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Kloden Wins Time Trial, Takes Romandy Tour Lead
By Gerald Churchill
May 2, 2008 - 6:34:25 PM
Andreas Kloden (Astana) has taken the lead in the Tour of Romandy. The German veteran powered over the 18.8-km course in Sion to win in 25:32. Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) finished second at 0:06, and Stef Clement (Bouygues Telecom) took third at 0:20.
Tony Martin (High Road) set the early standard with a 25:53. He remained in the lead for an hour and a half until Clement bettered Martin's time by 0:01. Many riders tried to take the lead from Clement until Kloden posted what would be the winning time. Kloden nearly crashed in the last 200 m when he went into a turn too fast, but the Astana man stayed rubber side down by leaning into the advertising billboards. Defending champion Dekker started slowly but limited his losses to 0:06.
In the overall, Kloden leads Dekker by 0:05 and Roman Kreuzinger (Liquigas) by 0:35. Stage 4 will be decisive. The 127-km ride from Sion to Zinal will feature four Category 1 climbs. With two riders each in the top 10, the stage figures to be a showdown between Astana, which has race leader Kloden and fourth placer Vladimir Gusev, and Rabobank, which has Dekker and seventh placer Denis Menchov. Who will prevail? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out!
