Marcus Burghardt (T-Mobile) was in the 17-man break that formed early on the hilly 191km stage. The decisive move was made when Clemence Lhotellerie (Skil-Shimano) attacked the escape on the first of two trips up the Lochenpass climb (892 m) on the finishing loop in the Swabish Alps. The Frenchman got a gap and Burghardt, Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner), Harald Totschnig (Elk Haus), Simon Clarke (South-Australia.com) and Björn Schröder (Milram) went in chase.

Burghardt bridged across to Lhotellerie on the second time up the steep Lochenpass and the duo stayed clear to the end - with the in-form Burghardt strongest in the two-up sprint. Schröder placed third six seconds later, edging out Clarke and Totschnig.

T-Mobile's Gerlad Ciolek won the opening stage and his teammate Marcus Burgahardt won two stages during the 3 Ländertour: "We achieved everything we came here to achieve. The team fought very hard and despite the handicap of being a man short, the five riders posted some very respectable results. It's been a fun week," said T-Mobile sports director Schaffrath after the final stage.

The overall victory of Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) was never in danger. The Rabobank team made good use of the early breakaway group. There were no dangerous rivals of Dekker represented in that lead group. Hence, the Rabobank squad monitored the breakaway from a distance. Jens Voigt (CSC) accepted his overall second place and did not attempt to spring a surprise on Dekker. Dekker's teammate Michael Boogerd protected his third place.

"It is a nice result in a nice tour," smiled Rabobank sports director Erik Dekker after the race. "We are very satisfied with this, but it is also important to note that Dekker and Boogerd are in good condition with a view to the World Championship. The guys practiced hard here and they have been able to seriously test themselves a couple of time. It was not a World Cup competition here. That is also something we must take into account, but you still have to do it." Jens Voigt is indeed a very serious competitor and the German will definitely also strive for a maximum result on his home soil.

In a man-to-man battle on Saturday, Dekker already showed that he was the strongest of the two and Voigt simply accepted that difference in strength on Sunday. Dekker, by the way, was not bothered anymore by his hip, which had still plagued him during the time trial on Saturday. "Fortunately, that pain had completely disappeared. It is difficult sometimes, but it was also just for a short moment on Saturday," said the team leader on Sunday.

He, as said before, never had to really sound the alarm during the stage. After the successful creation of the lead group, Dekker put three of his man in the front ranks of the pack and therefore preserved the energy of his captains, Dekker and Boogerd. Then, the only thing left to do for the Rabo’s was to keep the escape within hand’s reach. The margin never posed a serious threat to the general classification and Voigt did not gain the extra seconds.

"It was impossible for Voigt and Schleck to do anything, because Dekker and Michael Boogerd were watching them constantly. So we decided to attack with some of our other riders. Luke did well and made the decisive break, but unfortunately he wasn't strong enough to keep up, when the group was split," said Team CSC sports director Scott Sunderland.