TNT Sports
Voigt: Easy come, easy go
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Published 10/07/2005 at 20:50 GMT+1
Jens Voigt took the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey from six-times champion Lance Armstrong on Sunday but the German knows he will probably have to hand it on soon. "I'm not made for the high mountains and I'm now expecting other riders to take over from me," he said after Stage 9
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The CSC rider finished third in the 171-km ninth stage to open up a lead of two minutes and 18 seconds over the Texan who slipped to the third in the overall standings.
"I knew that today was the last opportunity for me to take the jersey," a beaming Voigt said.
"For the last few days, I had repeatedly told my team manager (Bjarne Riis) that I was feeling pretty good. I wanted to set up a breakaway but he kept holding me off.
"Eventually, he gave me the green light today and told me to do whatever I wanted."
Voigt, a solid and efficient rider if not a great climber, was the first to start chasing Denmark's Michael Rasmussen, who broke away in the fourth km.
Rasmussen won the stage but Voigt, helped by his former team mate Christophe Moreau of France, came home three minutes ahead of the pack.
BASSO'S TURN
Voigt's ride did not exactly fit CSC's strategy but he said it had not harmed the interests of his team leader Ivan Basso.
"During the rest of the season I can ride for myself, that's not a problem," the 33-year-old said. "But here, it's the Tour de France and we are all riding for Basso.
"We are heading for the high mountains and there are several great riders in our team to take over from me. I'm happy with the jersey but it would be okay to hand it over to one of them."
ZABRISKIE TRIBUTE
Voigt grabbed the leader's jersey on the day his colleague and former race leader David Zabriskie quit the Tour.
The American, who earned a surprise victory in the opening individual time trial crashed heavily on Tuesday and had struggled since to keep up with the peloton.
Zabriskie finished last in Saturday's eighth stage and abandoned after less than 15 km on Sunday.
"He never had time to recover after he crashed," Voigt said. "I feel sorry for him as he is my hero.
"He is a good fellow. I hope he gets better soon and that we have him back with us for the second part of the season."
Voigt has worn the yellow jersey for one day previously in his career, when he snatched a stage win in Colmar in 2001.
This time he is certain to retain it for at least two days as the Tour rests on Monday before entering the Alps with a tough finish in the ski resort of Courchevel on Tuesday.
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