GENEVA, 17 June 2005 — American Chris Horner won the sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland from Burglen to Arosa yesterday.
The Saunier Duval rider attacked alone eight kilometers from the finish to claim his first win in Europe.
Vincenzo Nibali of Italy was second, one minute 12 seconds behind, and Australia’s Michael Rogers third at 1:14.
Rogers took over the race lead after Germany’s Jan Ullrich finished 10th in the stage, at 1:48. Ullrich is now 20 seconds adrift, with Australia’s Bradley McGee third at 22 seconds.
Today’s 182-km seventh stage from Einsiedeln to Lenk is another day in the Swiss mountains.
T-Mobile Drop Zabel for Tour de France
In Berlin, the T-Mobile cycling team have given an indication of their yellow jersey ambitions by leaving German sprinter Erik Zabel out of its 13-strong pre-selection squad for the Tour de France. The 34-year-old Zabel, a six-time winner of the Tour’s green jersey for the points classification, had hoped to snag one of the nine team places for the July 2-24 Tour. The final nine picked will be announced on June 22.
“I’m naturally disappointed. It would have been my 12th Tour de France, but I’m a professional and I accept the decision,” Zabel said on his team’s website www.t-mobile-team.com.
One of T-Mobile’s sporting directors, Mario Kummer, said: “It was a difficult decision to take but we have a strategy to follow.”
Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner of the race and a five-time runner-up, has said he is more determined than ever to beat his American archrival Lance Armstrong, who will retire after the race on July 24. The very fact that Zabel has been left out of their team is testament to T-Mobile’s challenge to Armstrong and his Discovery Channel team.
