Cycling News

By Simon Gerrans

Today was a bit of a rest day for me as in total I was on my bike for just over 2 hours compared to the 5+ hours of riding in the road stages. For me there is no point in going 100% in the time trials as I am not riding GC and the discipline is not a specially of mine. It is a lot smarter to reserve my energy and ride within myself. In saying that, it is still an effort as you must finish within the time limit. The crowds today were pretty loud and were nearly lining the whole route. I spotted a number of groups of Aussies with their flags, blow up kangaroos and green and gold rugby tops. In the four years that I've ridden the Tour, the Australian presence on the side of the road has increased each year. It's always amusing to see the Aussie's because they are always camped on the left hand side of the road. It's great to have their support. It was a bit of a shock win by Schumacher today however I think it's great as he took the yellow jersey and as his team Gerolsteiner are currently looking for a sponsor they need all the publicity they can get. This will play into our hands tomorrow as Gerolsteiner will be eager to defend the jersey so no doubt they will do their best to keep the bunch together. I've had a bit more time today to do things like check emails and put my footy tips in for next weekend. It was nice to see all the messages of support...so thanks to everyone for all your good wishes. Happy birthday Dad.