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STAGE 4: SCHUMACHER'S SURPRISE WIN: "EVERYBODY DREAMS OF THIS JERSEY"
Road Bike Action and AFP
July 8, 2008
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Germany's Stefan Schumacher of the Gerolsteiner team shocked the pundits today in Cholet and grabbed the overall leader's yellow jersey after winning the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, a 29.5km time-trial. The time trial was littered with leg-burning, short climbs and fast descents with three or four roundabouts that caused the riders grief. For the last twenty riders, the win kicked-up making certain sections of the course more difficult to maneuver. The win comes at a good time for the team as sponsor Gerolsteiner recently announced they would not be continuing their sponsorship, "I want to say, there's a lot of potential on this team and I can't imagine us not being a team. I'm one of those guys who are really optimistic and a stage win and the yellow jersey is not bad for this."
When asked if his team would try and defend the jersey, Schumacher said, "Most likely for a few more days. I will be difficult, but we will fight for it." Schumacher went on to express his feelings for the yellow jersey, "Everybody dreams of this jersey. You watch the podium at the Tour a thousand times on television and now to be there for yourself, it's hard to imagine."
Schumacher who is 26-years-old, beat Team Columbia’s Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg and Garmin-Chipotle’s David Millar by 18 seconds, with Australian Cadel Evans finishing fourth, 27-seconds off the pace.
World time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland finished a disappointing 5th, 33 seconds behind Schumacher, who now leads Kirchen and Millar by 12-seconds in the overall standings after his first stage win at the Tour de France Schumacher was the winner of last year's Amstel Gold Race and in 2006 won two stages of the Giro d'Italia and wore the pink jersey in 2006.
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