Optimally prepared, Continental cyclists Klöden and Valverde lock horns to emerge as ultimate winner of the Tour de France

Hanover, July 19, 2007. Three-week circuits like the Tour de France are decided either in the uphill struggle or in the race against the clock. The cyclists that place well in the tour, including the eventual final winner, were either good climbers or excelled in the long, merciless battle of “man against time”. That being the case, the first individual time trial, covering more than 54 kilometres round about Albi in the southwesternmost corner of France on Saturday, will be very crucial in this, the 94th Tour de France. So far, the Tour has not had any “patron”, that is, any dominating cyclist for whom one can say: “There’s no winning the tour without getting past him.”

Eyes will thus be on a racer doing the tour on hand-made Conti tires from Korbach, all the more so as he counts among the world's best “lone warriors”, a man very capable of pacing his personal performance in the race." Andreas Klöden. Despite having overturned early on in the Tour and thus having had to put up with and repress considerable pain for days now, the 32-year-old German from the Astana racing team has an excellent chance of ending up well ahead in this stage of the race. This is all the more likely in view of the fact that team captain Alexander Vinokourov, who, like Klöden, was also involved in a crash, has been forced to abandon any hope of victory in the tour – at the very latest since the Tour went over the Col de Galibier on the third and gruelling final day in the Alps.

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“We’ll wait and see what happens in the time trail on Saturday, after which we’ll be able to form a better picture of what's still feasible. I’m not overly concerned if a specialist like Switzerland's Fabio Cancellara ends up two minutes faster than me in the time trials; I will, however, have to nose out those who are even with me in the overall standings," noted "Klödi" on the day off in Tignes. Late into the night the Conti flat racer receives his daily laser and electrotherapy treatments “so that I somehow manage to make it over the mountains in order to be able to play my hand in the individual time trial."

The German occupies eighth place in the overall standings, 3.50 minutes behind the one in the yellow jersey, the Dane Michael Rasmussen from the Rabobank team. A member of another team competing with Conti tires – the Caisse d’Epargne – the Spaniard Alejandro Valverde has an even better chance of narrowing the gap separating him from the maillot jaune. In second place, he lags 2:35 minutes behind Rasmussen. And even if Valverde doesn’t have Andreas Klöden’s time trial results to show for himself, he still appears to have what it takes to snatch the jersey away from the mountain specialist Rasmussen.

Prior to the "Contre-la-montre individuel" Continental can draw on its long-standing experience and provide its top athletes with the best material for the respective weather conditions.  Already in the run-up to the race, therefore, spies test drive the route to get a feel for the surface quality. This will be the case again on Saturday, shortly before the start signal is given.

Assuming good road conditions, Continental “Pro Limited Podium” (27 / 19 or 27 / 22) will be mounted. In the event that benighted spirits are at work, however, the athletes’ service technicians will, in any case, have the right Conti products at the ready.  In this case, namely, the ProTour Guide instructs the team’s support team what to do – Competition Allround (19 mm in front / 22 mm in back) is called for. Regardless of how it looks on Saturday, when Andreas Klöden or Alejandro Valverde set to fighting their way to the top of the overall standings, both of them can be certain of one thing – they will have the best possible preparation and the best possible tires

The Continental Corporation is a leading automotive supplier of tyres, brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers. In 2006 the corporation posted consolidated sales of EUR14.9 billion. It currently has a worldwide workforce of around 85,000 employees.

Continental has been carrying bicycle tires since 1882 and is today Germany’s sole manufacturer of bicycle tires, which it produces in Korbach, in the German state of Hessen. In addition to hand-sewn racing tires, bicycle tires for nearly all purposes are also manufactured. With its own development team, the bicycle tire business unit sees to it that the products are consistently state-of-the-art.

Continental’s tire divisions are official sponsor of UEFA Euro 2008™, which will take place in Austria and Switzerland in June 2008. Detailed information on this is available at www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.contifanworld.com und www.conti-online.com.