Leipheimer finished the Tour in sixth (Image credit: Luc Claessen)
After a stellar year that included an overall win in the Tour of Germany, third overall at the Dauphine Libere and sixth overall at the Tour de France, Gerolsteiner's American team leader Levi Leipheimer can quite easily say it's been his best season ever. Relaxing at his home in Santa Rosa, CA, Leipheimer is enjoying the fruits of a great year, and as Cyclingnews' Les Clarke finds out, at 32 years old he's not even thinking about finishing yet.
Speaking with Leipheimer at his home in California, his voice has the tone of a man with not too many worries at the moment, least of all the security of his contract at a time of year when an axe is being wielded by the management of various teams. This is due to the fact that Leipheimer finished the season ranked seventh on the inaugural Pro Tour's final rankings, with top ten overall performances in the Tour de France, Dauphine Libere, Tour of Germany and on home turf at the Tour de Georgia.
By his own admission it's been his best year ever, saying, "Yeah, I'd say it was my best season. The races I entered I got good results in, and although some were used as preparation for other races, I did well in all the races I was really going for." One of Leipheimer's goals was to perform well in the Dauphine Libere, and although it's known as a Tour de France warmup race for most of the major contenders, Leipheimer's form in this shorter stage race bode well for his performance at la Grande Boucle.
