Even past the feared Muur van Geraardsbergen there were still a handful of riders in the front group: favorites Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic) and Peter Van Petegem (Davitamon-Lotto), Erik Zabel and Andreas Klier (T-Mobile), Roberto Petito (Fassa Bortolo), and Alessandro Ballan (Lampre).
The 2003 team was headed by Pavel Tonkov, who finished in 5th place in the same race in the previous year for Lampre-Daikin.
He finished the 2006 UCI ProTour in 38th place with 69 points, the third highest ranked Lampre-Fondital rider behind Alessandro Ballan and Damiano Cunego.
He rode for Lampre in the 2006 Tour de France and came in second in Stage 14.