April 20, 2004 – Today was a good stage – pretty short but a nice rolling day with some good hills. It was very hot, and a break went early. We had one of our guys from Ofoto, which is important for us as we are a smaller team and the exposure is good. He was riding with a Webcor rider and they got almost nine minutes on the peloton.
The pack was cruising until Domina Vacanze and CSC began chasing hard, and sure enough, the break came back. The end was three finishing circuits, and I tried to stay near the front as it gets kind of hectic on those circuits. For me, it was a good test as I haven't race much in two months. I had just started up again at the Sea Otter Classic, which went well for me, despite breaking my chain: long story short, I am going to be conservative at Georgia until we hit the two really hilly stages and the time trial.
The race is great so far: lots of big crowds for us – and of course Lance Armstrong and Mario Cippollini. My team Ofoto is working out well for me. I actually got connected with them because of my long-term sponsorship with Time. Plus I am good friends with one of the riders, Eric Saunders. I think we will have a good ride here in Georgia. The stages are all quite rolly and hilly, but the hardest part sometimes is the finishing circuits. They are always more dangerous as people fight for the wheels as opposed to just riding straight to the finish. Today was a bit chaotic, as they were safety cones on the route and there were some crashes.
Until tomorrow, Dom
Results:
1. Gordon Fraser (Can) Health Net Presented by Maxxis 3.18.59
2. Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Colavita Olive Oil, presented by Bolla Wines
3. Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
4. Gregory Henderson (NZl) Health Net Presented by Maxxis
5. Yuri Metlushenko (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet — Colnago
6. Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld-Androni Giocattoli
7. Nieko Biskner (USA) Ofoto/Lombardi Sports
8. Vassili Davidenko (Rus) Navigators Insurance
9. Benjamin Brooks (Aus) Jelly Belly/Aramark
10. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Sierra Nevada Cycling