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Armstrong wraps up Tour of Georgia as Fraser wins final stage
Gord Fraser of Health Net-Maxxis took the final stage of the Dodge Tour de Georgia Sunday, beating out Juan Jose Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil) and 2002 world champion Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze) in a high-speed 65kph dash to the line. There were no significant changes to the general classification, sealing the final overall victory for U.S. Postal-Berry Floor's Lance Armstrong.
It was a monumental win for Fraser, who, after winning stage 1, called the result one of the biggest of his career. But that day’s victory wasn’t an outright test of speed against the Italian superstar, as Cipollini had fallen off the pace the fourth time over that course’s hilly cobble-section and was unable to contest the sprint. This time around, on a flat finishing circuit, Cipollini had no excuses — Fraser was simply the fastest, craftiest man of the day.
“This is an even more meaningful win for me,” Fraser said. “To have Cipo’ in the sprint, and to be able to come around him, is obviously rewarding for me. I’ve never done that before. I’ve never had too many opportunities to. I have the greatest respect for him, and to beat a guy like that is definitely a defining moment in anyone’s career.”
Following Saturday’s brutal climb up Brasstown Bald Mountain, stage 7 was a relatively hot and quiet day of racing, other than the four 3.6-mile finishing circuits in the town of Alpharetta. The U.S. Postal Service squad of race leader Lance Armstrong rode at the front, flanked by the sprinters’ teams of Cipollini and Fraser, monitoring the front. While there were continual attacks throughout the day, often instigated by Ofoto-Lombardi Sports — the most aggressive team of the tour — they were short-lived, as Postal did not allow any to gain more a one-minute advantage.
Entering the final circuits the peloton was greeted by very large and loud crowds. Postal relinquished the head of the peloton to the sprinter's trains of Domina Vacanze, Navigators Insurance, CSC and Health Net. CSC’s Jakob Piil and Ofoto’s Erik Saunders were most active during the circuits, counter-attacking on the first lap once an eight-man group they had been a part of was reabsorbed. Navigators took over in the final lap-and-a-half, in hopes of setting up sprinters Henk Vogels or Vassili Davidenko, while Armstrong hovered around tenth position.
“Domina overpowered them with about 2km to go,” Fraser said, “but I think Navigators did a great job controlling it.”
Cipollini led out the slightly uphill sprint out from 200 meters, with Fraser sitting third wheel behind Haedo. With a perfectly timed jump Fraser went up the right side of the road as Cipollini went left, with enough time to throw up his arms before crossing the line.
“I owe it to my teammate Mike Sayers,” Fraser said. “He led me out for the last 10km. He always knows exactly where to go, to make sure we don’t get boxed out. If it was not for Mike Sayers, I don’t win today.”
Armstrong, who finished 66th in the same time, claimed the overall victory in 25 hours, 39 minutes and20 seondsc for the six-day, seven-stage, 1,051km race.
"It's important," said Armstrong, whose main challenge this season is an attempt at a sixth Tour de France title. "It's always nice to win. It's also nice to come and meet some objectives like doing a good time trial, doing some climbs, working the team well. It was a complete week."
German Jens Voigt (CSC) was second overall, 24 seconds behind Armstrong. Lastyear's winner, Webcor Builder's Chris Horner, was third overall, 1:01 back.
Race Note
The thousands of spectators gathered were disappointed when Cipollinifailed to show up for the podium presentation, drawing a fine of 200 SwissFrancs and a forfeiture of his third-place prize money. Team officialslater apologized profusely, claiming Cipollini did not know he had finishedthird."He feels really awful about [missing the podium presentation]," saidSpecialized team liaison Simone Toccafondi. "He wants to do what he canto make up for it."The Jerseys
Winner's jersey: Lance Armstrong, U.S. Postal Service-BerryFloor
Points jersey: Gord Fraser, Health Net-Maxxis
King of the Mountains: Jason McCartney, Health Net-Maxxis
Best U23 rider: Kevin Bouchard-Hall, U.S. National-TIAA-CREF
Team GC: CSC
