If any greater upset were possible in the stage 7 time trial of the Tour de France, then anyone who witnessed today’s race of truth would have been pressed to think of one.

The 52km St. Grégoire to Rennes time trial in Brittany was decisive, mainly because of the way it seriously compromised the Tour-winning hopes of so many pre-race favorites.

No rider really emerged as a standout contender to win the first post-Lance Armstrong Tour — but there was a major a shift in the balance of power, from Discovery Channel to T-Mobile.

Take out the stage winner, Ukrainian Sergei Gontchar (T-Mobile), who at 36 is not a true overall contender, and only one minute separates second from ninth place; it's just 90 seconds to 17th.

Gontchar won the stage on a counter-clockwise course in 1:01:42, at a blistering average speed of 50.554kmh on a difficult day, to become the first Ukrainian to claim the Tour’s yellow jersey.

“I am not so young any more but I feel young inside,” said Gontchar, who was 1:01 faster than second-placed Floyd Landis (Phonak) and now leads the Tour by a minute over Landis and 1:08 on teammate Michael Rogers heading into stage 8 from St. Méen-le-Grand to Lorient.

Landis’s result was the only good news for the U.S. For his part, the American applauded Gontchar, saying: “He only beat me by a minute. But he deserves the win. He was the best today.”

A handlebar problem forced Landis to change bikes during the stage, but he rode strongly to limit the damage and said afterward that he was pleased with his ride.

"I got beat fair and square," he said. "It looks good for the rest of the race, but there's a long way to go. We'll take it one day at a time."

Behind Gontchar and Landis came German Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) and Rogers, Australia’s reigning triple world time trial champion, at 1:34.

But for the most part, post-stage comment was about the litany of disasters – especially for the American contingent and the Discovery Channel and CSC teams.

Julich out
The biggest victim among the U.S. riders was Bobby Julich (CSC), who crashed out of the Tour as he did in the 1999 Tour’s first long time trial at Metz.

Today, Julich’s spill came in the first mile of the stage on a sharp left curve out of a roundabout. He opened a flesh wound on his right wrist and was taken to hospital and, sadly, out of the Tour. His misery added to that of CSC, which has already lost Ivan Basso through the Spanish drugs investigation and is carrying an injured Stuart O’Grady.

Landis was the only American to finish top 10 Saturday. And David Zabriskie (CSC), who was 13th at 1:5, is the only other U.S. rider in the top 10 overall, sitting 10th at 2:03. But he was hardly celebrating. His time-trial result was far from satisfying, considering he was a major favorite to win it.

After an average start, the Dauphiné Libéré time-trial winner was pegged to seventh at the first time check after 16.5km. But then he failed to respond as many hoped. Instead, Zabriskie faded to 13th by the second split at 36.5km — a position he held right to the finish, clocking a time that was 1:57 slower than Gontchar’s.

"It was hard to find my rhythm, it would come and it would go, it's not easy when the road is a little bumpy,” he said later.

“I prefer a nice smooth road. There was no flat. It was a roller coaster all the way. The best thing for me is fresh blacktop, straight road with a head wind.

"I was hoping for the win, but sometimes it doesn't work. Honestly, I wish could have seen this course in advance. It was hard to get a feel for it.”

Zabriskie also spared a thought for Julich.

“I heard Bobby crashed before I started and saw the car on the side of the ride. It's a bummer," he said.

Discovery’s despair; Levi’s lament
Despair was the word at the Discovery Channel camp afterward. Only several hours earlier the U.S.-registered team was rated as the main collective power in the Tour. That power is gone due to poor results from Discovery Channel’s GC riders: George Hincapie (24th at 2:42), Yaroslav Popovych (32nd at 3:17), Paolo Savoldelli (19th at 2:12) and José Azevedo (42nd at 3:55).

"It's lucky Jan Ullrich is not here, otherwise the Tour would be over,” Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel told Reuters.

Another favorite pulling out the Kleenex at the end of the day was American Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) who placed 96th at 6:06.

“It was the worst time trial of my life,” said Leipheimer after a performance that clearly showed a lack of rhythm, speed and strength.

Gontchar, who enjoyed a spell in the leader’s maglia rosa in this year’s Giro d’Italia, was one of the last to start – heading down the ramp with only nine riders following him.

He quickly stamped his authority, clocking the fastest split at 16.5km. He held his position all the way to the finish to only extend his lead from 0:42 at 36:5km to 1:01 at 52km.

But as much as fate shined on his destiny, it cast shadows of thunder-cloud proportion over so many others.

“Everything went well and I had no problem, except for 10km from the finish when I started feeling the stress. But then I just dug in against the wind,” he said.

Asked if the outcome helped to avenge the loss of T-Mobile’s pre-Tour team leader Jan Ullrich, Gontchar replied: “We all came here prepared 100 per cent for this Tour. I am sorry for what happened to Jan but we have shown that we are still a competitive team.”

Neither did he wish to talk about what tactics his German team would employ in the days ahead, especially for when the Tour hits the Pyrenees on Wednesday.

“I just want to savor this win and the yellow jersey for now, not think of anything else,” he said.

But Gontchar did use his press conference for one thing: to set the record straight on one issue that has perplexed the media – the spelling and pronunciation of his surname. He declared that his name should be pronounced with a “G” as in Gontchar.”

The problem, he admitted, has been partly his own doing. Several years ago when Gontchar renewed his passport, it came back to him spelt with “Honchar” instead of “Gontchar.”

“It caused problems at the customs all the time. So I changed all my documentation to ‘Honchar.’ But it is pronounced ‘Gontchar.' So please call me Gontchar,” he said.

Top 10
1. Sergei Gontchar (Ukr), T-Mobile, 52km in 1:01:43
2. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, 1:02:44
3. Sebastian Lang (G), Gerolsteiner, 1:02:47
4. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, 1:03:07
5. Gustav Larsson (Swe), Française des Jeux, 1:03:17
6. Patrik Sinkewitz (G), T-Mobile, 1:03:22
7. Marcus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, 1:03:25
8. Andréas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, 1:03:26
9. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 1:03:27
10. Joost Posthuma (Nl), Rabobank, 1:03:28

Full resultsOverall standings
1. Sergei Gontchar (Ukr), T-Mobile
2. Floyd Landis (USA), Phonak, at 1:00
3. Michael Rogers (Aus), T-Mobile, at 1:08
4. Patrik Sinkewitz (G), T-Mobile, at 1:45
5. Marcus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, a 1:50
6. Andreas Klöden (G), T-Mobile, same time
7. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, at 1:52
8. Cadel Evans (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, at 1:52
9. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, at 2:00
10. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, at 2:03

Full results

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