Vinokourov strikes again
06.08.2004/ Two stage wins in two days for T-Mobile's Alexander Vinokourov. Hot-on-the-heels of his time trial win in Muellheim on Thursday, Vinokourov won Friday's third stage of the Regio-Tour after attacking the peloton in the final kilometre. The Kazakh picks up a time bonus for the stage win and overtakes the yellow jersey from team-mate Stephan Schreck. Sebastian Siedler (Team Wiesenhof) finished second behind "Vino", with Olaf Pollack (Gerolsteiner) crossing the line in third.
The Kazakh has raced himself back into top form in the last weeks and his impressive performance on the 179 km stage from Neuenburg to Guebelwiller was another clear signal that he means business in Athens. "The pace was very fast in the closing stages, so I timed my attack carefully. With 800m to race, I went for it and managed to keep my nose ahead until the finish," said a delighted Vinokourov.
The Kazakh is the new race leader; he holds an eight second lead on team-mate Stephan Schreck and 21 seconds on his fellow countryman Andrei Kaschetschkin (Credit Agricole). T-Mobile's Australian rider Cadel Evans currently lies fifth overall.
A satisfied directeur sportif
"Vino's decisive attack puts him in yellow, at the expense of Stephan, but we can all live with that. Stage wins are great news for the team", judged T-Mobile directeur sportif Frans van Looy.
Schreck, himself, was initially a little bit dissappointed to give up the yellow, but quickly came around to the team game plan: "The most important thing is that the jersey stays in the team. I would have liked to hold onto it, but Vino is the main man and I accept that. It was a brave attack by him. We must defend this jersey as a team over the next two days", sad the 26-year-old.
Stage 4 is a tough and hilly 168.4 km trek that will take the peloton from Emmendingen to Lahr, with two categorised climbs on the program. The five stage Regio-Tour (UCI-Category 2.3) finishes on Sunday.
Source: www.t-mobileteam.com
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