22 avril
Tim Maloney
It's been seven years since the Tour Du Pont folded, and ever since, American cycling has craved a top-level international stage race. Today, the prodigal son of Tour Du Pont, the first-ever Tour de Georgia will get underway in Savannah, Georgia with a technical 4.2 prologue time trial, but the rest of the week may be more than many teams in the race bargained for. On paper, the Georgia race may match up to the Du Pont race someday, but it has a major legacy to live up to. The UCI 2.3 stage race then circumnavigates the Peachtree state with 5 stages that total 989.2km. Most of the stages are on flat to rolling terrain, except the penultimate 196km Dalton-Gainesville mountain stage across the Appalachian Mountains with two tough climbs that should blow the race apart.
In fact, due to the nature of the Tour de Georgia's point-to-point stages, the average stage length is almost 200km. This means that most stages will be about 5 hours of racing; much longer than most North American teams are used to racing, especially the many new TT3 squads competing in this first Georgia tour.
Wednesday's Stage 1 from Augusta-Macon is a flat 223km race to the home town of soul singer James Brown, with three tricky finishing circuits that climbs steep Coleman Hill. Stage 2 from Macon to Columbus covers 202km and has a KOM sprint in Warm Springs after 123km before three finishing circuits in town. Friday is Stage 3, a 222km rolling ride from Pine Mountain to Rome and this long stage may have offer some surprises when GC contenders look to get some distance on other key riders. Saturday's penultimate stage offers some difficult and challenging terrain that will be the key stage in the Georgia tour.
First on the menu on Stage 4 from Dalton to Gainesville is the 13km ascent up Fort Mountain (866m) that gains 640m. after 44km of racing. Then the course traverses rolling terrain through Ellijay and climbing across the Chattahoochee National Forest for 70km, where the film Deliverance was shot. The second KOM comes after 141km after a somewhat steep 10km climb up to Woody Gap that will provide a further GC selection in the Tour de Georgia. But the Woody Gap climb comes with 55 mostly downhill kilometres to race, which should provide a possibility for a regrouping of strong riders before the finish in Gainesville.
Sunday's final stage will wrap up the Georgia tour in an anticlimactic 142km circuit race in Atlanta. But the final outcome in the Georgia race should already be decided before the final stage in Atlanta.
As for the contenders, the inaugural Tour de Georgia looks to be wide-open. Although Saturn has dominated American racing this spring, the car boys now have to play in the big-leagues and go head to head with some top European teams like Rabobank and Vini Caldirola-Sidermec. Saturn has Chris Horner, Aussie Nathan O'Neill and climber Tom Danielson, with speedster Charlie Dionne looking for stage wins. Rabobank has brought old pro Maarten Den Bakker for the GC, supported by young sprinter Bobbie Traksel and stage seekers Wielinga, Niermann and Veneberg. Vini Caldirola-Sidermec will be led by two-time American USPRO champ Fred Rodriguez, who has been seeking the right form all season. Look for his teammates fast Gabrielle Balducci and hardman Mauro Raedelli to grab a stage win if the opportunity presents.
The Navigators team has just returned from its European campaign that mostly focused on single-day races. Although the always dangerous and in-form Aussie Henk Vogels and powerhouse Russian Oleg Grishkine will be in the hunt for stage laurels, it's hard to believe that their top rider Davidenko can have any hope of winning the overall title.
Italian squad Formaggio Pinzolo Fiave' has an interesting blend of experience and youth. Both Massimiliano Mori and Slovenian Uros Murn can win stages, along with neo-pro climber Rizzi and experienced sprinter Moreno Di Biase.
Prime Alliance's Jonathan Vaughters has the experience to contend for GC honours in Georgia; it remains to be seen if his team can go head to head with the more experienced squads here. As for the US Postal Service squad on hand in Georgia, it's hard to see where they fit in. With potential winner Floyd Landis coming back from hip surgery and mountain biker and superb climber Roland Green guest starring, USPS also has tough Tony Cruz in the hunt for stage wins.
Otherwise, the Tour de Georgia has teams like 7-Up Maxxis, Jelly Belly, USPRO Champ Chann McRae's Schroeder Iron squad, and Sierra Nevada-Clif Bar that will be looking for any good news that might present itself. At the bottom of the food chain in the Tour de Georgia are smaller TT3 teams that just may be able to hang in there in such a difficult race as the Tour De Georgia.
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page mise en ligne le 22 avril 2003 par SVP
