Ullrich Suffers in Romandie

German cyclist Jan Ullrich started off disappointing in the Tour of Romandie. After injuring his knee earlier this spring, the German competed for the first time this season in Romandie. His return didn't come off well though, Ullrich having to settle with the 90th place after the first stages. Even if this week's competition is more like a practice for Il Giro, his team (T-Mobile) is very worried about future injuries that might stop the German from competing in the Tour de France.

Ullrich admitted that he is very focused and determined to fully recover from the injury, but that his body does not respond well for the moment. "I have the motivation, but not the legs. I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm confident in myself. I'm not in bad shape, and I still have lots of kilometers left to ride. I still have things to prove to myself," said the 1997 Tour de France winner.

The Tour of Romandie is now led by Italian Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery) and Alejandro Valverde of Spain (Caisse D`Epargne). They have a 2-second advantage over Australians Bradley McGee (Francaise des Jeux) and Robbie McEwen (Davitamon - Lotto).

With less than a month to go before Il Giro, the first true test for Ullrich, the T-Mobile team received good news. Andreas Kloden is expected to return by the beginning of the Tour de France, after dislocating his shoulder in a training crash about one month ago.