Euser makes the break; finishes 10th on stage, now 2nd in KOM

April 18, 2007 - Chattanooga, TN - After letting all the other teams get into the early action on the first two sprint stages of the Tour de Georgia, Director Jonathan Vaughters set Team Slipstream/Chipotle’s usual aggressive racing style back in motion. Wednesday’s Stage 3, from Rome, GA to Chattanooga, TN, featured several hard climbs along the route and was more suited to the Team’s strengths than the first two stages.

Just as early breakaways played a big role on Monday and Tuesday, the action started quickly yesterday. The day’s major breakaway formed 30 km into the stage, and featured 13 motivated riders who wasted no time in building up a large lead over the indifferent peloton.

Slipstream/Chipotle’s Lucas Euser was the Team’s designated breakaway rider for the day - given the freedom to pursue the King of the Mountains points offered up on the stage’s four climbs. Euser battled for the KOM jersey in last year’s Tour de Georgia, narrowly losing the jersey to Discovery Channel’s Jason McCartney. So, with the first big climbs of this year’s race on tap, it was time for Euser to get to work in the KOM competition.

With most of the strongest teams represented (some with 2 riders) there was little incentive for the smaller or tired teams in the peloton to chase hard. Amazingly, the breakaway’s lead grew from one minute on the first KOM to ten minutes, then 15, 20, and finally at the finish line, 29 minutes!

In the breakaway, Euser fought hard for the KOM sprints at the top of each climb, crossing the lines in 4th, 2nd, and 2nd before falling out of contention on the last climb. 160 km of hard riding in the break finally tired Lucas out and he and a few others dropped off the pace slightly after the final climb.

At the end of the stage in Chattanooga, 8 of the original 13 break members sprinted for the finish line, and the last few members cruised in 2 and 3 minutes behind - Euser ended up witha satisfying 10th place on the stage. Thanks to everyone’s huge lead on the peloton, each break member enjoyed a big jump up in the overall standings.

Heading into Thursday’s individual time trial, Euser takes over as Team Slipstream/Chipotle’s top placed rider, in 8th place, 2:22 behind. In the KOM competition, Euser is in 2nd place, 3 points down. Finally, Euser also moved way up in the Best Young Rider competition, and is currently in 3rd place.