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Klöden wins ITT, seizes lead at Romandie
Andreas Klöden (Astana) won the stage 3 individual time trial and seized the overall lead of the Tour de Romandie on Friday.
The 18.8km course included a dozen flat kilometers, a 266-meter climb with a pitch of 12 percent, and a rapid descent to the Place de la Planta with a twisting, turning final 500 meters that almost proved the Astana man’s undoing — Klöden clipped a barrier in the finale, but kept it upright to win the stage in 25 minutes and 32 seconds.
"I went so fast that when I used my brakes, my back wheel locked," said Klöden of his near mishap. "Fortunately I was able to keep myself on the bike by hitting the publicity boarding with my shoulders."
Tony Martin (Team High Road) set the early fast time of 25:53, the only rider at that point to finish under 26 minutes. Two-time Dutch time trial champ Stef Clements (Bouygues Telecom) then knocked Martin out of the lead by a single second.
But no one could match Klöden's time, and he took the overall lead from Michael Albasini (Liquigas). who finished 1:21 down in 31st and slipped to 16th at at 1:11. Thomas Dekker (Rabobank), second on the day, moved into the runner-up position overall at five seconds back with Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) third at 35 seconds.
Asked whether he could defend the jersey, Klöden replied: "I know that tomorrow will be tough with four climbs, but I'm confident in the team's ability to control the race. With four riders in the top 11, it shows that we are in good shape and motivated to win here." —Agence France Presse contributed to this report.
Tour de Romandie: Stage 3
1. Andreas Klöden (G), 18.8km in 25:32
2. Thomas Dekker (Ned), Rabobank, 25:36
3. Stef Clement (Ned), Bouygues Telecom, 25:52
4. Tony Martin (G), Team High Road, 25:53
5. Gustav Larsson (Swi), Team CSC, 25:57
Overall
1. Andreas Klöden (G), Astana, 9:31:28
2. Thomas Dekker (Ned), Rabobank, at 0:05
3. Roman Kreuziger (Cze), Liquigas, at 0:35
4. Vladimir Gusev (Rus), Astana, at 0:38
5. Marco Pinotti (I), High Road, at 0:43
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