Charlottesville, VA (April 29, 2007) – Javier Zapata (CAICO) of Colombia held off Argentina’s Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) in today’s final stage 7 to win the 2007 Tour of Virginia.

After six days and approximately 475 miles of racing, Zapata logged the best total time of 18:54:18 .

Zapata led the general classification for the first time when he won stage 3 in Covington last Wednesday—a brutal 100+ mile, mountain stage that blew apart the peloton, shrinking the original starting field from 176 riders to 112—and held the leader’s jersey through the rest of the week.

Zapata displayed his virtuosity as a climber all week. In addition to the GC victory, Zapata won the Augusta Medical Center Mountain Leader Jersey

“I felt very well through the race,” said the Spanish-speaking Zapata through a translator. “This is a very important win,” said Zapata, explaining how happy he was with his and team CAICO’s debut in the United States .

Dan Bowman (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) raced consistently all week, gradually gaining spots. Joining today’s breakaway propelled Bowman to 2 nd in the general classification, a little over a minute behind leader Zapata.

Christopher Jones (VMG Racing) also benefited from the breakaway to take 3 rd GC, +1:12.

After a grueling week, 101 remaining racers started stage 7, a 100-mile, course with rolling hills that finished in downtown Charlottesville . The course finished with three laps around a three mile circuit around downtown, before finishing on Market Street in the shadow of the Robert E. Lee statue in Lee Park.

Approximately ten racers broke away early in the race, at about the 40km mark.

The break included Dan Bowman, Jesse Anthony, Kayle Leogrande, Mark Walters, and Priority Health’s Eddy Hilger and Graham Howard, not to mention Zapata in the yellow leader’s jersey.

Alejandro Borrajo, who started the day in 2 nd on the GC, did not make it into the move.

“We had problems with our radio and never got word that Zapata was in the break,” said Rite Aid’s Jonathan Wirsing as he explained how Borrajo was left out of the break.

Although he started the day only seconds behind Zapata in the GC, Borrajo’s failure to respond and catch the break cost him dearly and caused Borrajo to finish off the podium in 4 th overall.

By mile 68, the break held a 2:45 lead, and Borrajo’s shot at the GC win slipped away.

The break showed no signs of slowing down as it approached downtown. With a 3 ½ minute cutoff to make before the three final finishing circuits, there was a possibility that the bulk of racers would not even make it to the finish.

Unfortunately, coming into town for the first circuit, the police escort mistakenly led the breakaway down a wrong street before realizing the error and guiding the break back to the race course.

Riders involved described the journey as a one to two kilometer detour.

Eddy Hilger (Priority Health) had trailed the breakaway, but managed to stay on the correct course, which temporarily placed him ahead of the wayward break.

The breakaway group regained semblance of what had transpired, but the rest of the field gained back much of the ground it had lost before the breakaway’s detour.

Assessing the situation, race officials quickly made an on-the-fly decision and announced an extra lap for the break riders.

After the stage, the Race Commission determined for results purposes that the gap between the break and the main field was 2:15, which is the last legitimate split taken before the circuit finish fell apart.

Order was restored and the break finished in a sprint.

Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) finished the stage 1 st in 3: 13:11 .

“We kept rolling hard right from the start,” said Anthony. “It was a great course,” said Anthony.

Anthony said he was happy with his team’s progress during the week. “None of us climbed as well as we hoped,” said Anthony. “But we got better every day, and we finally got that stage win,” he said.

Anthony said the break’s detour caused some confusion, but in the end “we knew what we were sprinting for.”

Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) finished the stage 2 nd, in the same time as Anthony, his vigorous performance likely inspired by officials relegating him for an illegal move at the finish of yesterday’s stage 6’s criterium in Harrisonburg.

Graham Howard (Priority Health) finished the stage third, same time.

Howard said it was Priority Health’s original intention to try to position Hilger for the stage win. But the team’s strategy changed when Hilger appeared to be suffering from a long hard week of racing, including a stage 5 performance in which Hilger raced in the break for nearly the entire 100 miles.

“It just worked out in the end that I came in third,” said Howard.

“It’s always harder than you expect it to be and this year was that much harder, especially with the big climb,” said Tour of Virginia veteran Howard, referring to the long category-1 climb.

“We don’t have mountains like that back in Grand Rapids ,” said Howard. “A podium here is something to be proud about,” he added.

Alejandro Borrajo missed the GC podium, but managed to unseat Jonathan Cantwell (Kahala-La Grange) to win the Peaks Coaching Group Sprint Jersey.

Tempers flared further down the rankings. Jaime Carney (Alliance), John DeLong, Boyd Johnson, and Mark Hardman (UVA Composite) were disqualified from the event for fighting, pursuant to “UCA Penalty 30.1-Serious Agression,” according to chief referee Beth Wrenn-Estes.

Ryan Baumann (ABD Cycling Team) of Green Bay finished with the peloton, good enough for him to take home the Bicyclepowermeters.com U-23 Jersey, after leading the U-23 field since stage-3.

Baumann was involved in a crash early in today’s race and will take home some road rash on his legs and arms as a memento for his efforts during this tough week of racing.

With the help of his teammates, and the steely determination he’s displayed all week, the young Baumann hammered his way back to peloton.

“I have to credit my Trek bike for not breaking in the crash,” said Baumann, spreading love to his sponsor.

Baumann said his “legs were fried” at the finish, but the entire week was an amazing learning experience, especially in the mountains where he hopes to further improve his skills.

Baumann said he never expected to be in contention for a jersey and was incredibly nervous today. He said his director, Mike Ebert, had to remind him to keep taking “a few deep breaths.”

Sound advice after a breathtaking week of racing at Tour of Virginia.

Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) eeks out Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing) to win stage 7. Photo by Nathan Beck.

Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada) sprinted to stage 7 victory.  Photo by Nathan Beck.

Stage 7 winners, from left to right:  Graham Howard (3rd), Jesse Anthony (1st), Kayle Leogrande (2nd).  Photo by Nathan Beck.

Alejandro Borrajo (Rite Aid Pro Cycling) falls out of contention for the GC, but regains the Peaks Cycling Group Sprint Jersey for good.  Photo by Nathan Beck

Ryan Baumann crashed in stage 7, but picked himself up to take home the U-23 Jersey.  Photo by Nathan Beck.

2007 Tour of Virginia GC winners, right to left:  Christopher Jones (3rd), Javier Zapata (1st), Dan Bowman.  Photo by Nathan Beck.

(for higher resolution photos, contact Brock Foreman)

When complete results become available, they will be posted here.

About the Tour of Virginia:

The Tour of Virginia showcases North America’s rising stars, and has a tradition of attracting the sport’s up and coming talent. 2007 marks the fifth edition of this race, which was formerly known as the Tour of Shenandoah. The event comprises seven stages over six days and is held on some of the nation’s most quiet and scenic roads amidst the beautiful landscapes of Virginia . An important mission of the Tour of Virginia is to inform the public about diabetes: how to control - and prevent the onset of - the disease and reduce complications through exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Stage details, maps, and sponsor information can be found at the official website, www.tourofvirginia.com

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