Atlanta Grand Prix, Cat 1.3

Race Report

The New Zealander made both the key moves coming late on the flat, non- selective, seven-mile Atlanta course and had a bike length on Saturn’s Fred Rodriguez and another few lengths on U.S. Postal’s Marty Jemison, last year’s winner.

"I had one of those days, with pure muscle at the end," Dean said, accepting the $15,000 first prize.

Dean’s victory solidified his hold on the lead in the U.S. National Racing Calendar standings.

The race featured the unexpected return of USPS’s Lance Armstrong. He was active all race and powered a key 6-man break with three laps remaining which was swallowed in the final flurry. He finished in the field at 52nd and Jemison said he was an inspiration for the team.

There was only one move before the last-lap jockeying, when Saturn’s Bart Bowen and Italian Andrea Chiurato (Mobilvetta-Northwave) slipped away to as much as three minutes, starting with 13 of 17 laps remaining. The pack decided to end that with four laps left after Mercury, Saturn and Postal controlled the tempo.

The final group had two Mercury riders (Dean and Michael Sayers), two Saturns (Rodriguez and Mike McCarthy) , two Postals (Jemison and George Hincapie), two OilMe riders (Eddy Gragus and Doug Ziewacz), and Jim Copeland (Colorado Cyclist).

Atlanta, 193 kms:

  1. Julian Dean (NZ) Mercury                                4.19.36
  2. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Saturn
  3. Marty Jemison (USA) US Postal Service
  4. Jim Copeland (USA) Colorado Cyclist
  5. George Hincapie (USA) US Postal Service
  6. Chann McRae (USA) Saturn
  7. Pelle Kil (Ned) Composite team
  8. Michael Sayer (USA) Mercury
  9. Mike McCarthy (USA) Saturn
 10. Gord Fraser (Can) Mercury					0.08
 11. Frank McCormack (USA) Saturn
 12. Derek Bouchard-Hall (USA) Shaklee
 13. Eddy Gragus (USA) OilMe
 14. Kirk Willett (USA) Mercury
15. Antonio Cruz (USA) Composite team A 
16. Scott Fortner (USA) Saturn
17. Tom Cordes (USA) Mitsubishi
18. Scott Mercer (USA) Composite team
19. Valerio Tebaldi (Ita) Mobilvetta-North
20. Colby Pearce (USA) Colorado Cyclist
21. Jason Van Marle (USA) Composite team A
22. Thurlow Rogers (USA) Mercury
23. Roberto Gaggioli (Ita) OilMe
24. Ashley Powell (USA) GoMart
25. Olin Bakke (USA) Shaklee
26. Adam Laurent (USA) Navigators
27. John Lieswyn (USA) GoMart
28. Mark Walters (Can) Mercury
29. Chad Gerlach (USA)  OilMe
30. Frankie Andreu (USA) US Postal Service
31. Harm Jansen (Ned) Composite team A
32. Norman Alvis (USA) Saturn 
33. Anton Villatoro (USA) US Postal Service
34. Mat Anand (Can) Mercury
35. Burt Swindlehurst (USA) Composite team B
36. Nikola Semenshin (USA) Composite team A
37. Partick Eyk (Ned) Navigators
38. Matt Koschara (USA) Shaklee
39. Leonardo Fioroni (Ita) Mobilvetta-North
40. David Clinger (USA) Mercury 
41. Wayne Roth (USA) 7-Up
42. Dirk Friel (USA) OilMe
43. Skip Spangenburg (USA) Navigators
44. Guido Trombetta (Ita) Mobilvetta-North
45. Mark McCormack (USA) Saturn
46. Levy Leipheimer (USA) Saturn
47. Roy Knickman ( (Ned) Mitsubishi
49. Chris Vande Velde (USA) US Postal Service
51. Johnathan Vaughters (USA) US Postal Service
52. Lance Armstrong (USA) US Postal Service
53. Steve Speaks (USA) OilMe
54. Clark Sheehan (USA) Colorado Cyclist
55. Bart Bowen (USA) Saturn
56. Michael Engleman (USA) Navigators
57. Trent Klasna (USA) Navigators
58. Brian Walton (Can) Saturn
59. Scott Moniger (USA) Navigators
60. Craig McLaughlin (USA) Cox-Atlanta Velo
61. Ron Schmeer (USA) Composite team B
62. Luigi Della Bianca (Ita) Mobilvetta-North
63. Maurizio Tomi (Ita) Mobilvetta-North
64. Steve Stevener (USA) Composite team B				0.08
65. Scottie Weiss (USA) GoMart						5.34
66. Kent Bostick (USA) Shaklee						7.34
67. Andrew Clark (USA)  Colorado Cyclist				8.20
68. Danny Pate (USA) Colorado Cyclist
69. Chris Fisher (USA)  OilMe      				       13.13
70. Adham Sbeih (USA) Composite team B       		               14.15