2006 Deutschland Tour
The Germany tour took place in 2006 to 9 August 2006 of 1. The start of the eighth staging of the tour since their reintroduction took place for the first time with a prologue - held in Dusseldorf. After eight stages, the goal in Karlsruhe has been reached. The route with a planned total length of 1390.5 kilometers consisted of two flat individual time trial ( including the prologue ), two mountain top finishes to Seefeld and St. Anton, and four shallow and moderate stage in the resin. By shortening the fifth stage, with the non- crossing of the Kühtaisattels, the total distance of the itinerary was reduced to 1361.4 km. However, the number of summit finishes did not change by maintaining the destination Seefeld the fifth stage.
Despite the negative headlines in advance of the tour the audience interest was very high both at the roadside and on TV.
Course
Prologue
The 5.5 km long kick off the tour was coined due to the unsettled weather with heavy rain and strong winds from several falls. Geheimfavorit Stefan Schumacher lost in such a fall with resulting defect in the chain and front tire 1:28 minutes on the day's winner Vladimir Gusev, the Linus Gerdemann and the German time trial champion Sebastian Lang was able to prevail on Team Gerolsteiner just ahead of T -Mobile - coming talent.
For a long time the German champion of last year Gerald Ciolek had held the fastest time. He had already gone in second on the course and found, in contrast to most of its competitors still good track conditions.
Stage 1
As on the day before the prologue, the race was dominated by the poor weather conditions. Still in the first hour of the race to put a top two, Antton Luengo and Andreas Matzbacher, from. Your maximum lead was just over six minutes. They were caught 23 kilometers from the finish by the peloton.
On the last climb of the day in Steinhagen, 6.5 km from the finish, some drivers forced the pace significantly. Stefan Schumacher, who Unlucky of the prologue, the summit reached by a small margin, but he could not defend to the finish. Then it tried his teammate Sebastian Lang, but was thwarted by a camera motorcycle. In the final sprint won Assan Basayev from Team Astana Danilo Napolitano and Erik Zabel.
Success in the sprint was first ProTour victory Basajews. Vladimir Gusev was able to expand in one of the intermediate sprints to a second on his nearest rival his overall lead thanks to a time bonus.
Stage 2
After several unsuccessful breakaways at the beginning started in racing kilometer 23 of the German Ronny Scholz, was not followed by the other driver, a solo flight. Its maximum projection was interim at 6:45 minutes, at the foot of this resin was melted on for about 2:30 min. After 107 kilometers solo journey brought him the box.
At the culmination of the first mountain stage in Bad Grund is an eight -man lead group found with prominent names like Jens Voigt and Stefan Schumacher. However, their lead of no more than 0:24 minutes was used up already in shortly thereafter following second increase after Bock meadow.
There is a new top group with Voigt, Davide Rebellin and Andrei Kaschetschkin formed. They defended their lead on the descent to Goslar and reached the finish line together. In the final sprint Voigt won ahead of Rebellin, who easily slipped away in the last corner to the rear wheel, and Kaschetschkin that the winner could also afford no more resistance. The field was followed by four seconds behind with Erik Zabel and Kim Kirchen on the other places.
Stage 3
After a troubled start-up phase, Marco Pinotti took off in racing kilometer 30 from the field, the maximum projection was about 9 minutes. Shortly before the merger with the main field about 30 kilometers from the finish in Schweinfurt attacked out several drivers from selbigem, but without success. Even after that it remained restless in the closed main field. The teams of the sprinters held the field but together to the finish line. There, Gerald Ciolek secured his first victory in the UCI ProTour before Erik Zabel and André Greipel, the German completed the triple victory.
Zabel secured the red points jersey. On the yellow jersey of the overall leader be residue was through time credits, which he had brought in the final sprint and at the intermediate sprints on the track, only a few hundredths of a second.
On the eve of the stage, a 37 -year-old policeman from the motorcycle squad died when backing up the track when he was hit by a falling trucks.
Stage 4
As on the previous days sat right at the beginning from a duo from the field. Björn Schröder and Charles Wegelius. After the two had rapidly expanded their lead to 7 minutes, the field began to tighten up the pace rapidly and halved the lead within 15 kilometers. Schröder Then broke the breakaway while Wegelius his escape continued alone, but was caught a short time later by the peloton.
After that formed at kilometer 90, a new leading group, which consisted of three riders. Marcel Sieberg, Sébastien Minard and Markel Irizar went out a maximum lead of about 2:55 minutes. There, the team Milram dictated, in total team strength at the top of the field driving the pace. When about 6.5 km were still to go, Sieberg attacked in the break and put an escape away alone. However, both the projection of Sieberg and that of the pursuer duo was not enough and the flight ended four kilometers from the finish.
On the demanding last 1.5 kilometers, on which the driver had to overcome a height difference of 50 meters, Jens Voigt was up to a few hundred meters before the finish line in the lead. However, Graeme Brown won ahead of Stefan Schumacher and Erik Zabel, who secured the yellow jersey of the overall leader.
In the column of material car there was a rear-end collision in Geretsried, about 180 kilometers after the start, between the carriage of T -Mobile and the neutral material vehicle. In this collision, the Italian sprinter Danilo Napolitano was involved.
Stage 5
Before the start of the stage, there was a protest of the driver because it was snowing on the Tyrolean Kühtai at temperatures around freezing and raining. The Tour organization relented and then changed the course of the stage: Instead of going over the Kühtai, the drivers continued their journey continues through the Inn Valley. Thus, shortened the former " Queen Stage " of about 30 kilometers.
Despite the bad weather the race pace was very high from the beginning. So could a 20 - and a 17- man lead group not settle decisively and were asked quickly. On the tricky descent from Achensee to the Inn valley, the peloton split into two parts.
In the valley at race mile 83 was formed from the first field out a six -man lead group with László Bodrogi, Christian Knees, Sébastien Rosseler, Jan Boven, Robert Retschke and Paolo Fornaciari. But never your advantage grew about three minutes. When the boss had fallen under a minute tried Rosseler on your own, while the rest of the group fell back into the main draw. However, horses moth flight ended at the start of the final climb to Seefeld.
The increase is a ten -man lead group with last year's winner Levi Leipheimer, Jens Voigt, Vladimir Gusev, Leonardo Piepoli and Andrei Kaschetschkin formed. Kaschetschkin, Leipheimer and Piepoli managed to break just before the mountains classification of the remaining drivers. They crossed together the mountain classification, while Voigt followed nine seconds behind. After the mountains classification, which followed a three-kilometer long flat piece, Leipheimer attacked out of the top group and winning ahead of Kaschetschkin and Marzio Bruseghin who had found on the flat piece back connection.
Voigt, who reached the target with three seconds behind, took over the yellow jersey of the leader in the overall standings. Kaschetschkin took over the mountain jersey by Stefan Schumacher.
Stage 6
Right at the beginning of the "new " queen stage there was again some breakaways. On the descent of Seefeld from Leutaschtal, ten kilometers after the start, Erik Zabel, Sebastian Lang and Mathew Hayman came off the field. A little later collided with Sébastien Rosseler add a fourth driver. The quartet continued to rise beginning of Hahntennjoch out a lead of 11:25 minutes.
There Rosseler and Hayman could not follow the pace of the two Germans and fell back. In the main field, the team Astana made the pace, frequently using single driver tried in vain to loosen. The peloton minimized to an about 20 riders strong group with all the favorites for overall victory. However, Alexander Vinokourov, Linus Gerdemann and Patrik Sinkewitz were not among this group that crossed the summit 8:08 minutes behind the leading duo.
On the way to the final climb of the projection of the leading duo shrank dramatically. Shortly after the two St. Anton had happened and drove into the final climb to the Arlberg pass, caught up the field where Vinokourov significantly increased the pace. Then the team Gerolsteiner took the lead in the group. Shortly thereafter, the Team CSC in the form of Iñigo Cuesta for his captain Jens Voigt. When the group was about twelve riders still strong, Levi Leipheimer attacked. He was followed by only Voigt, Andrei and Yevgeny Petrov Kaschetschkin. Two kilometers before the finish tore a gap between the duo Leipheimer - Kaschetschkin and the duo Voigt Petrov. In a tunnel Kaschetschkin attacked unsuccessfully, while Voigt was able to catch up again with his opponent. In the final sprint of the quartet won Voigt, the Sprint no one could follow. Behind him followed Leipheimer and within easy distance Kaschetschkin and Petrov.
With his second success Voigt extended his lead in the overall standings of the new Total Second Leipheimer. Long took over in spite of equality with Kaschetschkin the mountain jersey, because he had crossed the Hahntennjoch one category higher mountain than Kaschetschkin first.
Stage 7
The 38.2 km long individual time trial around Bad Säckingen became a triumphal ride for the overall leader Jens Voigt.
The first reference time sat Marco Pinotti with 47:06 minutes. However, his time was not sufficient to secure the victory. László Bodrogi, the Hungarian national time trial champion, sat with 46:06 minutes one, even for the favorites, serious time.
Then followed favorites for the overall victory. However, the voltage in the battle for the yellow jersey vanished already at the first split as Voigt 's fastest time submitted and Levi Leipheimer distanced by 19 seconds. On the following measurement points he extended his lead continuously. At the finish he was undercutting the previous best time of Bodrogi, the stage was second at 1:03 minutes. Leipheimer lost a total of 1:14 minutes on Voigt and was fifth stage, but remained second in the rating by the yellow jersey. At the positions 3 and 4 in the daily standings followed Sebastian Lang, from a vehicle of the Tour organization felt on the track Disabled, and Alexander Vinokourov, whose shape in terms of the Vuelta a España, as showed on the previous day, upwards.
Andrei Kaschetschkin improved in the overall standings from fifth to third place. In the battle for the Red jersey Voigt shortened by his third stage win of the residue on Erik Zabel. Stefan Schumacher moved up in the junior standings to second place behind Vladimir Gusev, while the team again took the lead in the Gerolsteiner team score.
Stage 8
On the last part of the day sat down after several unsuccessful breakaways at kilometer 25, the trio Pascal Hungerbühler Lloyd Mondory and Mads Kaggestad, who was the initiator of the flight, from. They drove about 130 miles long with a maximum of about 6 minutes lead at the top. Shortly before the first target passage in Karlsruhe, the peloton finished the flight of the three drivers.
From then on the pace by the teams of the sprinters was very highly maintained, so that breakaways were hardly possible. In the final sprint Graeme Brown secured just his second stage win. The runners followed Erik Zabel and Danilo Napolitano.
Jens Voigt easily retained the overall lead and secured the 50th professional win of his career. Also in the battle for the sprint there was no change, Zabel secured the jersey for the sixth time in total. With Sebastian Lang, another German won the vote jersey for the best climber. The junior competition was won by Vladimir Gusev sovereign and the Gerolsteiner team triumphed in the team standings.
Stages
* Shortened to 163 km due to freezing temperatures, snow and rain on the Kühtai
Jerseys in the itinerary
The table shows the support of the respective jerseys during each stage or the leaders of the respective Ranking in the evening of the previous day.