Levi from ToM Gallery
The Discovery Channel Team continues to dominate the Tour of Missouri with Levi Leipheimer winning the Stage 3 time trial while George Hincapie keeps the GC lead coming in fifth place. The two teammates have been on the opposite sides of luck since Leipheimer came on board. Levi is enjoying a career best year with a Tour podium and the win at The Tour of California and US National Championship. Levi is a happy man despite not having a contract for next year. Meanwhile Big George has a contract with T-Mobile for 2008, but not because of his stellar results. Despite being US National Champ for 2007 Big George has been having troubles. Curiously, George and Levi seem to not be so buddy-buddy as they seemed to be last year when Levi sacrificed himself to allow George to win the US National Champs in his hometown.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Today’s stage proved to be an almost all Discovery showcase. Leipheimer lit up the course which he described as:
A lot of big rollers, I would call them. Middle climbs that required a different kind of rhythm. I had to punch it on all the middle climbs and recover on the downhills.
Tour of Missouri website
Hincapie was feeling the effort from the previous day, but still faired well with a sixth place finish that allows him to extend his lead.
“The legs weren’t great, I definitely felt my effort yesterday. Coming into the circuits yesterday was basically me against 10 guys, I had to control every attack. So I think I paid a little bit for it. But it was good, I was better than everybody in the break, and that’s all I had to do today.”
Tour of Missouri website
Stage four will probably be the toughest stage of the Tour with lots of hills and the longest distance of the race so far. Disco does have the strength to defend George’s title, but don’t count out all of the 12 breakaway men. David Canada and Will Frischkorn are close enough to George where they could still be dangerous.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
George Hincapie could have already delivered the death blow to the Tour of Missouri. Hincapie won Stage 2 of the Tour of Missouri from a group of 14 men who are all Continental Pros. No other Euro based racer was in the break meaning that Hincapie can most likely defend the race lead all the way to the end. Discovery Channel has the strongest team at Missouri including such notables as Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador. Each of these races and others has brought top results to Disco over the course of this year. So it is only natural that it is George’s turn to win.
Tomorrow is a time trial in Ned Flander’s version of Las Vegas, Branson, Missouri. Hidely ho neighborinos, George Hincapie will be trying to shake off the 14 breakaway men that helped him to a 14 minute lead so he can have some more breathing room going into the next stages. But, George has not had very good luck in races. Last year’s ENECO Tour fiasco with Stefan Schumacher and the broken forks/stem of Paris Roubaix among some of the misfortunes that have beset Phil and Paul’s favorite racer after Lance Armstrong.
Maybe there could be some magic in Branson Missouri, or maybe George will go see Yackoff Smearnoff and get really agitated and stomp out a storming TT as a result. Either way the Tour of Mizzou could be over only two days into the inaugural race, but at least the fans are getting a known name to be the winner.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
Ivan Dominguez, the Cuban Missile who likes to sprint from the brake hoods won the first stage of the inaugural Tour of Missouri in Kansas City. The Toyota man took a field sprint in the latest big bike race for the domestic circuit.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
This race is also the last domestic event for the Discovery Channel team. Disco is going out with a bang in the US after winning the Tour of California and Tour de Georgia. They have the horses to win the Tour of Missouri including Tour de France Champ Alberto Contador. Johan Bruyneel is also stateside to captain the team. With Team CSC taking a pass on this domestic race it could be a dominating performance by Discovery Channel.
Velonews report
