Top 10 at stage 2 of Tour de Suisse (36 km TT):

1) Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 44'06"
2) Bradley McGee (Aus) Française Des Jeux +14"
3) Michael Rogers (Aus) Quick Step +17"
4) Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo +39"
5) Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze +40"
6) Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Team CSC +46"
7) Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC +58"
8) Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC +1'02"
9) Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo +1'08"
10) Patrick Sinkewitz (Ger) Quick Step +1'09"

yeah - gotta hand it to him - that's an solid win over a very impressive field. Ah the tension builds to the Tour prologue/TT ... could be a good year. Clearly Vino is also going well so there's potential to keep Disco on it's toe's.

In any case, I'd rather a race than a cakewalk like last year. Voekler was the only interesting bit ....

rmur

That has to concern Lance, although Ullrich winning a time trial this close to the tour is no surprise. I think getting his weight down early is the key. Seeing him win a mountain finish would be more impressive.

Looks to be a great Tour with T-mobile and CSC looking strong. I'm curious as to how these two teams tactics play out. Vino does not sound like a team player. I can see him attacking his own boss.

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The true Master does not wish to lead,
Nor does he wish to follow.
He only wishes to place himself
Where he is needed most.

7 out of the 8 CSC riders finished in top 25 at the 36 km Tour de Suisse TT. Not too bad taking up more than 1/4 of the spots in top 25.

As Francois alluded to, it is unclear if T-mobile will put all their eggs in the Ullrich basket. As such, Jan is only boss on paper, but the team could easily switch over to Vino or Kloden if either prove to be stronger than Jan.

Personally, I would like to see Ullrich win. The man is an incredible rider and had the misfortune of

a. Not putting on a rain jacket chasing Pantani down the mountain, freezing and then losing the tour (mainly his own fault, but if any of you know how hot you feel after a 20K climb, you'd understand how he could make this decision in the heat of the race)

b. Being at his peak at the same time as Armstrong.

When Jan the domestique beat his team leader Bjarne Riis back in 1997, it sounded like the kid was on his way to several TdF victories. It would be nice for him to be back on top, although I would be equally happy with Lance winning a 7th.

I point to the Olympics and say no way. Vino is all for Ullrich until he falters.

Why do you think otherwise, history has shown him to be a faithful teammate.

-SD

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https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era

Vino actually said that Jan was the leader and that the way he races may suit Jan well...he said he would attack whenever possible, because it's his style and then Jan will watch what others are doing.
But vino will not attack jan.

I would love for Jan to win but I think his downfall will be the mountains. He is as good as LA in the TT (and may even be better), but don't think he can outbike LA in the mountains. We shall see. It will definitely be a painfest (one which I will be watching from the comfort of my lazyboy with a bag of Cheetos in my hand) ;)

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Adrian in Vancouver

I'd agree with that. At least this time everyone is uninjured and showing good form. Should be a classic this time.

I hope Ullrich is at his best in July. We still need to see him climb the high Swiss mountains, if he does OK in the mountains...GAME ON!

Dave in VA