Gil "should have waited"

Spanish climber Koldo Gil, who placed 10th at the Tour de Suisse - 1.42 behind winner Aitor González - is satisfied with his overall performances, but disappointed with the fact that he couldn't achieve a victory. "I haven't taken advantage of my good form in the way that I wanted," the Liberty Seguros rider said. "At the Giro d'Italia, my knee injury prevented me from forcing hard during the second half of the race, which is why I came to Switzerland feeling very well. It angers me to leave here without having won anything. Especially on the third day, when I was caught with 300 metres to go."

At the end of stage three, Gil had attacked on the Arlbergpass with 9 km to go and rode an impressive solo down to the ski resort St. Anton. Jan Ullrich himself closed the gap for a bunch sprint, won by Bradley McGee. After getting so close, Gil was even more disappointed as he could not make up for it on the following stages. "It's easy to say it now, but maybe I should have waited until the finale to attack," he said, analysing his racing strategy during the last, decisive stage to and from Ulrichen. "This way, I could have tried to make it to the finish with Gonzalez. But I'm still happy because I've tried everything."

Gil's next stop, before taking a mid-season break to live up to Liberty's Vuelta a España roster, will be the Spanish Championship. "Given the fact that some riders will be absent [i.e., Alejandro Valverde - ed.] and that it's a difficult course, I want to take advantage of my current form and try to win," Gil continued. "The truth is that I've always like this race, it just has never liked me."

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After the Tour de Suisse, Gil also had a word on the impressive overall winner González, Tour de France contender Ullrich and unlucky runner-up Rogers. "Aitor González was really, really good. Ullrich was dong OK, but not super. This race suited him very well with regular climbs not made for pure climbers. In any case, he still has enough time for the Tour de France. I also liked seeing Michael Rogers doing so well, he showed that he is gaining experience."