Fast Freddie Rodriguez jumped out of a sprinting mass of cyclists at Stone Mountain on Saturday to win Stage 6 of the Tour de Georgia, just ahead of JJ Haedo and George Hincapie.
This is the first stage win for the popular US cyclist on Predictor-Lotto since taking Stage 4 of the 2006 Tour de Georgia. Rodriguez, 33, suffered a very bad fall and concussion during last year's Tour de France which kept him out of contention for awhile.
In the overall battle for the yellow jersey, Discovery Channel's Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia has maintained his 12 second lead over US cyclist Christian Vandevelde of Team CSC.
A three-man breakaway led the peloton by up to 6 minutes for much of the second half of the 113.5-mile race from Lake Lanier Islands to Stone Mountain. Maarten Wynants (Quick Step), Olivier Kaisen (Predictor-Lotto), and Glen Alan Chadwick (Navigators Insurance) were caught on the finishing circuit of the granite mountain.
Team CSC and Toyota-United worked the hardest to reel in the breakaway, probably so they could deliver Haedo (CSC) and the Cuban Missile Ivan Dominguez (Toyota) to the finish.
Rodriguez apparently came out of the pack in the sprint, just passing Haedo and finishing ahead of Discovery Channel's Hincapie. A win by Hincapie would have given Discovery three wins in a row, after Levi Leipheimer won stages 4 and 5.
Rodriguez, the three-time US Pro Cycling Champion also sponsors the FF Foundation , which raises money and supports youth cycling organizations.
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