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Horner takes tough stage at Swiss Tour
With a veteran’s tactics and the heart of a rookie, American underdog Chris Horner (Saunier Duval – Prodir) picked up his first major European victory Thursday, crushing the competition in the mountainous sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland.
“I’m sorry I don’t know the names,” Horner said when an Italian reporter asked about the several riders he had dropped on the final climb. “This is only my eighth - wait, my fifth - race in Europe.”
Michael Rogers of QuickStep took the yellow jersey away from T-Mobile’s Jan Ullrich, and now has a 20-second lead over the German in the general classification. But even that change in the overall couldn’t distract from the storybook ending that Horner provided.RESULTS ARE POSTED
At age 33, Horner is a case study in patient determination. For the better part of the last decade he has been one of the top stars of the U.S. scene, but Thursday’s win represents a whole new level for the man from Bend, Oregon.
“You can’t understand what this means,” Horner told VeloNews just before climbing the podium. “I could finish my career now and say ‘I won a big race over there.’”
Horner says he’s still not sure whether his team will have a place for him in the Tour de France. “It’s the first time I’ve had multiple days of hard racing,” he admitted. “I think at any moment the form could go away for a day. But I think at the moment I could have very, very good form at the Tour de France.”
The decisive moment of the stage came with nine kilometers as Horner shared a healthy lead with Italian neopro Vincenzo Nibali of Fassa Bortolo.
After having attacked at the base of the day’s final climb to the finish, the pair enjoyed a 90-second advantage over what was left of the peloton (twenty or so riders, including Rogers and Ullrich).
Looking back over his shoulder at Nibali, Horner splayed two fingers in an upside-down peace sign and then pointed them up the mountain, indicating that it was the young Italian’s turn to take the lead. Nibali didn’t respond.
“I said many things to him, some of them not so nice,” Horner later joked. “I don’t know the riders by face, and I don’t know what their abilities are…When [Nibali] attacked us, he looked very strong. When I finally caught him, he wasn’t working so much, and I thought he was holding back.
Finally Horner sat up on his saddle and swung his arm in an exaggerated “get-up-here” motion. This time Nibali rose out from his saddle and tried to get in front.
That was when Horner attacked, pulling 20 meters out in front in just a blink of an eye. Before rounding the next blind turn, he looked over his shoulder one last time to see a defeated Nibali, apparently struggling with his cleats.
For the next nine kilometers, Horner rode alone through a pine forest, unable to keep the grin off his face as fans cheered for a rider that most didn’t recognize. It had been six years since Horner’s first attempt at European professional cycling – a three-year stint (1997-'99) at La Francaise des Jeux – ended without distinction.
Horner found his legs back in the U.S., dominating the domestic scene as he resumed racing at home, first with Mercury in 2000, Prime Alliance in 2002, Saturn in 2003 and most recently, the Webcor team. Horner said he always enjoyed those victories at home - but nothing like this.
“It was all tactics,” said Horner, who began the day three-minutes behind in the general classification. “I knew my form was probably the best of the riders who were three minutes down. Unfortunately I’m not three minutes down anymore, so it will be more difficult to ride away…but today I knew that the top-10 riders weren’t going to chase me.”
Thousands of fans cheered as the American entered the final kilometer, a full circuit around a high alpine lake. 100 meters before the finish he started waving his arms in celebration.
Meanwhile Ullrich was 1 minute, 48 seconds behind. At the 4-km mark, he had let Rogers get away, and Rogers built that attack into a 34-second advantage. For the first time in four days, Ullrich will start without the leader’s jersey.
“I think he would have been behind me if he had the legs,” said Rogers later. “But I think Jan is in really good condition, and he’ll be very good in the Tour de France.”
The German stayed focused on his own rhythm, but lost 34 seconds in the process, effectively handing the lead to Rogers.
"The yellow jersey was my objective at the start," said Rogers, who is considered a future contender for the Tour’s yellow jersey. "It was a difficult stage but I just tried to stay at the front. I attacked near the end and managed to do enough to get the jersey.
"I tried to concentrate on my own race, I wasn't constantly watching Ullrich. I think if he'd had the legs to follow me today he would have done so."
Ullrich, who is using the race as a warm-up for the Tour de France (July 2-24), finished in a group over half a minute behind. And his inability to follow Rogers' group as they raced to the summit will no doubt be seized upon by anyone who is watching the German's progress as he prepares to challenge Lance Armstrong on the Tour next month.
The 25-year-old Australian said he feels like he is far more fit than last year, and will be a threat at the Tour.
“I’ve done a lot more training in the mountains compared to last year and I'm feeling good,” Rogers said. “I’m definitely in a lot better condition than I was at this time last year.”
The 158km course was one of the most difficult in the nine-day stage race, taking the peloton over two difficult climbs: the hors-categorie Oberalp Pass (at 50 km) and the 30km, Category 1 climb to the finish.
Friday’s stage offers a slightly mellower 192 kilometers from Einsiedeln to Lenk, including a pair of moderate climbs (a Category 3 and a Cat. 4), as the Tour winds its way southwest through central Switzerland.
Results- Stage 6
1. Chris Horner (USA) Saunier-Duval, 158km in 4:24:43 (35.993kph)
2. Vincenzo Nibali (I) Fassa Bortolo, at 1:12
3. Michael Rogers (Aus), Quickstep, 1:14
4. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC
5. Koldo Gil Perez (Sp), Liberty Seguros
6. Tadej Valjavec (SLO), Phonak
7. Leonardo Piepoli (I), Saunier Duval
8. Aitor Gonzalez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi
9. Fabian Jeker (Swi), Saunier Duval
10. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, 1:48
FULLRESULTS
Overall
1. Michael Rogers (Aus), QuickStep, 21:28:40
2. Jan Ullrich (G), T-Mobile, at 0:20
3. Bradley Mc Gee (Aus), Francaise des Jeux, 0:22
4. Fabian Jeker (Swi), Saunier Duval, 1:11
5. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, 1:27
6. Kris Horner (USA), Saunier Duval, 1:31
7. Aitor Gonzalez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 1:38
8. Tadej Valjavec (SLO), Phonak, 1:39
9. Koldo Gil Perez (Sp), Liberty Seguros, 1:42
10. Beat Zberg (Swi), Gerolsteiner, 1:57
FULLRESULTS
Results are posted Check back soon for a stage report from VeloNews's Nate Vinton and more photos from AFP.
