THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Armstrong takes field sprint in Georgia
On the same day that Jan Ullrich announced that he had opted out of Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège World Cup, Dodge Tour de Georgia crowd favorite Lance Armstrong fired a warning shot to his Tour de France rival when he won the stage 3 field sprint into Rome, finishing ahead of Ivan Dominguez (Colavita Olive Oil) and Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly).
Armstrong’s finishing kick was a surprise to all parties involved, including the U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor rider, who admitted he didn’t plan on contesting the sprint until the final 400 meters of three two-mile finishing circuits that included a steep Category 4 climb through a residential neighborhood.
“We knew the circuits were hard, and we wanted to stay in front,” Armstrong said. “It was not a plan to try and win the stage. [The finishing circuits] were harder than we’d anticipated, and more technical, so it just worked out. I found the right wheel and in the last 500 meters I thought maybe I’d go for a time bonus, which, you never know, always can help. I found myself coming around. It was a surprise.”
That “right wheel” belonged to Dominguez, who has finished second in all three stages. Armstrong’s sprint surprised the Cuban-born Colavita rider, who was disappointed to miss out on the win but took satisfaction in taking the leader’s jersey from Health Net-Maxxis’s Gord Fraser. It was just two days ago that Dominguez shocked reporters when he was asked about Armstrong’s role — or lack thereof— in the stage 1 sprint, and he replied, “I don’t care about him.”
While Dominguez simply meant Armstrong wasn’t expected to be a factor in the sprints, after today, he says, he does care about Armstrong.
“I went over to say congratulations to him,” Dominguez said, “and he was happy, and he told me, ‘I was on the right wheel. As soon as we got to the top of the climb, I was behind you.’ I was a little bit surprised. I knew he was fast in the past, but right now, with the Tour and all the races like that, I thought he’s not too fast, but I’m going to start worrying about him now.”
The rolling 77-mile course, the first in a double-day Thursday that will conclude with a hilly 18.6-mile time trial, was contested in perfect sunny 72-degree weather. Rolling out from Carrolton’s State University of West Georgia campus to the town of Rome, attacks began to fly from the gun. Most aggressive were Sierra Nevada and Ofoto-Lombardi Sports, team of best young rider Nieko Biskner and King of the Mountains Scott Zwizanski.
After a series of attempts that included Ofoto’s Pete Lopinto and Tim Larkin were quickly reeled in, teammate Jackson Stewart was allowed to slip away at mile 20 for a long solo breakaway, opening up a gap that hovered around two minutes for nearly 45 miles. USA national team’s Stuart Gillespie made a valiant effort to bridge to Stewart, cutting the gap in half, but was eventually reeled in at mile 40.
Behind Stewart, the Health Net team of stage 1 winner and race leader Fraser shared pace-setting duties with the Domina Vacanze team of Italian superstar Mario Cipollini, winner of Wednesday’s field sprint, and the CSC team of race favorites Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt.
As the peloton descended into Rome’s city limits, the gap quickly dropped due to successive attacks by Saeco-Prodir’s Tim Johnson, Navigators’ Kirk O’Bee, Health Net’s Scott Moninger and Landbouwkredit-Colnago’s U23 world champion Serguey Lagutin that accelerated the pace.
Entering the three finishing circuits the peloton was gruppo compacto, but it quickly began to shatter as the field made its first ascent up the steep KOM climb that resembled one-block of San Francisco’s dreaded Fillmore Street.
“When we hit the circuit I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m going to have to pull a fast one if I’m going to get up there,’” Fraser said, adding that although short, it was definitely a little-ring climb. “I just couldn’t get over the little climb. I just don’t have the legs for that.”
Neither did Cipollini, who was not a factor in today’s mass gallop after losing contact with the head of the race on the finishing circuit’s leg-breaking climb.
“About a lap-and-a-half, two laps to go, [Cipollini] was sitting pretty far back,” said Health Net’s Scott Moninger. “Then he made one big effort to try and get up there but he was off the back.”
Also dropped was CSC’s Jakob Piil, a member of Wednesday’s four-man breakaway. Ahead, his teammates Jens Voigt, Max Sciandri and Bobby Julich monitored the front with defending champion Chris Horner (Webcor), while Armstrong was surrounded by teammates George Hincapie, Pavel Padronos and Viatcheslav Ekimov. As the group went over the final climb, the selection had been made.
“It was just survival of the fittest up there on the last lap,” said Moninger, who finished with the lead group in 38th place. “You couldn’t move up. If you were Lance or Horner you could move up, but otherwise you were just hoping the guy in front of you didn’t blow up. The order over the top was pretty much the order you stayed, unless you were up there in the top-5 jockeying for a position. Lance kind of danced that hill the last time, though; he looked good.”
With Fraser and Cipollini struggling with the climb, Dominguez knew his chances were good, and opened up his sprint with 250 meters to go. What he didn’t know was that Armstrong was right on his wheel.
“On this kind of course, with that kind of climb, not too many sprinters can go up there many times,” Dominguez said. “I like a race like that one. I don’t like a flat race. I’m not a climber, but I hate flat races. Coming up the last hill I was behind Horner and he started going and I lost maybe half-a-bike, and Bobby Julich and George Hincapie, they passed me and then stayed there. Coming to the finish I just followed Hincapie’s wheel, and I started passing him and Armstrong got me on the finish.”
According to Armstrong, the decision to go for a stage win only came to mind as he came into the final kilometer’s downhill finish.
“The best guys were on the front,” Armstrong said. “It was Horner, it was another guy [Jelly Belly’s Ben Brooks], it was George, Dominguez and me. We were marking each other on that final climb. Had I been in tenth position, I wouldn’t have gone for it, but I was in fifth...”
Happy with his win — and the confidence it gives him going into the evening time trial — Armstrong says he’s happier as a GC contender in Europe than spending much time in American-style criteriums.
“This is a whole other art, here. It’s crazy,” Armstrong said. “I’m glad I don’t do it for a living. You can tell these guys are used to racing this style of races. In these races you have no friends, you have no allies, and you have no brakes. In Europe it’s very different. There’s a different hierarchy in the European peloton, and most guys use their brakes over there a little more.”
RACE NOTE
In a move that may come as a surprise to many, especially after hisstage win at the Sea Otter Classic last week, Trent Klasna did not starttoday’s third stage. Klasna has been on the edge of over training and washoping to be able to ride into the race, however after yesterdays secondstage where he was “just struggling to sit in the bunch,” Klasna and teamdirector Mike Neel decided it best for Trent to head back to Californiafor some couch time in order for him to be back to 100 percent for theUSPRO Championships in Philadelphia, as well as the U.S. Olympic trialsin Redlands, California.THE JERSEYS
YELLOW: Ivan Dominguez, Colavita Olive Oil. “I’m happy to havethe yellow jersey, even if it’s only for a few hours.”
POINTS: Dominguez (The points jersey will be worn by Fraser.)“We gave it a good fight,” Fraser said, “but if I fall down to second overall…it’s not a big deal if I lose the jersey for an afternoon. Ivan deserves it;I mean, he’s riding amazing. He came close again today.”
MOUNTAINS: Mark Walters, Navigators.
BEST YOUNG RIDER: Nieko Biskner, Ofoto-Lombardi Sports
