Stage 4

1 Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana                                        3.25.21 (43.68 km/h)
2 Daniel Andonov Petrov (Bul) Benfica                                    
3 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                        
4 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner                     
5 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Credit Agricole                                  
6 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com                                0.01
7 Tiziano Dall'antonia (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria - Navigare                
8 Frédéric Amorison (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner                 
9 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col) Ceramiche Panaria - Navigare         
10 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom

Final General Classification

1 Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana                                       16.47.40
2 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom                             0.10
3 Tiziano Dall'antonia (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria - Navigare             0.15
4 Paul Martens (Ger) Skil-Shimano                                     0.25
5 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Credit Agricole                               0.27
6 José Azevedo (Por) Benfica                                          0.29
7 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com                                0.31
8 Daniel Andonov Petrov (Bul) Benfica                                    
9 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank                                  0.34
10 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel                                      0.35

The Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling concluded today in Philadelphia when an international field lined up for the most prestigious race in all of the Americas. Another chapter was written in this race’s rich 23-year history when Juan-Jose Haedo, “the fastest man on two wheels” sprinted home for the win in the 156-mile Commerce Bank Philadelphia International Championship.

After the first two stops of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling in Lancaster and Reading, Philadelphia welcomed some of the world’s best professional bicycle racers for the final stop of the series. All eyes were on Bernhard Eisel (T-Mobile) after he won the first two races of the Triple Crown. Today’s race presented a different challenge, a longer course of 156 miles and the ten grueling climbs over the steep Manayunk Wall.

Riders set off under overcast skies and what appeared to be perfect conditions for a bicycle race. As usual the pace was high from the start and as the riders appeared over the top of the Manayunk Wall for the first time, Team Slipstream went on the offensive sending two riders off the front. This acceleration put the main group under pressure as Will Frishkorn (Slipstream) took the first points for the VisitPA.com Best Climber’s Award. This competition which honors the most consistent climber of the day is a race within a race and it appeared that Slipstream was eager to build an insurmountable lead.

As the riders re-grouped on the descent, Team Slipstream director, Jonathan Vaughters, ordered his team to stay aggressive and they eventually forced an early breakaway which included their team leader, Danny Pate, as well as two more of his teammates. The strongest teams were represented in the 16- man break which got down to work building their lead. As promising as the break looked, the gap only grew to just over one minute. Although the Navigators Insurance team had Ciaran Power in the break, they were not convinced he would produce a win and sent their team to the front of the chasing pack to reel the break in.

With the entire Navigators Insurance team on the front, the break was doomed and the field regrouped. On lap five, 10 riders went clear. This time Team Slipstream was not in the mix and they were forced to chase. Two laps later, the field was back together again but noticeably smaller as the race was taking its toll on those not prepared for the torrid pace.
At this stage in the race, it looked unlikely that a smaller group would stay away to the finish. This seemed to play into the hands of the Pro Tour teams T-Mobile, with Bernhard Eisel and last year’s winner Greg Henderson, and CSC who would look to their ace sprinters, Juan-Jose Haedo and Matthew-Harley Goss. Also in the group were 2002 winner Henk Vogels (Toyota United) and the emerging Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid).

The final three, 3.5 mile laps which took the race over the short but taxing Lemon Hill, saw a barrage of breakaway attempts by Sergey Lagutin. Nothing stayed away. As riders approached the final round-about with half a mile to go, T-Mobile was lined up at the front leading out Eisel for the inevitable sprint. Conspicuously glued to Eisel’s wheel however was Haedo who, after failing to stay away in the day’s early break, found enough reserves to come around the Austrian for an excellent win. Haedo’s Australian teammate Matthew Goss was also able to pass Eisel before the line for a CSC one, two finish. The record finish time was 5 hours 45 minutes and 51 seconds. The fastest in the race’s 23 year history. And, the “world’s fastest man on wheels” took home a sweet $15,000.

"It was a perfect day for us,  we were part of all the breaks and what a pay off!" said a happy CSC Sports Director Scott Sunderland after the race.

"JJ has been having a bit of a tough time lately. He was a bit disappointed about his performance in Giro d'Italia and hasn't regained his strength in the first couple of races over here. But I said to him to try and make a couple of the early breaks and then see what happened. Later on he was told to get ready for the sprint, while almost everybody was up to something. The team work today was superb," continued Sunderland.

"In the end Goss joined Haedo in the sprint and he did well enough for them to take the first and second place. So now JJ has truly earned the two weeks vacation, which he'll be taking in Argentina from tomorrow," finished Sunderland, who praised the whole team for its efforts.


Although Eisel didn’t win the final event in the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling series, his third place was more than enough to give him the overall win awarded to the most consistent rider over the three race series.

The VisitPA.com Best Climber’s Award was won by Neil Shirley (Jittery Joe’s) designating him as the best climber over the Manayunk Wall and Lemon Hill.

Results

1 Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Team CSC                             5.45.51
2 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Team CSC                               
3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) T-Mobile                                    
4 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Rite Aid                         
5 Dominique Rollin (Can) Kodak Gallery p/b Sierra Nevada           
6 Mark Cavendish (GBr) T-Mobile                                    
7 Charles Dionne (Can) Colavita-Sutter Home                        
8 Ricardo Escuela (Arg) Successfulliving.com                       
9 Alex Candelario (USA) Jelly Belly                                
10 Frank Pipp (USA) Health Net - Maxxis