Kanstantin Sivtsov (High Road) attacked Levi Leipheimer (Astana) and race leader Trent Lowe (Slipstream-Chipotle) in the final 500 meters to win the sixth stage of the Tour de Georgia and move into the overall lead on Saturday.

Sivtsov, the under-23 world champion in 2005, started the day six seconds down on Lowe in eighth place, but well off most people’s radars.

The three-man showdown emerged from a select group of climbers that separated itself at the bottom of Brasstown Bald. Others initially in the mix included Team Type 1’s Moises Aldape, Rock Racing’s Oscar Sevilla, and Astana’s Antonio Colom and José Luis “Chechu” Rubiera and CSC’s Inigo Cuesta.

After Rubiera and then Colom drove the pace, putting others in difficulty, Leipheimer put in a dig at 2km to go. Only Sivtsov and Lowe could follow.

With an American crowd cheering on the familiar face of Leipheimer and the familiar jersey of Lowe, Sivtsov rode anonymously behind. Even Leipheimer and Lowe seemed more interested in each other than the third.

When Sivtsov attacked, Lowe looked at Leipheimer, who couldn’t respond. Lowe sat behind Leipheimer until about 150m to go, then leapt around to put a few seconds on him.

Unfortunately for Lowe, the race had already gone up the road.

For the first few minutes after the race, Lowe and Slipstream thought he had retained the lead.

Sivtsov knew otherwise.

“This is a beautiful win,” he said. “This is the first time I have raced in America. George [Hincapie] told me a lot about this mountain. He told me how important and how steep the last few kilometers are.”

Leipheimer was gracious at the finish.

“Slipstream rode great, Trent rode great, and High Road took advantage of the battle that was going on,” Leipheimer said. “Everyone rode a great race.”

The shakedown

Leipheimer, Lowe and Sivtsov on Brasstown Bald

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

The 88.4-mile charge from Blairsville to the top of Brasstown Bald was marked by a seven-man break that included Jason McCartney (CSC), Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe's), Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United), Craig Lewis (High Road), Stephan Schreck (Gerolsteiner), Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) and Andrey Mizurov (Astana), who went clear about 30km into the day’s stage.

Sivtsov attacks with less than 500 meters to go

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

As McCartney set about collecting KOM points on Hogpen Gap and Unicoi Gap, a chase group separated itself from the main field containing race leader Lowe. In it were Santiago Botero (Rock Racing), Brad McGee (CSC), Craig Lewis and Thomas Lovkvist (High Road) and Jose Luis Rubiera (Astana).

Sivtsov alone, as Lowe and Leipheimer watch each other

Photo: Casey B. Gibson

Schreck dropped back from the McCartney group and rode with the chasers.

As the chasers closed in on the break, Mizurov dropped back to them. Shortly afterward, the catch was made, giving CSC and Astana a numerical edge in the lead group.

And then Shirley launched himself clear on Owl Creek Road with some 12 miles to race, quickly building a 20-second gap.

The Jittery Joe's rider struggled on the steep ramp leading to the base of the Brasstown Bald climb, glancing over his shoulder as the peloton, led by Slipstream-Chipotle, closed in on the disintegrating break. First of the chasers to reach him was Rubiera, who latched on briefly and then drove past with McGee on his wheel.

Behind them, the peloton was curb to curb, absorbing the casualties, when Bobby Julich (CSC) attacked, trying to bridge to his teammate McGee, who was camped firmly on Rubiera’s wheel some 25 seconds up the road.[nid:75404]

As Julich ground along in no-man’s land, Chris Horner (Astana) took the front, whittling the bunch down to a handful of elite riders that included Astana’s Antonio Colom and Leipheimer, Sivtsov, Sevilla, Cuesta, Aldape and race leader Lowe. Up front, Rubiera finally shed McGee as the climb to Brasstown Bald began in earnest.

Then, as Horner drove forward, Rubiera slid back, and the Astana teammates went to work on the front of the greatly reduced bunch on behalf of team leader Leipheimer, who sat just four seconds behind Lowe on the general classification.

Rubiera and Horner both dropped back, leaving Colom to tow Leipheimer and the rest along. Lowe was isolated, without teammates, as the seven-man group hit a ramp of some 22 percent.

Sevilla and Aldape lost contact and battled back, but ultimately they, Cuesta and Colom were relegated.

When Sivtsov jumped, he opened up enough of a gap to zip his jersey at the finish and still put 10 seconds on Lowe. Behind, Lowe obviously had enough snap to jump Leipheimer.

Tonight, he may be wishing he had used that jump to mark Sivtsov.