Mitchell and Moninger go head-to-head

Levi Leipheimer, one of America's Tour de France heroes and a resident of Santa Rosa, will play an unusual role commentating at the 2005 Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic Supercuts Road Circuit Race that takes place this Saturday, September 10, in Sonoma, CA.

Leipheimer will be calling the action in the predicted struggle between defending champ Glen Mitchell (Kodak Gallery - Sierra Nevada) and the in-form Scott Moninger (Health Net/Maxxis), winner of six stage races this year alone, including the Cascade Classic and Tour de 'Toona, and currently #1 in the National Racing Calendar (NRC) standings.

Mitchell, from Santa Rosa, who finished fifth in last weekend's San Francisco Grand Prix, had this to say about Cougar Mountain's Road course: "Racing on Infineon Raceway was one of the toughest days of last season, so whoever wins on Saturday is going to have to earn it. I know I'm on form after taking fifth last weekend in San Francisco, and my Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada teammates are all riding well also."

"What makes the Cougar Mountain Classic such a unique event is that it's one of only two road race events on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) hosted at a motor speedway venue," said Kendra Wenzel, Road Race Director for Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic. "This makes for safe and fast racing and gives spectators the opportunity to watch riders multiple times, which is a great opportunity to see in close detail how the tactical battle is played out."

Road cyclists will have an opportunity to test their legs against top rivals on Infineon Raceway's 2.52-mile, 12-turn, smoothly paved racecourse. The raceway, used by top motor sports series such as NASCAR and the IRL, has a steep climb with a gradient between Turn 1 and Turn 2 varying from 9-percent at the exit of Turn 1 to 15-percent up the hill to 7-percent at Turn 2, and plenty of twisting and turning conducive for attacks and breakaways.