Julich's loss a "major setback" for CSC

"Losing Bobby is a major set-back for us, because he was ready for a big Tour de France," said CSC team manager Bjarne Riis on the team's website, a day after Bobby Julich crashed out of the Tour in the time trial. "His experience and strength in the mountains will be sorely missed. Bobby will be very hard to do without, but we have to keep on fighting with the remaining riders. And luckily I can feel, that they all still have the motivation to work hard towards gaining some results.

"I'm really impressed with Carlos delivering the best result today. There's no doubt he's the one we'll be fighting for in the overall standings. He's gotten through the first week nice and easy and now we'll do all we can to protect him, before we hit the mountains. I think, Carlos can go far in this Tour de France."

After Julich had X-rays taken at the hospital in Rennes on Saturday afternoon, team doctor Joost De Maeseneer commented, "First off the X-rays show no fractures, but he has a big open wound on his right wrist. When they've cleaned it up properly, they'll be able to examine it further during surgery here in Rennes. Bobby will be staying in hospital over night and later on a scan will show whether he has any fractures."