Not enough water for Gerolsteiner's Wegmann

One would expect that a rider sponsored by a bottled water company wouldn't have to worry about not having enough to drink, but that was exactly the problem that Gerolsteiner's Fabian Wegmann faced in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

His water bottle popped out as he crossed a railroad track shortly before the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons, which appeared in the race this year for the first time. The railroad crossing "was so bumpy that my water bottle flew right out of its holder," he noted on his website, fabianwegmann.de. There was no chance of getting a new one, "because of the narrow roads and the lack of distance between the small groups, none of our cars could get up to the front to give me a new one."

So the Gerolsteiner rider had to, ironically, ride the last 20 kilometres thirsty. "None of the others in my group could help me out, since they didn't have much left in their bottles and had the same supply problem I did." As if that wasn't enough, he came down with cramps on the Côte de Saint-Nicolas, "and then the 'fun' was over."

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He grit his teeth and kept on going, finishing the race 22nd. "I'll just say, I wasn't entirely happy and satisfied after the race, but I wasn't dissatisfied, either."

Next on his calendar are Rund um den Henninger Turm, the Bayern Rundfahrt and the Dauphiné Libéré. "Of course I am not satisfied with just one season victory, and will try in these races to add another. Maybe it will happen soon, since my form is still quite good, as I showed on Sunday." (SW)