Jan Ullrich must be getting sick and tired of playing second fiddle to these American cyclists. First he was bested by Lance Armstrong, again, in the 2005 Tour de France. Now he's been passed in his homecourt Tour of Germany by Levi Leipheimer, left, riding for Gerolsteiner.
Ullrich, the German cyclist who finished third in this year's Tour de France, had said he wanted to win his home country's nine-day bicycle race, which started Monday. He told the BBC:
“For me, it's not a build-up race for the Tour de France any more, so I can give it my best shot.”
Leipheimer, who finished sixth in this year's Tour de France, passed Ullrich on the steep slopes of Austria's Rettenbachferner. Leipheimer's teammate, Georg Totschnig, finished second; Ullrich third. The three lead the overall classification in the same spots, according to Tour of Germany results at CyclingNews.
Leipheimer, 31, has cycled for the US Postal Service team, finishing third in the Vuelta d'Espana in 2001. He finished 8th in the 2002 Tour de France and 9th in 2004.
He lives in Santa Rosa, California, according to USA Cycling records.
You might remember Leipheimer from those Specialized bicycle commercials during the Tour de France (he rides the Specialized Tarmac SL). Leipheimer was the rider that never had time to be interviewed. The Leipheimer commercials are available on the Specialized website.
Aug.22: Leipheimer survives time trial; retains lead in Tour of Germany;
Aug. 23: Leipheimer wins Tour of Germany.
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