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29.04.2008
ROAD ATLANTA : Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T stage4 Slipstream Chipotle wins first-ever team TIME TRIAL Stage Four – Road Atlanta
American-based Slipstream Chipotle presented by H30 averaged over 29 miles per hour en route to winning the inaugural Team Time Trial (TTT) at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T by four seconds over Astana (LUX). Team High Road (USA), the last team on the 2.5-mile course today, finished third at six seconds back. "We really didn’t know what to expect coming into a team time trial…on a car and motorcycle race track like Road Atlanta," said Tom Danielson, the team leader for Slipstream Chipotle, who was the champion of the 2005 Tour de Georgia. "Honestly, it was a lot like a car race or a motorcycle race out there. Equipment, team effort, tactics were the key to our victory today." The 2.5-mile, 12-turn race track is normally used for motor sports events such as the Petit Le Mans. While motor sports participants ride the course in a clockwise direction, pro cyclists today rode the TTT in the opposite direction. The hilly course began with a 14 percent gradient on the first climb and featured tight turns throughout. The TTT was also unique in that the riders used rode bikes instead of time trail bikes.
"This is a pretty technical course and we talked to (riders) from a lot of different teams and they felt we made the right decision to go with just their street bikes," said Jim Birrell, race director for the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T. "I thought they would be more efficient on their street bikes than their TT bikes, with this climb and with the technical descent. What it does is give a level playing field for all riders." Greg Henderson (NZL) of Team High Road will remain as the General Classification leader and retain the AT&T Overall Leader’s Jersey for a second day. Henderson has a 15-second lead over German teammate Andre Greipel. With the win today, Slipstream’s David Zabriskie moves to third overall and his teammates Danielson and Christian Vande Velde move up to fourth and fifth in the G.C., respectively. The second place showing by Astana helped two of its top American teammates move up in the G.C. as well - Levi Leipheimer to eighth and Chris Horner to ninth. George Hincapie (USA) of Team High Road is just outside the Top 10 in 12th place. Slipstream’s victory comes one day after rider Tim Duggan was injured in a crash during Stage Three of the Tour. Duggan remains in a Georgia hospital in stable condition. "It really shook me up and almost made me feel, maybe I want to quit bike racing," said Danielson upon hearing of Duggan’s crash and injuries. "But I got it together and we realized we are going to do this for Timmy. He started a new foundation called the ‘Just Go Harder Foundation’, so we put that on the back of our seat posts. So while we were hurting (in the TTT) we could see just go harder. And we did, we just went harder for Timmy." The Maxxis Sprint Leader jersey will remain with Tyler Farrar of Slipstream and the United Community Bank King of the Mountain jersey will stay with Frank Pipp of HealthNet presented by Maxxis. Rory Sutherland of Health Net was awarded the Georgia Lottery Most Aggressive Rider Jersey today and his teammate Trent Lowe (AUS) was awarded the GE Best Young Rider jersey. Lowe won the GE Best Young Rider at the 2005 Tour de Georgia.
Stage Five is the Tour’s longest stage at 133.4 miles (214.7 kilometers) and is the first of two mountain stages. Riders will depart from Suwanee at 10:00 a.m., marking the first time the Tour has started in Gwinnett County. There will be three battles for UCB KOMs at Burnt Mountain, Woody Gap and Crown Mountain before reaching the finish line in Dahlonega. The course also features a Georgia Power Sprint in Cumming. It is the fourth time that Dahlonega has hosted the Tour (2004-2006), with this year’s stage expected to finish between 2:50-4:15 in the afternoon. Festivities began early at the Road Atlanta track on Thursday, with N2 a Cure's Adult Charity Ride. For an hour, the track was open to recreational cyclists to "ride like the pros" and 140 cyclists took part in the event. The proceeds benefited the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The Health & Wellness Expo in Dahlonega on Friday will be open to the public from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Top Three Teams- Stage Four TTT 1. Slipstream Chipotle 19’36"86 2. Astana 19’40"27 4" 3. Team High Road 19’42"06 6" General Classification 1. 24 NZL HENDERSON, Greg THR 11.17’59" 2. 23 GER GREIPEL, Andre THR 11.18’14" 15" 3. 68 USA ZABRISKE, David TSL 11.18’14" 15" ABOUT AT&T AT&T Inc. is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation's leading wireless, high speed Internet access, and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at www.att.com (c) 2007 AT&T Knowledge Ventures. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Knowledge Ventures.
ABOUT THE TOUR DE GEORGIA PRESENTED BY AT&T The Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T is North America’s premier, professional cycling event and rolling festival of community activities. The Tour was first held in 2003 and has become a spring tradition with a varying route of over 600 miles of racing. Over 2.8 million spectators have traveled to Georgia to watch the event in the past five years, and direct economic impact has totaled over $148 million. The event is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (2.HC ranking), and is part of the USA Cycling Professional Tour USA Cycling, Inc., making the event one of the top stage races for elite athletes around the world. The Tour de Georgia is owned and operated by the Tour de Georgia Foundation (501 c3) and managed by Medalist Sports (www.medalistsports.com ). Route maps, host venue information, merchandise offerings and sponsor news are available at the official website, www.tourdegeorgia.com.
ABOUT USA CYCLING Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 60,000 members and 2,500 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization professional men's road). USA Cycling is the license holder for the USA Cycling Professional Individual Time Trial Championships and USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championships. ABOUT THE AFLAC CANCER CENTER AND BLOOD DISORDERS SERVICE OF CHILDREN’S The Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is a national leader among childhood cancer, hematology, and blood and marrow transplant programs, serving infants to young adults. Recognized as one of the top five pediatric cancer centers in the country by Child magazine, the Aflac Cancer Center treats more than 325 new cancer patients each year and follows more than 2,000 patients with sickle cell disease, hemophilia and other blood disorders. The Aflac Cancer Center is one of many programs at Children’s committed to enhancing the lives of children through excellence in patient care, research and education. Children’s, one of the top three pediatric healthcare systems in the country, is a not-for-profit organization that benefits from the generous philanthropic and volunteer support of our community. Visit www.aflaccancercenter.org or call 404-250-KIDS for more information.
- Charlie Roeber, PhotoGraphics also photos
Author: maggy (admin2)
Last modified: Tuesday, 29.04.2008 - 01:19 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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