Rogers proved too strong for his rivals against the clock

The Australian started the time trial some way off the pace of leader Jose Azevedo but his stunning ride, which won him the stage, moved him into first place.

But the day's racing was marred by a massive crash involving race favourite Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano.

The ONCE rider, who had started Sunday's stage second overall, was pushing both Rogers and Azevedo for the lead when he clipped a metal barrier in the latter stages.

He suffered cuts and bruises and was holding his shoulder after the incident.

Rogers clocked a best time of 51 minutes 36.21 seconds to move into the lead on the penultimate day.

Jan Ullrich finished the stage in second place but was more than a minute off Rogers' superb time.

Rogers is now 1m 19s clear of Azevedo in the overall standings.

"I'm over the moon," said Rogers. "To be honest I was looking for second or third place overall. I feel sorry for Igor. He's a great guy."

Ullrich's second place left him fifth overall.

And the German said: "I'm very satisfied. There's still time left before the Tour and it's looking pretty good."

In the Euskal Bizikleta race in Spain, Jose Antonio Pecharroman held off Joseba Beloki for victory despite a spirited late challenge from the ONCE rider.

Pecharroman won by just over a minute from Beloki, while Francesco Casagrande was third.

Tour of Germany stage six results

1. Michael Rogers (Aus) 51 minutes 36.21 seconds
2. Jan Ullrich (Ger) 1min 10secs behind
3. Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) 1min 13secs behind
4. Michael Rich (Ger) 1min 25secs behind
5. Uwe Peschel (Ger) 1min 26secs behind
6. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) 1min 57secs behind
7. Jose Azevedo (Por) 2mins 1sec behind
8. Joerg Jaksche (Ger) 2mins 1sec behind
9. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) 2mins 7secs behind
10. Geoffrey Demeyre (Bel) 2mins 12secs behind

Leading overall standings:

1. Rogers 24 hours 50 minutes 41 seconds
2. Azevedo 1:19 behind
3. Vinokourov 1:52 behind
4. Jaksche 1:54 behind
5. Ullrich 2:01 behind
6. Isidro Nozal Vega (Spa) ONCE 2:18 behind
7. Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) 2:33 behind
8. Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) 2:52 behind
9. Cancellara 2:53 behind
10. Demeyre 3:12 behind

Euskal Bizikleta stage five results:

1. Joseba Beloki (Spa) four hours 6 minutes 49 seconds
2. Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) same time
3. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) st
4. Jose Antonio Pecharroman (Spa) 4 seconds behind
5. Roberto Laiseka (Spa) 25secs behind
6. Aitor Kintana (Spa) 27 seconds behind
7. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) st
8. Nacor Burgos (Spa) 1min 3secs behind
9. Giuseppi Guerini (Ita) st
10. Ruben Lobato (Spa) st

Leading overall standings:

1. Jose Antonio Pecharroman (Spa) 19 hours 6 minutes 56 seconds
2. Joseba Beloki (Spa) ONCE one minute 1 second behind
3. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) 1:22 behind
4. Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) 1:23 behind
5. Roberto Laiseka (Spa) 2:31 behind
6. Aitor Kintana (Spa) 2:35 behind
7. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) 2:53 behind
8. Giuseppi Guerini (Ita) 3:41 behind
9. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) 3:47 behind
10. Gustavo Otero (Spa) 3:59 behind