April 19, 2005 (Augusta, Georgia) - The majority of today’s race was more of a leisurely cruise than an all-out hammer session. Stage One of the Tour de Georgia took the riders from Augusta to Macon for a total of 207.4 km. The start included a delay as Lance Armstrong tried to make it though a throng of press, and the singling out of Svein Tuft, as the Canadian National Time Trial Champion. Tuft (Symmetrics Cycling), joined the likes of Armstrong (Discovery Channel), Bobby Julich (CSC), Canadian Gord Fraser (Health Net), and Nathan O’Neil (Navigators) at the line just prior to the race commencing.
The race included three neutral laps around downtown Augusta and even following the official race start, the pace remained leisurely – at least for a peloton full of pro riders. An early break by TIAA-CREF espoir rider Dan Bowman quickly gained time, eventually reaching more than twelve minutes at one point. Bowman, who finished second to Symmetrics rider Will Routley at the 2004 Grand Prix de Beauce in the espoir category, took all three sprints for a time bonus.
With about 40 km to go, the pace picked up and another break group formed with a rider from the LPR team and the Saunier Duval-Prodir team. The break caught Dan Bowman, sending him back to the main group, but was quickly dissolved as the race began descending into Macon.
The slack pace nearly doubled as the group entered downtown Macon and a huge crowd. The final four lap circuit was very technical and the group quickly began losing riders on a hill of cobble stones. Although the overall average speed of the race was a mere 35.77 km, the pace in the final circuits was upwards of 55 km/h. In the end, Robert Hunter (Phonak) survived an intense sprint, narrowly beating out Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly) and Michele Maccanti (LPR). Danilo Napolitano (LPR) and Gregory Henderson (Health Net) rounded out the top five with a fourth and fifth place finish respectively.
Canadian Geoff Kabush (Jittery Joe’s) had a great ride and clocked a twelfth place finish. Other Canadian results included Marc Walters (Navigators) in 19th, Dominique Perras (Kodak) in 32nd, Michael Barry (Discovery Channel) in 38th and Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics) in 46th. Gord Fraser, 2004 Canadian National Road Champion, had a difficult race, eventually finishing 103rd.
Dodge Tour de Georgia – Stage 1 and Overall GC:
1. Robert Hunter (Phonak)
2. Ben Brooks (Jelly Belly-Pool Gel)
3. Michele Maccanti (Team LPR)
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Photo: Mark Cunningham
Lance Armstrong and Discovery Team in the hunt at Georgia
Photo: Mark Cunningham
Photo: Mark Cunningham
Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) signs autographs before the start
Photo: Mark Cunningham
Photo: Mark Cunningham
Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics) - pre-race autographs
Photo: Mark Cunningham
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