Brasstown Bald surprise at Tour de Georgia bike race

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Here's a scenario I bet you didn't expect:

Tom Danielson, 4 seconds down in the General Classification, won Stage 5 atop Brasstown Bald on Saturday but didn't gain on Tour leader Floyd Landis because the Phonak cyclist finished on Danielson's back wheel.

With just Sunday's bike ride left in the 600-mile, 6-day Ford Tour de Georgia, it looks like Landis is poised to win his third major bicycle race of the season. He won the Tour of California in Febuary and the Paris-Nice in March.

The final stage starts in Cumming at 12:30 and ends in Alpharetta, 117 miles down the road.

Until Saturday, the 2006 Tour de Georgia looked like a repeat of 2005; Landis took the leader's yellow jersey that year by winning the individual time trial, but the Discovery team's Danielson beat Landis on Brasstown Bald to take the overall lead in the race.

It played out pretty much the same in 2006, except Landis checked Danielson on  the climb up Brasstown Bald, never letting him accelerate away. Danielson told CyclingNews after the race:

“We definitely underestimated Floyd. He was very strong today and was gritting his teeth — he really gave it everything he had.”

Sunday's course is flat, expect for a Category 3 climb early in the day. If Landis can stay on his bike, the experts at CyclingNews and VeloNews say he's got the win.


Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2006/04/23/brasstown-bald-surprise-at-tour-de-georgia-bike-race/

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