Nebraska Cycling News

Race to Columbia Comes Down to the Wire While Hincapie Retains Yellow Jersey

Columbia, MO – With less than 200 meters remaining, Brazilian Luciano Pagliarini (Prodir-Saunier Duval) blasted his way to the front of the surging peloton, edging out Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) to win Stage Four in front of a massive crowd in Columbia during the Tour of Missouri. Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United), winner of Stage One in Kansas City Tuesday, earned a podium spot for the second time this week, finishing third on the stage.  

Pagliarini jostled for position in the peloton, emerging to the front just as the group crossed the finish line. ”I felt so good today, and I am in very good condition now, I knew this stage was good for me,” said Pagliarini.  He then paused to pay compliment to the race, “This race is a very, very good race.  This is my 10th year in professional racing, so I’ve seen a lot of road races.  This tour is a first edition, but it’s like a big tour in Europe, like Paris-Nice, the Tour of Switzerland.  It’s like a little Tour de France because the organization here is very good, and the stage is very good. I am so happy to win in a big race like this one. It means a lot for me.”

Displaying the pride for his country, Pagliarini wrapped a large Brazilian flag he received from a fan over his back as he walked to the podium, to the applause from the large crowd at the finish.

Meanwhile, the Discovery Channel team successfully protected their leader George Hincapie and he remains first in the General Classification (G.C.) with a one minute, 40 second lead on Will Frischkorn (Slipstream/Chipotle.) David Canada (Prodir-Saunier Duval) remains in third at two minutes, 22 seconds off the pace.  Other notables in the G.C. top 25 include Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) in 13th place, Nathan O'Neill (Health Net/Maxxis) in 14th place, and 2007 Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) in 19th place.

Stage Four, the longest of the Tour (133.4 mi./214.6 km), began in Lebanon with a rider send-off to the excited cheers of over 600 hundred kids from local schools. From there, racers took a roller coaster ride thorough Missouri's undulating landscape, passing over the Missouri River before finishing in the college town of Columbia.  A group of 10 riders broke away from the peloton about 53 miles into the race and held their gap just before the peloton entered Columbia, when the stiff headwinds took their toll and determination of the peloton eventually brought the group together to an exciting finish.  “It was pretty tough. We were pushing into the headwind,” said Steven Cozza (Team Slipstream). “I heard that the peloton chasing had around 20 guys trying to get it back. So the headwind definitely made it difficult.”

Hincapie will enter his fourth straight stage in the Yellow jersey, but today's winner Pagliarini (Prodir-Saunier Duval) has taken over the Edward Jones Sprint Leader jersey.  Darren Lill (Navigators) was voted the Drury Hotels Most Aggressive Rider by the judges.  Jeff Louder (Health Net/Maxxis) remains the Michelob Ultra King of the Mountain Leader.  Steven Cozza (Slipstream/Chipotle) will spend a second day as the Build-A-Bear Best Young Rider in Stage Five tomorrow.

Stage Five, the last of the Tour of Missouri's most challenging stages, starts at 11:30 a.m. in Jefferson City, Missouri's state capital.  The peloton is in for another long, rolling ride for 126.8 miles/ 204.0 km, through the beautiful, but hilly Missouri wine country.  Three Michelob ULTRA King of the Mountain races will test riders along the course before finishing the day in St. Charles, between 4:05 p.m. to 5:21 p.m.

Quotes from 2007 Tour of Missouri Stage Four
 
Luciano Pagliarini, Prodir-Saunier Duval
 
About his win…

“I felt so good today, and I am in very good condition now, and I knew this stage was good for me. On the last turn I was on the back, and it was not easy. My team worked very well today, and I only did the work at the end.  But I saw a little hole on the right, and that was the right moment.  It was so long to the finish but I was very fast on the back and it was good for me.”
 
About the final 500 meters…

“On the last turn I was on the back, and it was not easy. My team worked very well today, and I only did the work at the end. But I saw a little hole on the right, and that was the right moment. It was so long to the finish but I was very fast on the back and it was good for me.” 
 
Jeff Louder, Team Health Net Presented by Maxxis
 
About his attack on the field at the end of the race…
“We were out on a long, straight road, and the writing was on the wall, but you spend that much time out there you don’t want to give up.  Darren and I had a little chat, and said why don’t we give it a shot, and we did.  And it just kind of prolonged the agony for another five or ten minutes… and the rest is history.”
 
About the Tour of Missouri course…
“It was hard to mentally prepare for this, just knowing there were going to be some pretty serious five-hour days.  So that definitely is a factor for the American peloton, we don’t see too many 200-plus kilometer days.”
 
About today’s course…
“There was not a lot of flat road today, it was very undulating. It’s hills, not mountains.  But it actually makes it kind of harder, because it’s these short little climbs, and really quick descents, and you’re immediately back on the climb.  You spend a lot more time going uphill than you do descending, and you don’t really get a lot of recovery in the descent. There was a lot of altitude today.”
 
George Hincapie, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team:
 
About today’s race…
“It was a long day, lots of wind, lots of little hills that added up on the legs at the end of the day.  But it was good for the team, we kept the lead, and hopefully we can keep it all the way until Sunday. It was some really aggressive racing but we kept it under control and hopefully it will be the same tomorrow and the next day.”
 
About the Tour of Missouri….
It is very similar [to the Tour of California and the Tour of Georgia].  It’s 6 days just like those racers are, and I think even the spectators are probably better here, there’s a ton of people, and we’re very happy to see that.  It’s been a great amount of enthusiasm from the crowds and we’re very appreciative of that.”