our race coverage

July 9-13, 2008

The BISSELL Pro Cycling Team was well represented in all of the breaks of the day and saw Jeremy Vennell finishing 4th in a very technical sprint finish. The queen stage of the Cascade Classic was a 134 kilometer course which had a grueling 16 kilometer ascent to the KOM almost from the start. Three riders including BISSELL’s Burke Swindlehurst attacked on the climb and presented the first threatening break of the day; however, the three were reabsorbed on the screaming descent. There continued to be a flurry of attacks, and eventually a group of 11 containing Jeremy Vennell successfully stayed away. The group grew to 12 when Chad Beyer (USA) was able to bridge. Chris Horner controlled the peloton keeping the gap safely at two and a half minutes in protection of Levi Lepheimer’s  (Astana) top position in the GC. Two BMC riders set a fast tempo in the break but that didn’t stop attacks from happening in the lead group. With 5 kilometers to go, Blake Caldwell (Garmin Chipotle) attacked and coupled with his good climbing ability he was a threat for the stage win. His lead began to diminish as the group approached the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort. A full out sprint was in effect over the final flat 500 meters, and Moises Aldape (Team Type 1) came around for the win with Jeremy finishing with the same time in 4th. Tom Zirbel fell to 8th in the GC as Levi Leipheimer put the pressure on over the final climb.