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Tour of Virginia - NE
USA, April 24-29, 2007
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Stage 6 - April 28: Harrisonburg Criterium, 56.3km
Cantwell wins after Leogrande is relegated
Zapata holds onto narrow lead
By Sue George in Harrisonburg
American Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) had already been interviewed by the race announcer and celebrated as the unofficial winner of Stage 6, a criterium in downtown Harrisonburg, when his relegation was announced. Instead, Australian Jonathan Cantwell (Kahala-La Grange) was named victor for the second stage in a row, ahead of Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) and Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid Pro Cycling). Cantwell's first stage win came in yesterday in Stage 5, which finished in Staunton.
Going into today's stage six, only 12 seconds separated race overall leader Javier Zapata (Caico) and Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid). The two have been battling for the lead since stage 3.
Under partly cloudy skies, racing started fast and furious from the gun and while many teams not in contention for the GC were hoping for a stage win, the Caico and Rite Aid teams were careful to protect the one-two overall relative positions of their team leaders.
How it unfolded
The first 20 laps saw repeated, but always futile break attempts. Probably the day's most aggressive rider, Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) made an appearance in several of those breaks, ranging from solo attacks to 10-man group efforts. After the race, his teammate Anthony said, "We wanted to be really aggressive today, but some teams wanted a field sprint."
A 3,000 person crowd cheered racers on along the mostly flat one mile (1.6 km) circuit in downtown. Each lap featured two 90 degree turns and one 180 degree turn. The two 90 degree turns came only a block apart, but they were separated from the 180 degree turn by long, straight sections, including one with a demanding headwind.
Looking to decrease his 12 second margin, Borrajo sprinted for a time bonus about two-thirds of the way through the race, but he made a key mistake. He sprinted one lap too early, so Zapata won the real time bonus on the next lap. Some were surprised to see Zapata make an appearance at the front during a crit. His team had moved up with him, obviously trying to control the race.
With five laps to go, Anthony launched an attack and got about three seconds advantage before he was caught. Trying hard to get away, teammate Walters attacked on the next lap, but he, too, was caught. However, that didn't stop them from going for the win.
During the event, promoter Matt Butterman donned a gorilla suit and took a few laps around the course in the lead car urging spectators to donate money for some primes. Racers got the bell for the first prime with three to go, and another followed at two laps to go. Mike Olheiser (Memphis Motorwerks/Carve) and Carlos Mayoral (Kahala-La Grange) took the two crowd primes, but the pack regrouped for what would be one final mad dash to the finish.
"Mark Walters led me out most of the last lap," said Anthony. "But it didn't work out. It was only the two of us. The rest of the guys were caught back in the pack. As we get stronger and more experienced, we'll be able to figure it out. Tomorrow, we'll be super aggressive and try to get in a break. Otherwise, we'll sprint again."
Proven sprinter and US National Criterium champion Leogrande took a leadout off Borrajo for what appeared to be the win. "It was all about timing. I came off Alejandro's wheel," said Leogrande who had been away in a break before opting for his chances in a final field sprint. "I was in a break of seven, eight, nine guys. It had potential. On the backside, there was a headwind. My director told me to sit up and wait."
However, Leogrande's victory was eventually negated. After a long pause for official deliberation, he was relegated "to last place in the field for not holding his line in final sprint," according to officials. His relegation comes with a fine of US$80.00. The obviously upset rider disappeared before anyone could ask his opinion of what happened.
"Today was a hard race," said final winner Cantwell, who had also won an earlier time bonus sprint. "Everyone was working hard to get in a break. My team pulled the breaks back.
"It was quite hairy through the last three or four corners," said Cantwell. Leogrande's violation happened with about 100 meters to go. "I'm happy," said Cantwell referring to the decision. "The officials did the right thing." Cantwell is in the US for four weeks, and he'll be coming back for Super Week in July, during which he hopes to log some more results that might help him earn a bigger contract for next year.
With Leogrande's relegation, Borrajo took third and an important associated time bonus. But Zapata kept the lead with his 11th place today.
"It was a very fast course, a very fast race," said Zapata as translated by his manager. When asked about the controversy surrounding the final sprint, Zapata said, "There was nothing. It was just racing. It was a clean, all out sprint." Of tomorrow's stage, he said, "It isn't as hilly, but it's still long." Anything can happen.
U23 racer Ryan Baumann (ABD Cycling Team) kept his leader's jersey today in the young rider's classification. "I tried to get in a break. Everyone's legs are tired which makes it possible, but the teams wanted to keep it together." Looking to tomorrow's final stage, he said, "I'd like to get a stage result, but at this point, I'm ready for the race to be over...to get the jersey and to go home." Baumann is studying mechanical engineering at the Unversity of Wisconsin - Madison.
While many racers were clearly dragging in a race that was taking its toll on the field, Anthony was happy for the challenge presented by the Tour of Virginia. "We do so many two hour crit events in the US, it's nice to do a six-day race."
Tomorrow's Charlottesville / Albemarle County stage will wrap up nearly a week of racing.
Unofficial Results
1 Jonathan Cantwell (Kahala-La Grange) 1.18.20 2 Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 3 Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) 4 Buck Miller (Team Race) 5 Rudolph Napolitano (Rock Racing) 6 Alejandro Cortes (Caico) 7 Russ Langley (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 8 Erik Lyman (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 9 Todd Henriksen (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network) 10 Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 11 Javier Zapata (Caico) 12 Christopher Jones (VMG Racing) 13 Gavi Epstein (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25) 14 Evan Fader (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 15 Predrag Prokic (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network) 16 Jonny Sundt (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 17 Fabio Calabria (Team Type 1 Monitored By Freestyle) 18 Ryan Baumann (Abd Cycling Team) 19 Jame Carney (Alliance Environmental) 20 Ian Birlem (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 21 Keck Baker (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 22 Morgan Schmitt (Priority Health / Bissell) 23 Andrew Boone (Kenda/Raleigh Racing) 24 Amos Brumble (CCB/Volkswagen) 25 Wendy Cruz (Caico) 26 Alex Hagman (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network) 27 Brian Buchholz (UVA) 28 Jake Rytlewski (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) 29 Ryan Belliveau (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 30 Ben Raby (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 31 Jake Hollenbach (CCB/Volkswagen) 32 Andrew Guptil (Colavita-Sutter Home) 33 Matt Winstead (Morepartnerincome.Com Development Team) 34 Pete Whitlock (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 35 Justin Spinelli (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 36 Tom Soladay (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 37 Toby Marzot (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 38 Aliaksahav Bieliakowski (CCB/Volkswagen) 39 Joel Dion-Poitras (Eva-Devinci) 40 Michael Dietrich (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 41 Dominique Perras (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 42 Ben King (Morepartnerincome.Com Development Team) 43 Eric Boily (Eva-Devinci) 44 Ken Johnson (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 45 Lisban Quintero (CRCA/Empire Cycling Team) 46 Nick Waite (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 47 Alex Sharon (Abd Cycling Team 1:18:20) 48 John Loehner (CRCA/Empire Cycling Team) 49 Alexander Gonzalez (Caico) 50 Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 51 Mike Olheiser (Memphis Motorwerks/Carve) 52 Daniel Vaillancourt (Colavita-Sutter Home) 53 Carlos Mayoral (Kahala-La Grange) 54 Jeff Buckles (Skinny Js) 55 Mason Haymes (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 56 Matt White (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 57 Martin Lechowicz (GS Mengoni) 58 Adrian Gerrits (Kahala-La Grange) 59 Philllip Cortes (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 60 Dan Cassidy (CCB/Volkswagen) 61 Mark Hardman (UVA) 62 Jared Gruber (Time Factory Development Squad) 63 Chris Monteleone (Time Factory Development Squad) 64 Chris Kuhl (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25) 65 Eddy Hilger (Priority Health / Bissell) 66 Jason Beerman (Kenda/Raleigh Racing) 67 Peter Hufanagel (Colavita-Sutter Home) 68 Glenn Murray (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 69 Adam Thuss (Team Race) 71 Chirs Rozdilsky (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 72 Joshua Dillon (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 73 Matthew Guse (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 74 Jonathan Swain (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 75 Phillip Robb (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 76 Sean Barrie (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 77 Phil Gaimon (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25) 78 Adam Switters (Rock Racing) 79 Jason Baer (Kenda/Raleigh Racing) 80 Jorge Martinez (Caico) 81 Agustin Font (Caico) 82 Dan Timmerman (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 83 Jorge Alvarado (Kahala-La Grange) 84 Graham Howard (Priority Health / Bissell) 85 Mike Norton (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) 86 Marcos Rios (Kahala-La Grange) 0.17 87 Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) 88 Ryan Roth (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 2.25 89 Bain Foote (Memphis Motorwerks/Carve) 90 Nick Friesen (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 91 Yagor Buben (CCB/Volkswagen) 92 Brian Butts (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 93 Joe Whitman (Alliance Environmental) 94 Jared Bunde (GS Mengoni) 95 Kevin Soller (VMG Racing) 96 Mike Miller (Alliance Environmental) 97 Greg Reain (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) DNF Stephen Kincaid (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) DNF Scott Stewart (VMG Racing) DNF Boyd Johnson (Alliance Environmental) DNF Dustin MacBernie (Team Race) DNF Paul Koehn (Memphis Motorwerks/Carve) DNS Jeremiah Bishop (Skinny Js) General Classification after stage 6 1 Javier Zapata (Caico) 15.41.07 2 Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) 0.09 3 Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 1.04 4 Christopher Jones (VMG Racing) 1.12 5 Mike Olheiser (Memphis Motorwerks/Carve) 1.23 6 Alejandro Cortes (Caico) 1.31 7 Daniel Vaillancourt (Colavita-Sutter Home) 1.43 8 Andrew Guptil (Colavita-Sutter Home) 2.02 9 Jake Rytlewski (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) 2.46 10 Matt White (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 2.47 11 Dominique Perras (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 2.50 12 Predrag Prokic (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network) 3.01 13 Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 3.03 14 Mark Hardman (UVA) 4.29 15 Eddy Hilger (Priority Health / Bissell) 5.27 16 Dan Timmerman (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 7.25 17 Andrew Boone (Kenda/Raleigh Racing) 7.28 18 Ryan Baumann (ABD Cycling Team) 7.32 19 Aliaksahav Bieliakowski (CCB/Volkswagen) 8.49 20 Jorge Alvarado (Kahala-La Grange) 8.55 21 Adam Switters (Rock Racing) 8.56 22 Nick Waite (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 9.15 23 Toby Marzot (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 10.56 24 Jorge Martinez (Caico) 11.39 25 Keck Baker (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 11.51 26 Jame Carney (Alliance Environmental) 11.59 27 Ben Raby (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 12.12 28 Fabio Calabria (Team Type 1 Monitored By Freestyle) 12.29 29 Michael Dietrich (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 12.30 30 Ken Johnson (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 12.39 31 Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) 12.44 32 Alex Hagman (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network) 12.46 33 Alex Sharon (ABD Cycling Team) 12.58 34 Rudolph Napolitano (Rock Racing) 13.01 35 Morgan Schmitt (Priority Health / Bissell) 13.03 36 Chris Monteleone (Time Factory Development Squad) 13.06 37 Marcos Rios (Kahala-La Grange) 13.22 38 Justin Spinelli (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 15.01 39 Brian Buchholz (UVA) 15.26 40 Dan Cassidy (CCB/Volkswagen) 15.39 41 Buck Miller (Team Race) 15.57 42 Gavi Epstein (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25) 17.39 43 Jeff Buckles (Skinny Js) 17.59 44 Todd Henriksen (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network) 19.08 45 Nick Friesen (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 19.47 46 Pete Whitlock (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 21.31 47 Carlos Mayoral (Kahala-La Grange) 21.32 48 Phil Gaimon (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25) 22.28 49 Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 23.25 50 Jonathan Cantwell (Kahala-La Grange) 24.26 51 Mike Norton (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) 24.44 52 Graham Howard (Priority Health / Bissell) 26.08 53 Adrian Gerrits (Kahala-La Grange) 28.10 54 Jared Gruber (Time Factory Development Squad) 28.16 55 Joshua Dillon (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 29.32 56 Alexander Gonzalez (Caico) 31.29 57 John Loehner (CRCA/Empire Cycling Team) 32.07 58 Matt Winstead (Morepartnerincome.Com Development Team Powered By) 32.18 59 Tom Soladay (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 32.20 60 Joel Dion-Poitras (Eva-Devinci) 32.33 61 Bain Foote (Memphis Motorwerks/Carve) 34.47 62 Jonathan Swain (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 37.39 63 Lisban Quintero (CRCA/Empire Cycling Team) 39.28 64 Chris Kuhl (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25) 39.29 65 Eric Boily (Eva-Devinci) 39.33 66 Chirs Rozdilsky (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 39.40 67 Glenn Murray (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 40.12 68 Matthew Guse (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 40.13 69 Kevin Soller (VMG Racing) 41.06 70 Phillip Robb (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 41.57 71 Philllip Cortes (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 42.26 72 Russ Langley (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 42.36 73 Amos Brumble (CCB/Volkswagen) 43.51 74 Jake Hollenbach (CCB/Volkswagen) 44.09 75 Jared Bunde (GS Mengoni) 44.46 76 Joe Whitman (Alliance Environmental) 47.15 77 Mason Haymes (Siegler / Axley Cycling Team) 47.49 78 Ben King (Morepartnerincome.Com Development Team Powered By) 48.33 79 Jason Beerman (Kenda/Raleigh Racing) 48.36 80 Evan Fader (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 48.49 81 Ryan Belliveau (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 48.55 82 Mike Miller (Alliance Environmental) 49.11 83 Jason Baer (Kenda/Raleigh Racing) 49.32 84 Peter Hufanagel (Colavita-Sutter Home) 50.06 85 Yagor Buben (CCB/Volkswagen) 50.33 86 Martin Lechowicz (GS Mengoni) 51.36 87 Brian Butts (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 51.46 88 Agustin Font (Caico) 53.46 89 Wendy Cruz (Caico) 53.48 90 Sean Barrie (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 56.40 91 Jonny Sundt (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 57.19 92 Ryan Roth (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 57.34 93 Ian Birlem (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail) 59.37 94 Adam Thuss (Team Race) 1.00.12 95 Greg Reain (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 1.01.35 96 Erik Lyman (Calyon / Litespeed Pro Cycling Team) 1.05.50
