Ullrich hot on Gil's heels

The Spaniard was hoping to take advantage of his climbing skills yesterday to give himself a larger cushion for the tile-trial, but

"Of course I wanted to put more time between myself and them [Jaksche and Ullrich] but the strong wind prevented our planned attack on the Oberalppass. Both of them are [time-trial] specialists and unfortunately the gap is very short. I haven't given up hope of victory, but it's going to be very difficult."

Gil leads by 30 seconds over Jaksche of the Wuerth team and T-Mobile's Ullrich. Two years ago, Ullrich chased down Swiss rider Fabian Jeker in the final stage in Lugano to take victory by just one second.

In truth it would be a huge surprise if Gil were able to preserve his lead, with the two Germans breathing so closely down his neck.

A victory for Ullrich would be a huge boost to his confidence before the Tour de France, which begins in two weeks. Despite starting 3 kilograms overweight, he remains the favourite for overall victory, and will enjoy huge support in his adopted home country.