April 29, 2007 (Harrisonburg, VA) – Jonathan Cantwell (Kahala-La Grange) of Australia had to wait several minutes for judges to sort out a controversial finishing sprint before he was finally awarded top honors at Tour of Virginia’s stage 6 criterium, finishing the 32-lap, 56.32km (35.2-mile) course in 1:18:20.

A razor thin margin in the general classification between first place Javier Zapata (CAICO) and second place Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid Pro Cycling), combined with a field of racers eager for a stage win, created an aggressive, thrilling, and suspenseful race.

Breaks came early – one right after another, again and again – and the peloton stretched out several blocks long at times, but each attack was eventually hunted down by the hungry pack.

On the final meters of the final lap, Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) nudged past Cantwell and crossed the finish line first, immediately followed by Cantwell who raised his hand in protest. Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) crossed the line third, same time.

Shortly after the race, Cantwell met Leogrande in the finish area and told him that he would not pursue a formal protest for what he believed was an illegal last-second maneuver by Leogrande.

However, officials reviewed the matter on their own and ultimately ruled that Leogrande did in fact violate race rules when he “broke his line” to cut in front of Cantwell at the finish, according to chief referee Beth Wrenn-Estes.

Officials relegated Leogrand, which cost him the podium and automatically bumped Cantwell into first place for the stage. “The judges did their job, and I’m happy for the win,” said Cantwell after learning about the decision.

The controversy did not seem to tarnish the sweetness of victory for Cantwell. “I’ve only been in the U.S. for a week and I’ve got three wins,” said Cantwell, referring to his 3rd place finish in the Stage 2 criterium and his 1st place stage win in yesterday’s road race. He described his success at Tour of Virginia as “surreal.”

The violation also moved Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) into 2nd. “We started making a move about 500 meters out,” said Anthony as he explained his team’s concerted effort to position itself for a win. “Mark (Walters) did an awesome job,” Anthony said, giving credit to his teammate who attacked throughout the race.

Leogrande’s violation had dramatic implications in the already close general classification, as well.

GC leader Zapata began the day leading by a narrow margin over second-place Borrajo. Had judges not relegated Leogrande, Borraojo would have finished 4th. Instead, Borrajo placed 3rd, earning him a four-second time bonus to bring him tantalizingly close to the GC leader.

Zapata craftily mitigated the damage earlier in the race by launching past Borrajo to earn the six-second sprint bonus. Like Leogrande, Zapata’s sprint was shrouded in controversy since it appeared that Zapata’s teammates may have gotten away with illegally boxing in Borrajo as Zapata passed.

A visibly irate Jonathan Wirsing (Rite Aid Director) said Borrajo was clearly “hooked” by CAICO. Race officials agreed with Wirsing’s stance, but were unable to anything about it.

“It sure looked like a violation to us,” said Wrenn-Estes. “But we couldn’t see any numbers and couldn’t verify any numbers on the camera to make the call,” said Wrenn-Estes. Through a translator, Zapata insisted the move was “clean” and just a part of racing in an all out sprint.

In the end, CAICO and Zapata adeptly accomplished their mission to defend the Natural Bridge Race Leader’s Jersey. Cantwell unseated Borrajo as the top sprinter and will wear the Peaks Coaching Group Sprint Leader in tomorrow’s final stage.

In addition to the GC jersey, climber Zapata maintained his hold on the Augusta Medical Center King of the Mountains Jersey.

Ryan Baumann finished in 18th place, with a time of 1:18:20, to hold on to the Bicyclepowermeters.com U-23 Jersey, which the 19-year-old has held the entire week.

According to Baumann, he has felt “a bit nervous” in the U-23 lead since he never expected to be in contention for a jersey. “I’ve learned a lot from the experience,” said Baumann who says he has his eye on a top-10 finish tomorrow.

The Harrisonburg tourism office reported an estimated crowd of 3,000 people gathered to cheer the racers this evening along a course that started and finished in Harrisonburg ’s historic Court Square.

“We couldn’t be happier with the turnout, and the crowds definitely got what they came for,” said Matt Butterman. “We witnessed a very tactical, aggressive race today.” Butterman said. “The race is very much in contention heading into Charlottesville [for Sunday’s final stage 7].”

Up Next – April 30 – Stage 7: Charlottesville — Albemarle Road Race. Stage 7 is the final stage of the 2007 Tour of Virginia with a new course that starts and finishes in the new venue city of Charlottesville. The 100-mile route will take the riders past the University of Virginia — “Mr. Jefferson’s University” – through scenic Albemarle County to the James River at Scottsville, and up past Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello. The six-day journey will conclude with three laps of a spectator-friendly 5.76km (3.6-mile) finish circuit around Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. The rider that holds the leader’s jersey going into this stage will be hoping for an uneventful day, while the riders nearest to him on the overall classification will be using their teams to the utmost – doing everything they can to gain an advantage out on the road that might see them take control of the race.

Local information: www.charlottesvilletourism.org

Stage 6 Results (unofficial)
The Harrisonburg Criterium
35.2 miles * = U-23

1. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Kahala-La Grange 1:18:20
2. Jesse Anthony* (USA) Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada
3. Alejandro Borrajo (Arg) Rite Aid Pro Cycling
4. Kevin “Buck” Miller (Team R.A.C.E.)
5. Rudolph Napolitano (Rock Racing)
6. Alejandro Cortes (Caico)
7. Russ Langley (Battley Harley-Davidson/Hudson Trail)
8. Erik Lyman (Calyon/Litespeed)
9. Todd Henriksen (AEG-Toshiba-Jet Network)
10. Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast)

29. Ryan Belliveau (Calyon/Litespeed)
39. Joel Dion-Poitras* (Eva/Devinci)
41. Dominique Perras (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast)
43. Eric Boily (Eva/Devinci)
50. Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada)
59. Philllip Cortes (Calyon/Litespeed)
69. Adam Thuss (Team R.A.C.E.)
73. Matthew Guse* (Calyon/Litespeed)
88. Ryan Roth (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 2:25
90. Nick Friesen (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling)
97. Greg Reain (Calyon/Litespeed)
DNF Dustin MacBurnie (Team R.A.C.E.)

GC after Stage 6 (unofficial)
376.3 miles completed * = U-23

1. Javier Zapata (Col) CAICO 15:41:07
2. Alejandro Borrajo (Arg) Rite Aid Pro Cycling :08
3. Dan Bowman (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast 1:04
4. Christopher Jones (VMG Racing) 1:12
5. Mike Olheiser (Memphis Motorwerks/Carve) 1:23
6. Alejandro Cortes (Caico) 1:31
7. Daniel Vaillancourt (Colavita-Sutter Home) 1:43
8. Andrew Guptil (Colavita-Sutter Home) 2:02
9. Jake Rytlewski (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) 2:46
10. Matt White (Firodifrutta Cycling Team) 2:47

11. Dominique Perras (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 2:50
13. Mark Walters (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) 3:03
43. Kevin “Buck” Miller (Team R.A.C.E.) 15:57
47. Nick Friesen (Kelly Benefit Strategies/LSV Amateur Cycling) 19:47
65. Joel Dion-Poitras (Eva/Devinci) 32:32
70. Eric Boily (Eva/Devinci) 39:33
73. Matthew Guse (Calyon/Litespeed) 40:13
76. Philllip Cortes (Calyon/Litespeed) 42:26
88. Ryan Belliveau* (Calyon/Litespeed) 48:55
95. Ryan Roth (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) 57:34
99. Adam Thuss (Team R.A.C.E.) 1:00:12
100. Greg Reain (Calyon/Litespeed) 1:01:35
101. Erik Lyman (Calyon/Litespeed) 1:05:50

For complete results: http://tourofvirginia.com/results.php