STAGE 5 TOUR DE GEORGIA 2008

2008 Stage 5 Video and Press Release

DAHLONEGA, Ga. (April 25, 2008) - Australian Richard England of Bissell Pro Cycling used a downhill decent in the final 500 meters to push himself to a Stage Five victory at 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T. Thousands of spectators lined the streets of Dahlonega to see 22 in the pro peloton battle for the finish line adjacent to North Georgia College and State University. Finishing just behind England was fellow Aussie Rory Sutherland of Health Net presented by Maxxis and American George Hincapie of Team High Road.

"I knew that if I was in first around the corner, even though there were guys with good legs behind me, I knew I was still going to have a chance on the podium," said England, a third-year professional rider about the end of his five hours of racing 133.4 miles (214.7 km). "I went around the corner and gave it everything I had to the finish line and ended up coming out on front."

After today's action, Trent Lowe (AUS) of Slipstream Chipotle moved to first place in the General Classification and donned the AT&T Overall Leader Jersey. Slipstream, which won Thursday's Team Time Trial, has riders rounding out the G.C. Top 3 with David Zabriskie (USA) in second and Christian Vande Velde (USA) in third. Americans Levi Leiphiemer and Chris Horner of Astana moved up to fourth and fifth, respectively, in the G.C.

While Lowe also leads the GE Best Young Rider classification, that award jersey will be worn by Christian Meier (CAN) of Symmetrics Cycling, currently second in points. Edward King (USA) of Bissell will wear the United Community Bank King of the Mountain (KOM) jersey. Tim Johnson (USA) of Health Net presented by Maxxis was awarded the Georgia Lottery Most Aggressive Rider jersey for two attacks on the mountain stage.

Stage Five, the longest stage of the week, began in Suwanee/Gwinnett County, a first-time venue for the Tour. The 117 riders departed from Town Center Park, a part of the 63-acre Suwanee Town Center, at 10:00 a.m. The first of two mountain stages, Stage Five was a battlefield for climbers. Three United Community Bank King of the Mountain competitions were contested in front of huge crowds at Burnt Mountain, Woody Gap and Crown Mountain before finishing in the gold rush town of Dahlonega. Four riders, including Johnson and King, were part of a four-man break that led for most of the race, but melted into the peloton at the final KOM.

"There's great crowds in Georgia," Johnson said about the spectators along the route today. "For myself, I rode for Jittery Joe's in '05, I lived in Athens, Georgia for half the year, so I heard a lot of 'Go Tim' out there which, I gotta say, when you travel far and wide to race, it's pretty nice to hear your name yelled when you're going by. But for sprinters like Richard (England), that's what you need to get over a climb. If you're not 100% confident you're gonna make it, when you hear people screaming, it definitely helps."

Stage Six, the "Queen Stage" of the Tour, will launch from Blairsville/Union County at 11:00 a.m. and engage riders in an intense 88.4-mile (142.2 km) journey through the Appalachian Mountains of north Georgia. UCB KOM points will be earned at Hogpen and Unicoi Gaps before the stage finish at the highest spot in Georgia (4,783 feet), Brasstown Bald Mountain in Towns County. Spectators will see the peloton ride through Blairsville two times, as the riders contest a Georgia Power Sprint line in the town square after 38.9 miles in Union County. The riders are expected to arrive at Brasstown Bald between 2:15-3:15 p.m.

 
Official Results - Top 10 - Stage Five

2008 Stage 5 Full Results

• General Classification After Stage 5
  
  
• Final Results
  
  
• Sprint Results
  
  
• Best Young Rider
  
  
• Teams Results