat performance, who knows?" said sports director Kim Andersen.