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Tour de Georgia - 2.HC
USA, April 16-22, 2007
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Next Stage
Stage 1 - April 16: Peachtree City to Macon , 153km
Complete live report
12:51 EDT
Welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the 5th Tour de Georgia! We're on the
start line in Peachtree City, awaiting the gun for the start of the first stage.
The riders all arrived a bit early, and are sitting around in the sun, sipping
coffee and signing the occasional autograph.
It's a very blustery day in Georgia. A cold front is moving through the area,
and high wind warnings are up all along today's route. The riders should have
a tailwind for much of the stage, which could make for an early arrival in Macon.
13:06 EDT 1km/152km to go
Today's course is 153 kilometres or typical rolling Southern roads. The riders
head out of Peachtree City, which is just southwest of Atlanta, and then race
towards Macon to the southeast.
They're off for stage one! The riders roll out past the JC Booth middle school,
and the children cheer for a few hours off from class - and for the riders as
they speed past.
13:11 EDT
We're expecting a fast race today, since high winds will be at the riders' backs
for most of the day. At the finish line, there is a women's race, the Komen
'Cycle for the Cure' on the finishing circuit in Macon. Right now the amateur
beginner women are on the course, and at 2PM, the pro women will line up. Colavita's
Tina Pic will be there, along with the Cheerwine, Aaron's, and BMW-Bianchi teams.
13:14 EDT 5km/148km to go
Adam Bergman (Colavita) has attacked. He's got a 15" advantage on the peloton
with only 5km ridden.
13:23 EDT 13km/140km to go
Bergman is caught - the 30kph tailwind helped the chase along as the peloton
speeds past another group of school children. The speed of the race is very
high at the moment - averaging well over 50kph thanks to that tail wind.
Now we have an attack from Austin King (Jittery Joe's) - he's just in front
of the peloton, which is taking its time.
13:25 EDT 14km/139km to go
Jeffry Louder (Health Net) is now trying to bridge across to King. It will be
difficult for any breakaway to stick today, not only because of the strong winds,
but also because this is one of the few stages for the sprinters. Teams like
Predictor-Lotto and Toyota United will want to keep things together for Fred
Rodriguez and Ivan Dominguez.
13:27 EDT 15km/138km to go
Louder and King are absorbed by the bunch, as predicted. Cyclingnews
spoke with Ivan Dominguez before the start, and he's hungry for a stage win
in Macon. The 'Cuban Missile' has done the finishing circuits the last three
years, and thinks that this will give him an advantage. There are some tricky
bits in there, with hills, sharp turns and a cobbled section, so he's hoping
his knowledge will give him an edge to win.
13:35 EDT 22km/131km to go
We had several attacks, but nothing is bearing any fruit so far. It's still
very early in the race, and there are lots of fresh legs. This will certainly
change later in the week when the race heads to the mountains!
13:40 EDT 24km/129km to go
We have another attack - this time it's Gustavo Artacho (Colavita/Sutter Home)
and Garrett Peltonen (Priority Health). They open up a nice gap, and then Tommy
Nankervis (Jittery Joe's)and Elio Aggiano (Tinkoff Credit Systems) go across.
13:44 EDT 30km/123km to go
Now more riders are trying to get across to the move - Justin England (Toyota-United),
Jeffry Louder (Health Net) again, and Hubert Schwab (Quick Step) try to close
the distance to the leaders.
13:52 EDT 32km/121km to go
Well, that's it for that move. The peloton just isn't letting anything get very
far today. Plenty of riders are counting on a bunch sprint today, we spoke with
Ben Brooks, the Navigators sprinter, and he wants revenge for the second place
he suffered two years ago in Macon at the hands of Robbie Hunter.
13:57 EDT
Tour de Georgia might have been a bit dicey this year, what with the last minute
financial negotiations, but it appears to have gone off without a hitch. The
start list is pretty well stocked - with five ProTour sending teams to the USA.
We've got Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni, US TT champ and Tour de France
yellow jersey wearer Dave Zabriskie... and making his return after years spent
under the cloud of a doping suspension is Tyler Hamilton.
14:00 EDT 40km/113km to go
We've got a big breakaway at the moment - an attack from Kirk O'Bee (Health
Net) was followed by Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance), Jonathan Garcia
(BMC), Trent Wilson (Jittery Joe's), Matthew Harley Goss (Team CSC), Christophe
Brandt (Predictor-Lotto), Hubert Schwab (Quick Step), Evan Elken (Jittery Joe's).
They only have about 13 seconds, and the cooperation just doesn't appear to
be there.
14:00 EDT 41km/112km to go
The breakaway was just too big to work, and so Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance)
decided to attack the move as it was being caught, and has forged ahead on his
own.
14:02 EDT
For those of you trying to access live updates from our WAP service, don't forget
to use the link live9.cyclingnews.com/wap!
14:09 EDT 50km/103km to go
Rapinski has opened up a very big gap indeed - two minutes as he head up to
the first intermediate sprint of the day in Zebulon. His team is setting pace
on the front of the peloton behind.
14:14 EDT
The results of the first intermediate sprint are in: of course Rapinski took
first, and in the field behind, Emile Abraham (Priority Health) went across
ahead of Andrea Tonti (Quick Step). Abraham said at the start that he's looking
forward to the sprint. He said he comes around well April or May, so he's hoping
for a stage win, and will key off of the other sprinter's teams, relying on
his team to get him in a good position for the sprint. Seems to be working so
far.
14:20 EDT 58km/95km to go
The stranglehold of Navigators on the front of the peloton has been broken and
four riders have gone clear. Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff Credit Systems), Doug
Ollerenshaw (Health Net), Ben Day (Navigators Insurance), Mike Sayers (BMC)
are on their way across the gap to Rapinski.
Matt Shriver (Jittery Joe's) is chasing behind these four at about 20 seconds.
14:24 EDT
Other names of note on the start list here in Georgia are Discovery Channel's
Tom
Danielson, and George Hincapie, who is making his return to racing after
breaking a wrist in the Tour of California.
14:27 EDT
Also out there on the road is Rubens Bertogliati, the winner of a stage in the
2002 Tour de France, riding for Saunier Duval, and his team-mate, David Millar.
Millar is another rider whose career was nearly ended because of doping, but
now he's part of an antidoping movement out of Great Britain called "100% Me",
which is working to educate athletes on how to care for themselves and perform
at a top level without resorting to taking banned substances.
14:32 EDT 68km/85km to go
The field also contains the strongest non-ProTour riders in the US. Priority
Health has a strong team, with Ben-Jacques Maynes already having shown his talents
in the Tour of California, where he was denied taking over the leader's jersey
by the officials decision to award the same time to all the crash victims on
the stage into Santa Rosa. Maynes was the highest placed GC rider to avoid the
wreck, and would have loved to wear the jersey into his home town of San Jose...
14:35 EDT
The riders are approaching the second intermediate sprint, in Barnesville...
14:37 EDT 72km/81km to go
Rapinski takes the sprint, he's now 35 seconds ahead the group of four chasers
Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff Credit Systems) takes second in the sprint ahead of
Doug Ollerenshaw (Health Net).
14:41 EDT 75km/78km to go
Rapinski has decided to sit up and wait for the group of four, which is towing
along his team-mate Ben Day. Day has gotten a free ride up to the leader thanks
to the rule of team tactics. But now the five will all work together to keep
this break clear.
14:46 EDT
So now the race situation mirrors one that has played out over and over again
this season, and while it might seem a bit repetitive, the 'early breakaway
doomed to fail' is a necessary survival tactic for a 'hors categorie' stage
race. Having a team-mate in the break means the rest of the squad is allowed
to sit back and relax, and not do much work.
However, the breakaway might just succeed - because of the strong tailwind,
the peloton isn't getting much of an advantage over the leaders.
14:55 EDT 84km/69km to go
The riders are now in Forsyth, and have an astonishing eight minutes over the
peloton! The five leaders are working smoothly together now, and have a strong
cross-tailwind.
14:57 EDT
Health Net will be happy with Doug Ollerenshaw's chances in this break - the
man from Portland is a very good criterium rider, and will be able to handle
the finishing circuits with no problem. Mike Sayers is another tough guy, and
at 36 years of age, he's got plenty of experience to help him along.
14:59 EDT
Contrini is no weakling either, the Italian won a stage of the Tour de Suisse
last year, and was second in a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this year.
But they'll all be subjected to attacks by the Navigator's duo, Day and Rapinski.
15:02 EDT
Poor Matt Shriver is still in no man's land... that's a tough place to be. He's
got almost five minutes on the peloton, but is still over three minutes behind
the leaders. As he winds through these twisty, rolling country roads, he's got
nobody to talk to and nothing to do except push along and listen to his own
thoughts... and maybe his director's voice on his earpiece.
15:03 EDT
The leaders have made it through the third intermediate sprint of the day, and
are still rolling through, working together and not really contesting that sprint.
Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff Credit Systems) want across first ahead of Viktor
Rapinski (Navigators Insurance) and Ben Day (Navigators Insurance)
15:07 EDT 93km/60km to go
The peloton has closed the gap down to just over 6'30, and Shriver is still
in no man's land, 4'10 behind the leaders.
15:13 EDT 100km/53km to go
Shriver has finally given up and gone back to the peloton, and with 100km covered
in just over two hours(!!) this has been a wickedly fast race so far. The break
is hovering just below seven minutes in front, but the chase will come soon.
There are plenty of sprinters in the bunch wanting to stretch their legs in
Macon.
15:17 EDT
The leaders will soon pass by Lake Juliette, a man-made resevoir that's a favorite
fishing spot in these parts...
15:26 EDT
While the start of the stage is new this year, the finishing circuits in Macon
are the same as the past three years. The riders will have four laps in Macon,
including a leg breaking short climb, a cobbled section, and a bunch of turns,
the last of which is about 250m before the finish.
Should the race come back together, positioning will be key for the sprinters.
But should this breakaway succeed, the race will be decided on tactics. With
strong winds on the circuit, the riders will be going from headwind to tailwind,
and will have to be very careful about when and where they attack or start their
sprint.
15:34 EDT 116km/37km to go
The gap is coming down a little bit now - down to 6'10 now.
At the finish in Macon, the women's race has finished, and Erica Allar (Team
Fuji) beat Tina Pic (Colavita) and Shannon Hutchison. She opened up the sprint
really early - 400m to go out of the last turn, and the sprinters, according
to Pic "were caught with their pants down."
15:36 EDT
So the men should take note - jumping early appears to work on this finish in
Macon if the women's race is any indication...
15:38 EDT 117km/36km to go
Back in the peloton, Saunier Duval has put a man on the front, and he's trailed
by three Discovery Channel riders and then some Slipstream guys. They've brought
the break back only five seconds since the last update, so they're not panicking
yet.
15:41 EDT 118km/35km to go
Just to recap, the situation is this: Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance),
Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff Credit Systems), Doug Ollerenshaw (Health Net), Ben
Day (Navigators Insurance) and Mike Sayers (BMC) have a six minute advantage
over the Saunier Duval/Discovery led peloton. Rapinski started the break by
attacking an earlier move, and spent the better part of the first half of the
race alone up front.
He was then joined by Contrini, Ollerenshaw and Sayers, who towed Day along.
Now Day is doing a good portion of the work up front, as the breakaway passes
by the Lake Juliette resevoir.
15:47 EDT 123km/30km to go
With just 30km remaining, the gap is not coming down very much, and all of Doug
Ollerenshaw's friends and fans in Portland have to be on the edge of their seats,
cheering for the Health Net rider in this break.
15:50 EDT 125km/28km to go
The Discovery Channel boys are starting to string out the peloton now, and (sorry
Portland) the gap is starting to fall more quickly now. It's down to 4'50...
15:51 EDT
There's still no sight of the Predictor-Lotto or Toyota-United teams at the
front. It's still Discovery, Slipstream and Saunier Duval - basically all the
teams with GC hopes. The sprinters teams will take over as they near the finishing
circuits.
15:55 EDT 125km/28km to go
The gap is holding steady at 4'50 - can the group of five stay away??? It will
be a nail-biting chase to be sure.
And with that, it's time for 'Guess the Catch'! Send in your guesses to commentator@cyclingnews.com
telling which kilometre (to go) the peloton catches this breakaway.
15:58 EDT 128km/25km to go
The riders will do three finishing circuits of 4.1km each, and the loop has
a hill, followed by a tricky descent, and a hard 90-degree right turn followed
by a hard left with just 250m to go. It's basically a two-block sprint.
With 25km to go, the gap has come down slightly to 4'23.
16:00 EDT 130km/23km to go
We have lots of guesses for 4km to go for the catch. It really does appear that
it could go that late. The gap has come down to 3'55 now with 23km to go.
16:03 EDT 133km/20km to go
It appears that all the cyclists in Portland have taken a long lunch to follow
the exploits of their boy Douggie. His break's gap is still 3'55 with 20km to
go, and the Navigators pair doing a good deal of work to make this stick.
16:05 EDT 134km/19km to go
The peloton is in full flight now, as they head nearly due South towards Macon.
They'll enter the town in a few more kilometres, and then hit the circuits with
that hill, but right now it's pretty much flat to downhill as the gap descends
to 3'20.
16:07 EDT 136km/17km to go
The gap is falling falling falling now, just 3'05!
16:09 EDT
As the lead break enters Macon, poor Rapinski gets dropped on the cobbled climb,
and the rest of the break forges on ahead without him...
16:09 EDT
Contrini is driving the break, and there's a crash in the peloton!
16:11 EDT 139km/14km to go
No word on who was involved in that crash, but Rapinski is 25 seconds behind
the break as Contrini continues to drive the break. No word on the gap to the
peloton, but the crash surely has disrupted the chase.
16:12 EDT 141km/12km to go
The leaders are approaching the finish line with three laps to go, Rapinski
is losing ground now...
16:14 EDT 143km/10km to go
Just over two minutes to the peloton for the four, and 1'10 for Rapinski to
the field.
16:15 EDT 144km/9km to go
Correction - 2'50 seconds for the group of four to the peloton!
16:16 EDT
The peloton has come through the finish line with three to go and 2'40 down
on the leaders.
16:17 EDT
Toyota United has taken over the chase, and the sprinters teams are taking over!
The chase is on, and the leaders are coming into two to go! This is going to
be a close one!
16:19 EDT 144.8km/8.2km to go
Contrini has attacked the break - the Italian from Tinkoff comes through with
two laps to go with a small lead over his breakaway companions.
16:20 EDT
Behind the leaders, Chris Wherry is driving the chase for his sprinter Ivan
Dominguez.
16:21 EDT
The peloton comes through with two to go, and Toyota is still on the front,
along with a Slipstream rider. Toyota has four up there, and they've caught
Rapinski...
16:22 EDT
The trio of Sayers, Day and Ollerenshaw are keeping Contrini in sight, but the
seasoned Italian is digging deep on the climb...
16:23 EDT 148.9km/4.1km to go
With one to go, Contrini is holding his gap, and Day and Ollerenshaw are working
together - but where is Mike Sayers?
16:25 EDT 149.5km/3.5km to go
25 seconds to the Day/Ollerenshaw chase, and Contrini has his head down, driving
it in these final kilometres... with nearly a minute to the peloton, he could
stay clear.
16:26 EDT 150km/3km to go
The gap to the peloton is 1'20! This group could very well stay away, and Contrini
is concentrated on the five feet of pavement in front of him, in the drops -
powering it as hard as he can... he's coming up to the lower part of the final
climb now.
16:27 EDT
Contrini is out of the saddle driving it up this climb as Sayers comes through
1'35 behind with one to go, just 20 seconds ahead of the peloton led by Cesar
Grajales.
16:28 EDT 150.5km/2.5km to go
Contrini seems to have this one wrapped up - he's got a big gap on Ollerenshaw
and Day, and Sayers is being caught by the bunch.
16:29 EDT 151km/2km to go
Contrini is over the top and now on the descent, as the chasing duo are over
the hill behind, but not making any progress...
16:30 EDT 151.5km/1.5km to go
Contrini can see the 1km to go sign in the distance - and the peloton behind
is in pieces - riders strung out all over the circuit because of that crash.
16:31 EDT 152km/1km to go
Saunier Duval is attacking out of the peloton, but is covered by the Navigators...
the chasers are more than 30 seconds behind, and Contrini is starting to relax.
16:31 EDT 152.4km/0.6km to go
Contrini has it in the bag - he's got it and takes the right turn...
16:31 EDT
Contrini has plenty of time to celebrate - he waves back to his team car, and
then puts both hands up as he crosses the line to win the first stage!
16:32 EDT
Day and Ollerenshaw are sprinting right behind...
16:32 EDT
And the boy from Portland takes second! Day is about 5 seconds behind.
16:35 EDT
For once, the early break succeeds, and the peloton is left to fight for scraps.
16:40 EDT
In the sprint from the field, it was Ryder Hesjedal (Health Net) coming in ahead
of Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United), Karl Menzies (Health Net), Sergey Lagutin
(Navigators Insurance), Ciaran Power (Navigators Insurance), Juan José Haedo
(Team CSC) and Alessandro Proni (Quick Step)...
Thanks everyone for reading! Be sure to check back for full results, report
and photos later this evening.
Provisional Results
1 Daniele Contrini (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems
2 Doug Ollerenshaw (USA) Health Net presented by Maxxis
3 Ben Day (Aus) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
4 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Health Net presented by Maxxis
5 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team
6 Karl Menzies (Aus) Health Net presented by Maxxis
7 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
8 Ciaran Power (Irl) Navigators Insurance Cycling Team
9 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC
10 Alessandro Proni (Ita) Quick Step - Innergetic
