STILLWATER, Minn. (June 12, 2005) – A spent Shawn Milne rolled through the finish line of the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, gasping for air after climbing the 20-percent grade Chilkoot Hill for the last time.

“Today was a day you just talk with your legs, and obviously John’s spoke louder,” the Navigator Insurance rider said.

For all the talk that transpired over the last two days between Milne and Health Net/Maxxis’ John Lieswyn over the way the leader’s jersey changed hands between the two of them, on Sunday everything was left on the road. Midway through the Stillwater Criterium, Lieswyn jumped going uphill on the backside of the 1.5-mile course and instead of taking Milne with him, he took the leader’s jersey on the final day of the 5-day stage race.

“I was totally willing to go up the road with Shawn,” Lieswyn said about the surge he put in to reel in an attack put in by Bianchi/Grand Performance’s Ben Raby and Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home’s Aaron Olson. “I didn’t want to see him lose it all.

“But it is like Shawn said the other night in Minneapolis: I just followed the wheel in front of me,” he said.

In the end, Lieswyn took more than 2 minutes out of Milne, and instead of sitting on the podium, Milne fell down to seventh, leaving second and third overall to Olson and HRRC/Saddlewood Bikesource Specialized’s Brian Jensen.

While Lieswyn was the toast of the event, the day’s spoils went to Advantage Benefits/Endeavor Cycling Team’s Richard England, who overcame a 20-second deficit to the lead pack in the last four laps to take the win ahead of Raby and Colavita’s Jonathan Page.

“That was very impressive,” Raby said of England’s effort.

“I was confident if it came down to a sprint, I could take it,” he said. “This hill suits someone like me.”

In the last lap, the surge actually came from Jelly Belly-Pool Gel’s Danny Pate as they crested the summit of the course with a 6-second lead over the field that had been whittled down to eight riders. Lieswyn bridged, and the two pushed it down the hill to the last climb, but not hard enough to pull away from the break.

“I would have liked to have led him out to the finish. I would have liked to have seen him win,” Lieswyn said. “I didn’t realize it was the last lap, or I would have put myself in the red that final lap.”

Instead, it was England’s teammate, Garrett Peltonen, who dug deep.

“I jumped, got him halfway up the hill, and he just did the rest,” Peltonen said.

“We finally got one,” said England’s teammate, Pipp, who, himself, came up short in third place in the Friday night criterium.

The win also vaulted the team ahead of Health Net for the team title in the grand prix, an honor England said the team has earned.

“Health Net has given us some more respect over the last couple of weeks,” England said when asked if the win helps the team’s standing in the peloton.

As for the rookie rider for Navigators, Milne said while the day did not go the way he would have liked, little in the stage race happened according to plan.

“I still have to put it somewhat in perspective. If that wreck in Minneapolis wouldn’t have happened, I probably wouldn’t be in the jersey,” said Milne, who suffered a dropped chain and broken derailleur going up hill, and then a flat tire on a teammate’s bike finishing the lap. “The strongest rider won.”

And for Lieswyn, who won the leader’s jersey for the second time in four years at Nature Valley, the win just added another dimension to an already incredible year for Health Net.

“I’m just enjoying bike racing right now,” he said.

Jersey winners
Overall: John Lieswyn, Health Net/Maxxis
Mountain’s jersey: Danny Pate, Jelly Belly-Pool Gel
Best sprinter’s: Emile Abraham, Monex
Best amateur: Brian Jensen, HRRC/Saddlewood Bikesource Specialized
Top espoire: Tyler Farrar, Health Net/Maxxis