Levi Leipheimer kept his 59-second lead entering yesterday’s final stage of the Tour of the Gila with help from fellow American and Mellow Johnny’s teammate Lance Armstrong.
There were no changes atop the main classification after Saturday’s fourth stage, so Leipheimer’s lead over Dave Zabriske of DZ Nuts remained just under a minute entering the 40-lap “Gila Monster” final stage.
Seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong and Leipheimer are among those using the event as a training race for events later this season.
“I continue to feel good,” Armstrong said. “It’s a work in progress. We came here to put miles in our training regimen and the strong field has been a very ideal situation for us.”
Taylor Phinney of Trek-Livestrong won Saturday’s stage. Reigning under-23 world champion Phinney, son of a former Olympic champion cyclist and star US speed skater, said Armstrong changed his life with his Tour de France success.
“When I saw him race, I was just blown away with the sport and I told myself that this was a true sport,” Phinney said of Armstrong. “I then thought to myself that I would give it a try since my mom and dad were pretty good at it.”
■TOUR DE ROMANDIE
Slovenian Simon Spilak of the Lampre team won the hilly fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie on Saturday held over 157.9km between Vevey to Chatel in the French Alps.
Australian Michael Rogers, of HTC-Columbia, retained the race lead but faces a likely challenge from Alejandro Valverde in yesterday’s final stage where the Spaniard will try to overcome his one-second deficit.
On a day marked by cold conditions and biting rain, Spilak shaped his stage victory with a daring attack on a four-man escape group 10km from the finish line at the French ski station.
Racing up the final hairpin bends on his own, the 24-year-old managed to keep his chasers at bay to come over the finish line 13 seconds ahead of Slovakian Peter Sagan (Liquigas) and Amstel Gold winner Philippe Gilbert of Belgium, who rides for Omega-Pharma.
It was only the fourth victory of his career, and while coming on one of the race’s most difficult stages will also be remembered for coming on the first ever Swiss-Franco stage of the race.
Yesterday’s final stage is a 121.8km around Sion, and could see Rogers’ lead come under threat.
Valverde’s deficit to the Australian had stood at two seconds however the Spaniard halved that when he claimed a bonus second at the final intermediate sprint of the day.
Spilak’s win, his first of the year, means he is now third overall at just five seconds behind with Katusha’s Vladimir Karpets fourth at 07 and his fellow Russian Denis Menchov, of Rabobank, at 11.
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