Gerolsteiner optimistic again

Things were looking up again for Gerolsteiner, just one day after Hans-Michael Holczer bravely said it could have been worse. Levi Leipheimer's breakaway attempt in stage 19 wasn't rewarded with a stage win, but he won the title of "most aggressive rider. But at that, he wasn't the most notable Gerolsteiner rider of the day.

Ronny Scholz took off from the breakaway group just as it overtook his captain Leipheimer. Only the two Italians Matteo Tosatto and Cristian Moreni could follow him. "As the two Italians joined me, I knew that I would only get the third place. They can sprint better than I can. But I tried everything," he said.

Directeur Sportif Christian Henn praised the 28-year-old. "Ronny rode a very strong race. We had already said that a group would probably go, of which we wanted to be a part. And Ronny paid attention and our tactics paid off. It's just too bad that of all people, those two Italians went with him."