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Zirbel Forced to Take 2nd; BISSELL Wins Team Classification

In the final lap of the Stillwater Crit, Rory Sutherland (OUCH) went on the attack and was able to unseat Tom Zirbel (BISSELL) by 3 seconds for the overall win. The Stillwater course lived up to its notoriety on Sunday when the Chilkoot Hill with its average 18% grade was the determining factor. An attack 5 laps into the race by Floyd Landis (OUCH) was the first action for the day. Landis built up a max 20 second gap while BISSELL did an excellent job riding steady tempo at the front of the main group. With frequent attacks out of the peloton, the break completely reshuffled throughout the 60 minutes with new legs bridging up and replacing the tired that dropped back. Through it all, BISSELL stayed composed and in control on the front. With 3 laps to go, OUCH heightened the pace in the group, and in the final lap Sutherland attacked and was able to bridge up to the leading duo of Phillip Mamos (Amore & Vita) and Anthony Colby (Colavita). In the chase up Chilkoot, Tom, unfortunately, lost momentum when he was forced to tap his breaks due to the OUCH lead-out tactics. Sutherland came across behind Mamos and Colby to beat Tom to the line by 10 seconds giving him the few seconds that he needed to take the overall.
The BISSELL Pro Cycling Team rode an outstanding race this week. They consistently rode a superior race from the opening time trial with 5 BISSELL riders in the top 10 to their smart race tactics demonstrated throughout the 6 stages. The strength of the team was further verified with the win in the overall team classification.

NVGP Final General Classification: