April 25/05 9:31 am - Dodge Tour de Georgia Final Stage: Canadian Rider Interviews, Race Report, Full Results

Posted by Editoress on 04/25/05
 

Dodge Tour de Georgia Georgia USA

Amy Smolens caught up with Gord Fraser after winning the 6th and final stage at 2005 the Dodge Tour de Georgia

How was today's finish?

"I was pretty confident (going into today's final sprint). I have been feeling better every day... I knew I had Greg (Henderson) on my wheel so I actually went a lot earlier. If I blew up I knew Greg would be there to clean up the mess. But I had great legs. I got in my sprint and just kept accelerating.. well I did not decelerate.. it is an uphill sprint. It was a win win situation. If I came up short, Greg would have come around me for the win. But fortunately for me I had the legs to go all the way. So I am happy for Health Net Maxxis here in Georgia"

Talking with Eric Wohlberg before the final stage.

How has the experience been here at the Dodge Tour de Georgia with Team Symmetrics?

The team has just been great, the staff has worked so hard, the riders are giving everything they've got but you really look at this field and it's kinda two fields - it's the ProTour teams and the rest of us. So while it's nice to have a chance to measure up against some of the big dogs of the world, we kind of knew where we stood coming in here and we're just trying to have the best ride we can and maybe a lucky break or two but that hasn't really panned out for us. So it's just pedaling as hard as you can all day long and you get what you get."

What have you been able to teach the young kids?

"I think that was one of the reason I was brought on to Symmetrics. We have some senior riders like myself and Erker, Tuft, Lange and Pinfold for that matter that have done a fair bit of high level North American racing and international stuff too, and I think that we're the young guys and they're really coming along. We can't pedal their bikes for them but we're doing everything we can, and they're learning and picking it up."

There's a cycling fan I've met this week that I'd like to mention. Everett Apple is a five-year-old from Marietta, Georgia. He and his mom, Andrea, have come to every stage so far. An avid cyclist, he rides every day after he goes home until it gets dark and is easily the most savvy five-year-old I've ever met - he really knows a lot about the riders! We've all been giving him special access - at the Stage 4 finish in Dahlonega we brought him up onto the camera platform on the final corner with the stipulation that he couldn't move or the camera would shake. He kept up his end of the bargain! The PHOTO is of me, Everett, and OLN cameraman Nat. Remember the name, Everett Apple! Someone will have to find him a tiny Symmetrics jersey, right?

Health Net Pro Cycling Team report

The Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis will leave the Dodge Tour de Georgia with exactly what it came for: a stage win and a leader's jersey.

Canadian national champion Gord Fraser came across the line, arms raised to take the final stage. Glued to his wheel in second place came Kiwi Greg Henderson, wearing the orange Maxxis Points Jersey, which he would wear onto the final podium as well.

"Hendy was pretty tired coming into the stage," said Jeff Corbett, directeur sportif of the Oakland, CA-based Health Net Presented by Maxxis team. "But Gord was getting stronger after starting out the first couple days of the tour still feeling the effects of the flu he had at Redlands. When it came down to the end of the stage, we switched our plan around from trying to set up Hendy to seeing if we couldn't get him glued to Gord's wheel coming into the finish and at least get him a top-ten placing so he could get enough points to keep the Maxxis sprint jersey. It was great to see him stick to Gord's wheel all the way to the line."

Health Net Presented by Maxxis gets a break

Before the stage, Fraser noted that one of two things needed to happen for Henderson to keep his jersey. Either things had to stay together and they got him points in both intermediate sprints, or more ideally, a break composed of non-contenders for the sprint jersey went up the road and took out all the points in the intermediates.

When Andrea Tafi (Prodir-Saunier Duval) once again had a go at a break in an effort to get that elusive final win of his career, he did Health Net Presented by Maxxis, as well as Discovery, a huge favor. Tafi attacked just after the feed zone mid-way through the race, with still more than 20 Km until the first intermediate sprint.

Tafi was quickly joined by Danny Pate (Jelly Belly-Pool Gel), Dominique Perras (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) and Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner). With none of the four a threat to either the overall lead held by Tom Danielson (Discovery) or Henderson's points jersey, both teams were content to let the four attackers roll off the front and establish a lead that for a time topped three minutes. Discovery patrolled the front of the bunch and made sure the break didn't get out of hand, but with Pate the highest placed on GC at more than nine minutes back, they weren't too concerned.

With 55 Km to go, the Italian Continental pro team LPR took over pace-making and began to reel in the break in an effort to set up their young sprinter, Danilo Napolitano. Despite good work from the four attackers, LPR steadily cut into their lead. Their work gave Health Net Presented by Maxxis a break, but with 38 Km to go, a couple of the guys went to the front to help out LPR.

By the time the break had hit the first of six finishing circuits with about 35 Km to go, their gap had been reduced to just 1:15, and it became apparent that Tafi would again be disappointed on this day.

Once on the finishing circuits, Discovery went to the front to look after Danielson and to help out LPR. With those two teams on the front, Fraser and Henderson could sit in right behind and conserve much energy before the finish.

With 22 Km to go, Corbett ordered the rest of the troops to the front to start gaining more control over the race and to ensure that the break, which was hovering 30 seconds ahead, didn't stay away, despite the best efforts of the eternally strong, 39-year-old Tafi.

With three laps to go, Pate attacked and shattered the small break. Only Krauss could stay with the former Health Net Presented by Maxxis rider. Soon, Tafi was back in the peloton. Even with Pate's attack, the break was down to under 15 seconds. Finally, with just 10 Km to go, it was groupo compacto, with LPR and Discovery back on the front setting tempo, with Health Net Presented by Maxxis well represented right behind them.

Coming into the final 5.9 Km circuit, LPR kept the pace high, with the peloton strung out in a line behind them. Napolitano was protected, but Health Net was right behind them waiting to challenge the young sprinter who already has five victories in Europe this season.

Even so, Tafi had one more go at it coming across the finish line at the beginning of the final circuit, but the gap of 50 meters he opened was short-lived. On the final lap, the pace stayed high to discourage further attacks. With 3 Km to go, it was Chris Wherry of Health Net Presented by Maxxis on the front driving the peloton, with the help of Floyd Landis, who might have been looking for one last chance to make up the nine seconds separating him from Danielson.

The last couple kilometers saw a succession of riders from different teams on the front of the group. Coming into the final kilometer, no single team had taken control of the sprint, and riders were all across the road in what was quickly becoming a chaotic finish, with almost every team having a go at an elusive stage win.

Somehow, Fraser found his way through the pack with Henderson, adorned in the bright orange Maxxis points jersey, in tow. By the time they both hit the line, arms raised, they had a full bike length on Credit Agricole's Aurelien Clerc. In those final few seconds, the team had achieved its two main goals for the Dodge Tour de Georgia.

Race Notes

The 15 points Fraser earned for the win jumped him up to third in the points competition, but the 12 for Henderson gave him a convincing 40-24 in over second place Lance Armstrong.

Justin England finished with the pack and held onto his 14th place overall. Scott Moninger also stayed in 20th. Their high finishes helped Health Net Presented by Maxxis to 5th place in the overall team competition behind Pro Tour teams Discovery, CSC, Prodir-Saunier Duval and Gerolsteiner.

Of the 121 riders who started the Dodge Tour de Georgia, only 81 finished.