Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team 2007

Friday’s stage to Brasstown Bald Mountain is the king stage of the Tour de Georgia.

It is really a good chance for Toyota-United with Chris Baldwin, Ivan Stevic, Justin England, Burke Swindlehurst and Chris Wherry. One of those guys can get in a move and be opportunistic because it’s a stage win up for grabs for those guys. So we’ll try to help them get in breaks early on. Perhaps we’ll even help them get to the front.

On Thursday, we had the individual time trial. It’s a day when the sprinters like me ride as conservatively as possible – about 75 to 80 percent. My strategy was to go full gas on the flat and not use too much power on the climbs. Having said that, riding a 30 km time trial is hard. I lost six minutes to the leader. But overall, it was pretty much a “hiding day” for the sprinters like the two Ivans and me.

Chris Baldwin and Justin did ride the time trial well. On a day like this, you go from your bike to the car or bus, straight to the massage table. Then you try to stay completely off your feet for the big stage, which will be a survival day for guys like me.

I will probably get dropped straightaway on the first climb. But typically, we fight our way back to the peloton and hopefully survive to the base of the next climb. Then the leaders go again. I’ll be riding compact gears – probably a 34-25, which pretty much equates to a 39-29 or something close to that. Like I said, it will be a matter of just trying to make the time limit for some of us. For others, like the climbers (Wherry, England, Baldwin and Swindlehurst), Friday’s Stage 5 in a great chance for us to win.”