From Zberg to Zberg

Markus Zberg snatched the Swiss jersey from his brother Beat, although the latter did not put up a fight – Beat Zberg retired from professional bike racing at the end of last season. After 168 kilometres around Gansingen, Markus won the race in a sprint of a six-man group. Martin Elmiger (AG2R La Mondiale) stormed to second, while Zberg's team-mate Mathias Frank finished off a successful day for Gerolsteiner in third place.

Two days after his birthday, Zberg gave himself a nice present. "I am really happy. Already at the Tour de Suisse I was on the front a few times. That the victory happened here at the championships is of course very nice," the happy winner stated. It was Zberg's second title, after winning in 2000. That triumph came in the same town, Gansingen. "It appears this is a good terrain for me. And I want to represent the jersey in the best possible way."

Initially, Zberg was part of a 25-man breakaway. He attacked with another rider, but his companion couldn't keep up, so Zberg dropped back, as he didn't value his solo chances too high. He then attacked on the last climb. Five men went with him, including team-mate Frank. Zberg acknowledged that Frank "worked very well and prepared the finale very well for me."

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Both received a compliment from their directeur sportif, Theo Maucher. "Sensational what Markus and Mathias did. When you start the race with two riders and get places one and three, then that's superb."

Besides the wins in Switzerland and in Germany (via Fabian Wegmann), Gerolsteiner missed the podium in Italy only narrowly, with Davide Rebellin taking fourth place.