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2000 Tour de Burg Race Report--Stage 5

Tuesday, 7-04-00

Regaining the yellow jersey, Jerome Vimpty climbed atop the podium for his second stage win in this year's tour de burg. Many changes came during today's ride, which some riders are deeming the most grueling stage thus far. The first timed section, which featured a climb to the peak of Eliot Knob, had riders battling through dense vegetation and misty jungle like conditions. The top 1000 feet of the climb was blanketed in clouds all morning but that didn't stop Buschetti from finding his way and summitting first, well ahead of his competitors. The next to the top was Jens Nielsen, a new face in the peloton today, who showed promise early but wasn't able to match the Belgian powerhouse. The Russian Miki Buchness returned to the tour and climbed very well to finish in third on this section. The second timed section loomed in the mist and tour veteran Chris Scott accurately predicted that the peloton wouldn't get off the mountain without injury. With 2 big downhills and treacherous conditions the peloton was nervous. It was Jens Nielsen who took a 30 foot fall down a near vertical boulder field at the very beginning of the section. Miraculously, Jens suffered only a minor gash to his hip and some scrapes and bruises. This called for a restart as Jens had to take an alternate route to the hospital. The group strung out quickly with the descenders at the front of the pack but many were plagued with flat tires in the slick rocks of the great north mountain. Jerome Vimpty showed his poise and technical form as he overcame a flat tire and still pulled in the fleeing descenders as they dashed for the coveted stage win. Between the 2 downhills on the final section were 5 hike a bikes that broke the riders into quivering masses flesh, testing the will power and sheer perseverance of each person. This is where Vimpty regained the lead from his rivals, finishing first with Tim Richardson 2nd and the German Von Keehner hot on his wheels. All of Italy is in outrage in response to the horrible luck of Joel Maynario who suffered a 28 minute set back in the GC. His troubles began when he lost his front derailler on the first section. He was able to minimize his losses with a valiant climb but all hope was lost when he lost track of the trail during the second section. After 4 days the competition is still tight with only 20 minutes separating the top 4 riders. With 5 stages left everyone knows that anything can happen especially with the mountain stages that lurk in the future.

Stage 5

1. Jerome Vimpty @ 4:07:17, 2. Chris Scott @ 4:42, 3. Tim Richardson @ 10:34, 4. James Von Keehner @ 10:58, 5. Miki Cosmo Buchness @ 18:41, 6. Joel Maynario @ 28:54, 7. Miguel Carpellini @ 30:21, 8. Susa Haysus @ 33:06, 9. Cristi Lentholo @ 36:42, 10. Patrick @ 37:49, 11. Mikhail Hurlikoff @ 40:22, 12. Matteus Francovich @ 47:32, 13. Sami Fournier @ 1:00:00

General Classification:

1. Jerome Vimpty @ 16:59:52, 2. Joel Maynario @ 15:15, 3. Chris Scott @ 18:19, 4. James Von Keehner @ 20:51, 5. . Shen Bi Co @ 55:10, 6. Susa Haysus @ 1:00:33, 7. Miguel Carpellini @ 1:22:25, 8. Christi Lhentholo @ 1:48:36 9. Sami Fournier @ 2:41:32