Interview with Ullrich's hard men: Vino and Klödi

www.cyclingnews.com | The point men

CyclingNews.com sat down with Andreas Klöden and Alexandre Vinokourov to talk about the 2005 Tour and the T-Mobile team. Klöden was 2nd in the 2004 Tour, while Vinokourov was 3rd in 2003.

One interesting tidbit is that neither rider has pre-ridden (or even scouted) any of this year's mountain stages:

CN to AV & AK: Have either of you spent time in the French Alps or Pyrenées, reconnoitering the important mountain stages? If not, will you do so?

AK: No, I haven't. For me, it doesn't play a role which mountains we have to pass. To climb faster than the others, that will finally decide if you are good or not. It doesn't help you to know the next curve.

AV: I haven't been there, most of the mountains we race, we have done in the past.

That means they'll have to rely on the parcours and their race directors for tactical advice.