Germany Review – Day 4
  
  Day 4 of the Germany Tour is all about the fight for the Yellow jersey. A morning time trial is likely to eliminate the climbing specialists and an afternoon mountain stages the specialist time trailers and sprinters. The man in Yellow at the end of today will be in a very strong position to take overall victory.
  
   Germany Tour trivia
  
  Stage 6: Heidelberg – Freiburg
  
  This could be an entirely flat stage, very well-suited for a mass sprint, if the riders took the route through the Rhine valley along the German-French border. Instead, the peloton takes the route through the Black Forest (Schwarzwald).
  
  Although again a scenic route is taken through scenery that is more German than many Germans can bear, most sprinters will not enjoy this stage. Some mountains of the 2nd and 1st category are in the way and most sprinters will be happy to reach Freiburg in a gruppetto.
  
  Freiburg is one of the sunniest and warmest places in Germany and not as picturesque as Heidelberg, but it seems more real and it is not half as infested by tourists.
  
  The Rhine valley is part of a still active continental rift zone stretching from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. If activity continues, Europe might physically fall apart here one day. All Dutchmen who cannot wait to have a new ocean instead of Germany on their Eastern border should consider that it will take a couple of tens of million years still – sea level rise might have solved the problem before.
  
  Stage 7: Munich ITT
  
  The riders transfer to München (Munich) for the flat and long ITT of the Germany tour.

München, 3rd largest city in Germany and capital of Bavaria, is well-known for its Oktoberfest, the Hofbräuhaus and also Bayern München, ruling German soccer team of the last three decades – much to the dismay of all the supporters of all the other teams.
  
  The time trial is taking place on a flat circular course through the city that takes the riders past most of Munich’s attractions, most notably the Frauenkirche with its twin towers.
  
  Bavaria is where the Lederhosen (leather trousers) come from that are so linked to your stereotype German – even though most Germans are not Bavarians and most Bavarians do not wear them.
  
  Munich saw an unsuccessful attempt at overthrowing the democratic government in 1923 when a bunch of ultra-conservatives, militarists and National Socialists under the lead of an unknown Austrian tried a Putsch. Unfortunately, the Austrian was not expelled from the country - with catastrophic results 10 years later.
  
  By Eli
  
   Day 4 Racing News
  
  Giovanny Enrico (CCFC) took a huge leap towards German success today with two solid, but unspectacular performances. The ageing Italian took a 7th place in the morning’s mountain stage and then an 11th in the afternoon time trial. These two performances left him in Yellow at the end of the day.
  
  The morning stage was won by Nico Holt (Ursus RT) who now lies 4th in the GC, just 40 seconds back. Having underperformed in the past, the Dutchman is having a decent Tour and must fancy his chances of a podium position. Two other riders who performed well were Yegor Astapkovich (Mypa) and Aksana Putin (Bajen Belfast) who now lie 2nd and 3rd in the GC separated from Enrico by a mere 15 seconds.
  
  CCFC also enjoyed the afternoon stage by taking 1st and 2nd in the time trial.

Czech youngster, Benjamin Zkumavka, chose the perfect time to record his first professional victory and now joins an elite list of time trailers who have taken the most important time trial race of the season, barring the World Championships.
  
  In 2nd, the indomitable Kyle Abston continued to show how much he loves this race. Not renowned as a time trialler, the Englishman just continues to impress at Germany. The second place gave him another 15 points in the Green Jersey competition and now leaves him with a 32 point gap over Broderick Rimmer. There are two sprint stages left but I don’t think anyone would bet against him now.
  
  Morning leaders, Radek Lukaszewski and Pauli Michielsen, didn't have the best of days and slipped down the rankings and out of contention.
  
  Enrico now stands on the edge of greatness. Winning here would make him the first rider to have won both Germany and Perm since the great Elias Márquez. However, there is still one large barrier between him and greatness – the King Stage tomorrow morning. This stage will be where the climbers have their last chance to shine, where time gaps will be huge and ultimately where the Tour will be won and lost.
  
  Yellow Jersey standings after Day 4
  
  1. Giovanny Enrico (CCFC) at 0’
  2. Yegor Astapkovich, (Mypa) at 13’
  3. Aksana Putin (Bajen Belfast) at 15’
  4. Nico Holt (Ursus RT) at 40’
  5. Isaak Papadimitriou (Club Ciclista Riaza) at 1,37’
  
  For the latest standings and Tour info, please click here