BAD SAECKINGEN, Germany -- Jens Voigt of Germany shook off
rival Levi Leipheimer on Tuesday to win the seventh stage of the
Tour of Germany and close in on the overall title.
Voigt's second straight stage victory increased his overall lead
over the American defending champion to 1 minute, 38 seconds
heading into Wednesday's final stage.
Voigt, who rides for Team CSC, led the Gerolsteiner rider by 23
seconds to start the day, then trounced the field in finishing the
23.7-mile time trial in 45:03. He finished 1:03 ahead of
second-place Lazlo Bodrogi, with Sebastian Lang another second
back. Leipheimer was fifth, 1:15 behind.
The flat, final stage is 107 miles long. Like the last day of
the Tour de France, teams usually don't try to overtake the leader
during the race's final stage.
Voigt was a surprise winner in the sixth stage, which went
through the Alps and favored climbers like Leipheimer. But the
German caught and passed Leipheimer in a tunnel near the finish
line.