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our race coverage

April 29 - May 3, 2009

Gila’s stage 4 criterium was screaming fast and the biggest concern for the day was staying upright and safe. The 40 lap day was further complicated with high winds and several high speed crashes on the final laps; however, BISSELL stayed intact for the day and was involved in much of the action. There were several early breaks and BISSELL was instrumental in equalizing them all. First, Paul Mach (BISSELL) shut down a break by Phil Zajicek (Fly V), and BISSELL’s Graham Howard worked diligently to close the most threatening gap of the day created by Ben Day’s solo breakaway.  In the final 6 laps, there was constant attacking.  At one point, Jeremy Vennell got away with 3 others, but Taylor Phinney (Trek Livestrong) and Lance Armstrong (Astana/Mellow Johnny’s) led the group to shut it down. Next, Tom Zirbel (BISSELL) gave the record crowds in Silver City some action when he exploded out of the group. Following that move, Jeremy Vennell (BISSELL) again blasted off and was out in front for a lap. After some chaotic moments created from late race crashes, the group charged the finish for a field sprint.  Roman Van Uden (Land Rover- ORBEA) took the win with Lucas Haedo in 2nd and Alex Howe (Felt-Garmin) in third. All riders had the same finish time. BISSELL was not involved in the field sprint, but more importantly kept BISSELL’s highest GC contenders, Burke Swindlehurst and Tom Zirbel, safe heading into Sunday’s final stage. The Gila Monster is 105.7 miles with 9,131 feet of climbing 8,252 feet of descending. The day will be filled with brutal climbing, dangerous descents, and blind corners. Burke currently sits in 6th place and Tom is in 7th. Barring unexpected complications, Levi Leipheimer seems to have firm hold of the leader’s jersey; however, Burke and Tom are within a minute of the podium.

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photo: veloimages/brian hodes		photo: veloimages/brian hodes		photo: veloimages/brian hodes