Gerrans knows his stuff

Australian rider Simon Gerrans gave a pretty accurate predication of the day's events prior to the start of stage five.

"I think a breakaway will go for sure today. I guess the composition of it and the number of riders will determine if it goes all the way. If it is two or three guys are in then I am sure that CSC will ride again [to bring it back]. But otherwise they probably try to put someone in it."

He said that he expected some riders to lose time. "I think that the last five kilometres are pretty winding. It is quite a steep descent with a few corners so I am sure if it doesn't split up on the climb it will split up on the descent. I don't think you will see the whole peloton come in together."

Some people were expecting a change in the overall lead, but he felt otherwise. "I think Cancellara is definitely good enough to hold on. It is just a case of do they [CSC] chose to ride for that, or do they put one in a break instead?

"I think they are all very well placed so they could just drop someone into a breakaway and then that would put pressure on other teams to try to keep it close." SS