July 26, 2004 – The 110K of flat roads on a 7.5K circuit is all that remained between Navigators Insurance’s Phil Zajicek and the victory celebration as the final stage of the 3rd Tour de Quinghai Lake began this morning. Zajicek’s Navigators Insurance team had controlled the race since the opening stage nine days ago, and were confident in their ability to deliver Zajicek to victory. So amazing has the team’s control of the race been, that the locals have dubbed the American squad “The Magic Team.”

As in yesterday’s stage, the Navigators took control immediately, and along with the Italian De Nardi team, kept the field intact until the first intermediate sprint. Viktor Rapinski won the sprint, reclaiming his lead in the points competition. Several breakaway attempts were contained by the blue train, until Action-ATI’s Dennis Kraft broke clear with Poona’s Michael Albasini. The two were allowed a 30-second cushion until Kraft’s teammate Tomasz Brozyna bridged the gap with AXA’s Paul Van Schalen. The quartet stayed at 30 seconds until the Frankfurt team came to the front to set up yesterday’s winner Andre Schulze with two laps to go.

The German team reeled in the escape with one to go, and pushed on to the finish. A perfectly timed Navigators leadout came over the top with 1K to go, and Rapinski charged to the line, just edging Shulze and Kazakhstan’s Iglinski. Zajicek finished safely in the bunch to score the biggest win of his career. The Navigators capped a near perfect week and a half, winning four stages, the Overall GC, Team GC, the Sprint Jersey, and placing four riders in the top 10. It was a magical tour for the “Magic Team”.

Stage 9:
1. Viktor Rapinski (Navigators Insurance)
2. Andre Schulze (Frankfurt)
3. Maxim Iglinski (Kazakhastan National Team)

Final GC
1. Phil Zajicek (Navigators Insurance)
2. Ryan Cox (Australian National/Barloworld)
3. Mizbani Ghader (Giant Asia)
4. Jeff Louder (Navigators Insurance)
5. Andrei Mizurov (Kazakhstan/Oktos)
6. Maxime Iglinski (Kazakhstan)
7. Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators Insurance)
8. Devis Miorin (De Nardi)
9. Chris Baldwin (Navigators Insurance)
10. Biagudinov Kairat (Kazakhstan)