Stage 6...beaten up by Brasstown

Stage 6 is over and done with....and the fears of time cuts and impending death on the famous Brasstown Mtn have long subsided. The team made it through the stage unscathed and we have a full roster of 8 to ride into the finish tomorrow. This stage last year were were down 2 men and that had implications for our sprint power in the following 2 flat stages.

Today went well for us and we hit the final climb with 4 of us left in the main group. I somehow suffered my way over the first 2 climbs of the day so that i could go as easily up Brasstown as is possible. eventually coming in 11mins behind the winner. It was a hard day with a lot of teams playing aggressive cards in the GC battle to try and crack Slipstream. By the end of the day, Slipstream had lost the lead...but i must say that they rode a pretty amazing stage and it was just a strong rider who got the best of them in the end. Im going to single out Danny Pate who i thought rode like an animal...it was pretty exceptional. It was all however to no avail as Trent just couldn't stay with the High Road winner and gave up his GC lead by a measly 4seconds.

Some good photos have emerged from yesterday...not often you get them, so ill share some with you.

I got a nice gap after jumping out of the last corner.

Apparently i was happy when i crossed the line in first.

Always a nice part of making the podium

Those arent bad names on either side of me

You can also check out my online interview at http://www.velonews.tv/?Art_ID=2103

Now we are heading into the final stage with 8 guys and renewed confidence for a good result tomorrow. Last year i finished 6th on this circuit and the plan is to improve on this in tomorrows finish. Looks like rain and thunderstorms could be a factor that could influence the race...but it should be hard and fast with a few battles still going on in the sprint and GC competition.

Hope to join you tomorrow with some good news...or at least a good story.

STAGE 5...Winners are grinners

For those who do not know....today was a great day for the Bissell cycling team

I won the stage and Teddy took control of the King Of the Mountains jersey after a stella break away that lasted for nearly 150km. At one point it looked like we wouldnt catch the break and Teddy was going to have the chance to contest the stage finish....but the final kms were tough and it all came back together and then split over the last climb. I got a nice run and a little luck in the finsh and came out in front.

Im so excited for the team who worked really well today and showed what strength we have. It should be a fantastic building block for the rest of the season and hopefully we can keep our boy Teddy in the KOM jersey.

I would love to spend more time blogging, but it is late and has been a very long day. My pillow is calling. Thanks to everyone who sent me emails and messages. Me and the team appreciate all the support.....

You can read all about it on www.velonews.com or www.cyclingnews.com ....cause i dont want to play favourites. Tomorrow is the big Brasstown climb...it will hurt and i look forward to sharing that pain with you in here.

TTT....stage 4

Not what we had hoped for....

That sums up our final result in the team time trial. Al was well and we were on our way to a competitive result when Zirbel suffered a mechanical problem on the hill the third lap and then we had a period were the wheels fell off. We did come back with a solid final lap but the damage had already been done.

But i think that when you look at the team finishing without its 2 clear TT specialists that we still came out with a reasonable time and an OK result. The good thing is that we kept ourselves in a great position for GC as i am only down by 57sec and could easily make that up on Brasstown ;).

In all seriousness, tomorrow's long stage may hold some GC battles, but i think the tour will ultimately come down to Brasstown on Sat. I am pinning some hope and pressure on T. Lowe (Slipstream). My fellow Australian and all round good bloke is looking strong and there is little doubt he has the support of one of the best teams. Can he beat Levi on Brasstown? Time will tell. I sure hope so.

Short one today...internet has been down, so im off to bed now. Hope to have a report for you tomorrow. Long day, 3 climbs, but i am confident i can ride strong and hopefully have a say in the finish again.

Peace