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Top-flight field targets Tour de Georgia
George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer and Tyler Hamilton will be among the headliners racing the 2007 Tour de Georgia April 16-22, Medalist Sports announced today.
Fifteen teams have accepted invitations to race the seven-stage, 667-mile event, including ProTour teams CSC, Discovery Channel, Saunier Duval-Prodir, Quick Step-Innergetic and Predictor-Lotto, according to the sports management agency.
“The stature of the Tour de Georgia field continues to grow year after year,” said Jim Birrell, race director and managing partner of Medalist Sports. “That says something as to the quality of the event and the field that is invited every year to compete. Kevin Livingston, the Tour de Georgia’s competition director, has again assembled an outstanding and world-class field for our spectators and viewers to enjoy.”
Leipheimer, winner of February’s Amgen Tour of California, last raced Georgia in 2005, finishing second. "After just missing out on the win in 2005, I am really looking forward to coming back to race at the Tour de Georgia this year,” he said.
Hincapie, the reigning USA Cycling pro road champ, ordinarily would be targeting the European spring classics. But having broken a wrist in the Tour of California, he switched his priorities and will use the Georgia race as the beginning of his Tour de France preparation.
“I have always thought it was a great race and with the team going for the win, it was an easy sell to Johan,” he said.
For Hamilton, Georgia will mark his return to top-level U.S. racing after a two-year suspension. Now riding for Tinkoff Credit System, Hamilton said he is “really looking forward to racing inside the United States again.”
“I hope that we can make a good showing at the Tour of Georgia. The team is really strong and I have a lot of confidence in them,” he said.
For more, see www.tourdegeorgia.com.
Tour de Georgia roster
ProTour teams
Team CSC (Denmark)
Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (USA)
Prodir-Saunier Duval (Spain)
Quick Step-Innergetic (Belgium)
Predictor-Lotto (Belgium)
UCI Professional Continental teams
Tinkoff Credit System
Health Net-Maxxis
Team Slipstream-Chipotle
Navigators Insurance Professional Cycling Team
UCI Continental (USA) teams
Jittery Joe’s Professional Cycling Team
Priority Health-Bissell
Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team
BMC Professional Cycling Team
Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light
National team
USA Cycling National Development Team
