Richard Pestes of PezCycling News published an article about his experience riding the Time Trial course at the Tour of Germany (DeutscheTour) through a program called Giant Tour. Giant Bicycles apparently has a huge presence in Germany, in part because it is the bicycle sponsor of the T-Mobile Professional Cycling Team. Pestes said:
The coolest part of the Giant Tour is that regular Joe�s can sign up to ride a stage race, on closed roads � the same routes used by the DeutschTour – with police escorts, electronic timing, hot showers, hot food, roadside fans, and the feel of what it�s like to be a real pro racer. The stages run on the second half of each day�s DeutschTour route, and if you�re too slow � there�s a broom wagon to sweep you up.
Media covering the DeutscheTour who were up for a challenge got to ride team-issue bikes. Pestes’ was the same Time Trial bike as the T-Mobile team raced in the 2004 Tour de France.
Check out the article. It has a lot of good photos of the bike he rode. I’m jealous.