Hanover, in July 2006. Will the 2006 Tour de France winner cross the finishing line, the 'ligne d'arrivée', on Sunday in Paris on racing tyres made by Continental? Nothing is impossible with what is probably the last major test still left in this highly surprising tour of France. On Wednesday it still looked as though Floyd Landis - the American captain of the Swiss Phonak team competing on Continental tyres that are hand-made in Korbach - would be the prime contender to succeed his famous compatriot Lance Armstrong. The cards were however then reshuffled quite thoroughly during the King of the Mountains stage over the two giants 'Galibier' and 'Croix de fer'. Landis lost ground, but Continental is once again among the leaders in the shape of Andreas Klöden, riding for T-Mobile. His magenta team is also relying on Continental tyres and Klöden, who is just two and a half minutes behind as overall third, has an excellent chance of pushing further into the lead.

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This is mainly because of the event on Saturday, when the 'coureurs' as the French call the cyclists, go into solo combat against the clock on the 57 kilometres from Le Creusot to Montceau-Les-Mines. This timed riding aptly referred to by the Tour organisers as 'contre la montre' - against the clock - will undoubtedly determine the new cycle racing hero, even if he should only have a lead of a single second. Because on the last stage on Sunday in the vibrant centre of the French capital, it is a strict code of honour that no further attacks are made. This stage is traditionally the 'tour d'honneur', the lap of honour.

The relevance of this second and final individual time-trial in the 93rd Tour de France is so much greater, because it is held one day before the ultimate stage and because the leaders are so tightly packed that predicting who is going to be the next 'Tourminator' is like playing the lottery. Klöden is however someone who has perfected the art of solo combat against the clock and conquering his 'weaker self'. After a long injury period (scaphoid bone fracture, AC joint fracture), he has now got back into fantastic shape in the Tour and wants to beat his 2004 results. On that occasion he came in a sensational second after serial winner Armstrong. Brimming with self-confidence, he announced early this week: "I want to go for the championship and I know I can do it."

The 31-year-old also has the best prospects for doing this, because he has first-class equipment available to him, namely the Continental racing tyres, which have been specifically made for time-trials. Continental's 'ProTour Guide' is also an absolute essential for the 'men with the golden hands', i.e. the mechanics who equip their riders with the right tyres. Professional cyclists are highly-strung athletes, who pay meticulous attention to every detail in the preparation, no matter how minute it might seem. And they have full confidence in their mechanics, because they are the ones who know what has to be done, which tyre is right for which conditions.

This is where Continental draws on its long experience and provides specific tyres for time-trials in good conditions and others for trials where the road surface is poor. Before the race against the clock, the track is checked repeatedly by so-called spies. The same will happen again on Saturday just before the start, and then the 'masters of the racing machines' will know what needs to be done. If the conditions are good, then Continental 'Pro Limited Podium' (27 / 19 or 27 / 22) will be fitted. If however poor road or weather conditions prevail, the ProTour Guide will advise the team assistants which tyres to fit, namely Competition Allround (19 mm on the front / 22 mm on the rear). No matter how things look on Saturday, if Andreas Klöden is to fulfil his greatest sporting dream, one thing he can be sure of - he could not be better prepared or have better tyres to ride on.

Continental's bicycle tyre business unit is based in Korbach, Hesse, and has an extensive range of touring, trekking, mountain bike and racing tyres. In addition to tyres offering high mileage performance, low rolling resistance and comfort, Continental also manufactures studded winter tyres for bicycles. Continental racing tyres are used by leading teams in many cycling events such as the Tour de France and the Olympic Games. Continental is the only manufacturer of bicycle tyres to produce in Germany.

The Continental Corporation is a leading supplier of tyres, brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers. In 2005 the corporation realised sales of EUR13.8 billion. At present it has a worldwide workforce of approximately 80,600

The tyre business unit is an Official Partner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany^TM and an Official Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008^TM. For further information visit the websites www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.ContiFanWorld.com and www.conti-online.com.