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Despite last-minute worries, Tour de Georgia ready to roll.

By Jason Sumner, VeloNews.com
Published: Apr. 14, 2007
Danielson - here on his way to winning atop Brasstown Bald in 2006 - comes to Georgia as a strong favorite.
Danielson - here on his way to winning atop Brasstown Bald in 2006 - comes to Georgia as a strong favorite.
Photo: Casey B. Gibson

It’s hard to believe that a strike by firefighters and security personnel on another continent could be mucking up race director Jim Birrell’s day. But that was just the case Friday — the 13th — as Birrell worked from his office, dealing with the final i’s and t’s ahead of Monday's start of the Tour de Georgia.

A 10-hour work stoppage at the Brussels International Airport forced the delay or cancellation of almost every arriving and departing flight Friday. That meant major headaches for holiday travelers, and scrambled plans for members of the CSC, Quick Step-Innergetic and Predictor-Lotto ProTour teams headed across the Atlantic.

“There will probably be some people missing from [Saturday’s] team presentation,” lamented Birrell. “But everyone will be on the start line come Monday.”

That final statement is all that really matters, considering there was a point earlier this year when it looked like the fifth running of this hors categorie stage race might not happen. As late as February, race organizer Medalist Sports was reportedly $1 million short on necessary funding.
 CompleteTour de Georgia rosters

“I don’t think we ever lost faith,” said Birrell. “This race has a proven track record with the sponsors, the host cities, the athletes. We never lost sight that this is good thing for the state.”

Georgia’s corporate community responded, and though there is no title sponsor for 2007’s seven-day affair, the show will go on thanks to a collection of founding sponsors.

“It’s a big economic boost for all the communities,” added Birrell. “Last year we had just over 500,000 people come out for the race and the numbers came in at about a $26 million economic impact for a six-day event. This year we moved from six to seven days and increased our broadcast package from two hours to three hours [check out Versus on April 28-29]. We are also going to be able to provide real-time race coverage on the Internet this year.”

Whether you see it live, on TV or on the web, expect Discovery Channel to feature prominently. America’s lone ProTour squad has been red-hot in ’07, already taking stage race wins at the Tour of California (Levi Leipheimer), Paris-Nice (Alberto Contador) and Castilla y Leon (Contador again).

Now all indications point to über-climber Tom Danielson stepping to the fore in Georgia. Danielson won the race in 2005, and was second behind Floyd Landis a year ago. This year’s event features an uphill time trial on stage 4, and then the crushing HC Brasstown Bald summit finish on stage 5, perfect settings for the American’s ascending talent.

“Yeah, there is pressure on me,” admitted Danielson, who knows that chances for team leadership will be hard to come by this year, and that Georgia is his big chance. “It’s a race that suits me, and people will be looking to me to step up. But I’m ready for it. This is my race, but I have to perform first. That’s my responsibility.”

Besides Danielson, Discovery is bringing Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Gianni Meersman, Pavel Padrnos, Jason McCartney, Brain Vandborg and Jose Luis Rubiera. That’s easily the strongest team among the 15 eight-rider squads that will cover the race’s 667 miles. Stage 1 starts at 1 p.m. Monday in Peachtree City, then heads 98.5 miles south to Macon.

But that’s not to say there aren’t some interesting wild cards. Tops on that list will be Tinkoff’s Tyler Hamilton, who will be making his return to U.S. racing following a two-year doping suspension. Hamilton’s big goal this year is May’s Giro d’Italia, meaning his form will be on the upswing in Georgia.

“I definitely think Tyler will be a contender,” said Danielson when asked who he feared most. “I also think David Millar is a threat, and he’s said he wants to do well here. He’s skinnier this year so his climbing has improved.”

Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir) will be joined by two-time Giro winner Gilberto Simoni. The other big-name rider to watch is CSC’s David Zabriskie.

On the domestic side of the ledger, Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United), Nathan O’Neill (Health Net-Maxxis), Danny Pate (Slipstream-Chipotle) and Phil Zajicek (Navigators) are among a host of riders who could be flies in the ProTour ointment.

Don’t expect any miracles, though. In the last three years only one domestic pro has cracked the top three of the final GC — Chris Horner when he was with Webcor in 2004 — and he’s now a full-timer in Europe.

“I’ve been to three races this year with basically our hit-squad roster,” said Danielson, who will show up in Georgia weighing a wispy 132 pounds, 10 less than he did at the Tour of California. “We raced all of them like it was some sort of video game and [team director] Johan [Bruyneel] had the controller and was dominating.”

Don’t be surprised if Discovery Channel continues playing games with the competition.